| Date | November 2021 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 21N.1.BP.TZ0.6 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Analyse | Question number | 6 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Note: In Source E, the word “Indians” is used to reflect the place and time of the original source. This term is used with reference to the indigenous populations.
Source E Pedro Cieza de León, a Spanish conquistador writing in his chronicle The Discovery and Conquest of Peru. Chronicles of the New World Encounter (c1553).
The Indians made great complaints when they heard that Atahualpa was imprisoned. They did not dare to rise up in arms against the Christians because [Atahualpa] had ordered that they should not do it. When the news spread that he was imprisoned, it caused great wonder. Many rejoiced; others wept, sighing from the sorrow they felt. They were astonished at how easily 160 men were able to do it. Chalcuchima was the captain who showed the most resentment. He complained about his gods because they had allowed such a thing. He delegated the guarding of Huascar to the appropriate captains and went to the Jauja valley to calm uprisings. When the news of Atahualpa’s capture reached Cuzco, many people rejoiced. They took such an event for a miracle. They believed that their god sent his children from heaven to liberate Huascar and to restore him on the throne.
[Source: Pedro de Cieza de Leon, “About how in the morning of the following day the Spaniards went to survey the countryside, and how the news of Atahualpa’s capture spread throughout the entire realm,” in The Discovery and Conquest of Peru, pp. 217. Copyright 1998, Duke University Press. All rights reserved. Republished by permission of the copyright holder, and the Publisher. www.dukeupress.edu.]
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source E for an historian studying the reactions to Atahualpa’s imprisonment.
Markscheme
Value:
- It provides a 16th-century perspective from a Spanish conqueror.
- It shows that Atahualpa’s imprisonment gave opponents the opportunity to rise up against his control.
- The intention of the author is to chronicle the events of the conquest.
Limitations:
- Since it is based on contemporary accounts it lacks the benefit of hindsight.
- It only gives the Spanish perspective on Atahualpa’s imprisonment.
- The information about Atahualpa’s capture could have been exaggerated to highlight the success of the Spanish conquest.
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]. Origin, purpose and content should be used as supporting evidence to make relevant comments on the value and limitations. For [4] there must be at least one reference to each of them in either the
value or the limitations.
Examiners report
As highlighted above, and in previous reports, candidates demonstrated an understanding of how to identify the origin, purpose and content of a source and most were able to offer some sound analysis of value and limitation derived from these. However, there remains a tendency for lengthy descriptions of the origin, purpose and content of the source, at the expense of actual evaluation or analysis. Related to this, some candidates, for example, offered an identification of the purpose of the source without going on to explain how this was a value and/or limitation. Candidates should also be cautioned against a note-form response as these tend to lack clarity in terms of explanation of value and limitation. In addition, it was disappointing to find that a small number of candidates had analysed the wrong source, which reinforces the recommendation that questions should be read carefully.
