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
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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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Unlock Question2Discuss15 marks
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Discuss the impact of European settlement on the indigenous peoples of South-East Asia in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Analyse the contrasting role that religion played in European settlement of the Philippines and in Japan's turn towards isolation.
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Examine the reasons why Ming China launched the treasure fleet voyages of Zheng He (1405–1433).
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Evaluate the significance of the Portuguese arrival in Japan in 1543 for Japan's relationship with the wider world.
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Evaluate the reasons why Ming China ended the Zheng He voyages in 1433 rather than continuing overseas expansion.
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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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Discuss the impact of the Portuguese capture of Malacca in 1511 on trade in South-East Asia.
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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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Unlock Question10Compare and contrast15 marks
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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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Compare and contrast the motives behind China's Zheng He voyages (1405–1433) and the Portuguese capture of Malacca (1511).
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Examine the role of key individuals in shaping the early encounters between Asia and Europe up to 1543.
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To what extent did the maritime breakthroughs of 1498–1522 transform the balance of power between Asia and Europe?
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To what extent was the capture of Malacca in 1511 a turning point in the history of European settlement in Asia?
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Examine the reasons why European powers established settlements in Asia between the mid-16th and mid-17th centuries.
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Compare and contrast the reasons for, and methods of, isolationist policy in China and Japan in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Evaluate the extent to which Spain's settlement of the Philippines differed from Portugal's settlement of Malacca.
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Analyse the reasons why the Tokugawa Shogunate introduced the sakoku policy in Japan.
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Evaluate the successes and limitations of China's and Japan's isolationist policies in the 16th and 17th centuries.
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Discuss the reasons for, and significance of, the differing settlement models pursued by the Dutch and the Spanish in Asia.
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