| Date | November 2019 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 19N.1.BP.TZ0.14 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Analyse | Question number | 14 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
The sources and questions relate to case study 2: Apartheid South Africa (1948–1964) — Protests and action: Official response: the Rivonia Trial (1963–1964) and the imprisonment of the ANC leadership.
Source P
Anthony Sampson, a journalist and a friend of Nelson Mandela, writing in his despatch [report] from the Rivonia trial courtroom for the British newspaper The Observer (1 March 1964).
The charges, if proven, can carry the death sentence; therefore a real possibility exists that some of the accused, including Mandela, could be hanged.
If this were to happen, it would have very large repercussions [consequences]. It would produce the first African martyrs. It would make the conscience of America and Britain—where Mandela enjoys great personal prestige—much more uncomfortable. And it would proclaim clearly that South Africa is now in a state of war. But whatever the verdict, it is clear that the trial will be a landmark in the African political movement for it is unlikely that Mandela will want to refute [reject] the charge that he has resorted to violent means …
The Rivonia trial, together with the mass arrests in the Pan-African Congress and the exodus of leaders, has produced a major setback for the African resistance … The individual African leadership, prominent for the last 10 years, is now in effect incapacitated [severely weakened] inside the republic …
It is still too early to have a very clear picture of the new leadership that is emerging out of despair. It does not, astonishingly, seem noticeably anti-white, but it will certainly be less sophisticated, less moderate and much more secretive than its predecessors.
[Source: excerpt from Anthony Sampson, “Nelson Mandela: how apartheid regime’s court tried to destroy the ANC”,
The Observer, 1 March 1964. Copyright Guardian News & Media Ltd 1964.]
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source P for an historian studying the Rivonia Trial (1963–1964).
Markscheme
Value:
- Written by a person who witnessed the trial at first hand, it provides vivid understanding of the circumstances surrounding the trial.
- As a despatch to a newspaper, it is written to provide a daily account of the events during the trial.
- It reveals the concerns that were felt about the outcome of the trial and what its impact may be.
Limitations:
- Written during the trial, it does not have an overview of the trial itself, nor of its outcome and impact.
- As a friend of Mandela, Sampson may not be offering an objective view.
- Written for a British newspaper, it may reflect or foster the pro-Mandela sympathies that the source suggests existed in Britain.
The focus of the question is on the value and limitations of the source. If only value or limitations are discussed, award a maximum of [2]. Origins, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the values and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the values or the limitations.
