Unit 20: Paper 3 (HL) — History of Asia & Oceania
Topic 20.3: Exploration, trade and interaction in East Asia and South-East Asia (1405–1700) Questions
Practice 20 exam-style questions for IB History Topic 20.3. Review the question stems below, then unlock the full Question Bank to access markschemes, model answers, and AI grading.
1Choose1 mark
2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q11
Choose the correct answer. In which year did the Ming court order the destruction of China's ocean-going ships?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q15
Choose the correct answer: Vasco da Gama's 1498 voyage was significant mainly because it:
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q13
Choose the correct answer: What was the primary goal of Zheng He's treasure fleet voyages, according to most historical evidence?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q14
Choose the correct answer: Which Portuguese admiral captured the Sultanate of Malacca in 1511?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q14
Choose the correct answer. Which social group emerged in the Philippines as a result of Spanish colonisation, occupying a position above the indigenous majority?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q12
Choose the correct answer: In which year did a Portuguese ship first make contact with Japan, landing at Tanegashima?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q12
Choose the correct answer. Which of the following was one of the four gateways kept open under Japan's sakoku policy?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q11
Choose the correct answer: Who commanded the Ming treasure fleet voyages between 1405 and 1433?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q15
Choose the correct answer. What was the VOC, chartered in 1602?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q13
Choose the correct answer. Which European power destroyed the Malacca sultanate in 1511?
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Unlock Question11Discuss15 marks
2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q3
Discuss the impact of European settlement on the indigenous peoples of South-East Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.2 - Q10
Analyse the contrasting role that religion played in European settlement of the Philippines and in Japan's turn towards isolation.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q1
Examine the reasons why Ming China launched the treasure fleet voyages of Zheng He (1405–1433).
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q2
Evaluate the significance of the Portuguese arrival in Japan in 1543 for Japan's relationship with the wider world.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q7
Evaluate the reasons why Ming China ended the Zheng He voyages in 1433 rather than continuing overseas expansion.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q8
Discuss the view that trade, rather than religion, was the primary driver of Portuguese activity in Asia between 1498 and 1543.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q3
Discuss the impact of the Portuguese capture of Malacca in 1511 on trade in South-East Asia.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q4
To what extent was religion the main reason for the spread of Christianity in Japan between 1549 and the end of the sixteenth century?
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q10
Compare and contrast the impact of first European contact on China and on Japan in the period covered by this topic.
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2026• Aimnova original vault - 20.3.1 - Q5
Compare and contrast the motives behind China's Zheng He voyages (1405–1433) and the Portuguese capture of Malacca (1511).
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