| Date | November 2021 | Marks available | 6 | Reference code | 21N.1.BP.TZ0.7 |
| Level | Both SL and HL | Paper | Paper 1 - first exams 2017 | Time zone | TZ0 |
| Command term | Compare and contrast | Question number | 7 | Adapted from | N/A |
Question
Source G David P Werlich, a professor of Latin American history, writing in the academic book Peru: A Short History (1978).
On 16 November 1532, Atahualpa accepted an invitation to dine with Francisco Pizarro. Entering the central plaza with a force of 5000 lightly armed men, Atahualpa was boldly attacked and captured by Pizarro and a team of 20 attackers. While the monarch remained in the hands of the Europeans, the emperor’s followers offered little resistance. Atahualpa proposed to buy his freedom with enough gold and silver to fill two rooms. The Spaniards accepted. When the emperor complied with his part of the bargain, however, his captors faced a dilemma. Once free, Atahualpa probably would have commanded his armies to destroy the invaders. Yet, if he remained a prisoner, it seemed likely that his people would attempt a rescue of their god-king. In July 1533, after receiving dubious information that a large Inca force was preparing to attack Cajamarca, the Spaniards accused Atahualpa of treacherously ordering the assault and executed him. While still a prisoner, Atahualpa had ordered the execution of his half-brother Huascar and other claimants to the Inca throne so that they could not profit from the monarch’s distress. At the same time, Atahualpa’s Ecuadorian armies continued to ravage many towns that had supported Huascar. The Spaniards exploited this internal conflict. Posing as champions of the vanquished Cuzco faction, they installed the first of a series of puppet emperors and received the support of many districts.
[Source: Werlich, D.P., 1978. Peru: A Short History. Carbondale: Southern Illinois University Press, pp. 39–40. Adapted.
Copyright © 1978 Southern Illinois University Press.]
Source H Hanns J Prem, an historian specializing in pre-Columbian studies, writing in the academic book The Ancient Americas. A Brief History and Guide to Research (1997).
The war between the two Inca brothers had just ended when Francisco Pizarro landed in 1532 with 180 Spaniards. Pizarro and Atahualpa met in Cajamarca, where the Spaniard took the Inca ruler captive in a surprise attack. In order to avoid Huascar’s accession to rule, Atahualpa had his half-brother killed while he was on the way to Cajamarca as a captive. Despite a famous final effort by the empire to fill a room up to the ceiling with gold as ransom, Atahualpa did not gain his freedom, but was sentenced to death in a trial based on false accusations. In order to use the authority of an Inca for his own ends, Pizarro crowned Manco Inca as the new ruler. The Spaniards held Manco Inca in Cuzco under humiliating conditions. Finally, he escaped, started a rebellion, laid siege to Cuzco from April 1536 to August 1537, and established an independent state that posed a constant threat to Spanish towns and roads.
[Source: Prem, H.J., 1997. The Ancient Americas. A Brief History and Guide to Research. Translated from German by
K. Kurbjuhn. Salt Lake City: University of Utah Press, p. 73. Adapted.]
Compare and contrast what Sources G and H reveal about Atahualpa and the conquest of Peru.
Markscheme
Apply the markbands that provide the “best fit” to the responses given by candidates and award credit wherever it is possible to do so. The following material is an indication of what candidates may elect to write about in their responses. It is neither prescriptive nor exhaustive and no set answer is required.
Comparison:
- Both sources state that Atahualpa was attacked and captured by Pizarro during their meeting.
- Both sources reveal that a ransom was offered to the Spaniards to free Atahualpa.
- Both sources state that Atahualpa was executed by Pizarro.
- Both sources mention the conflict between Atahualpa and his brother Huascar, who was executed on Atahualpa’s orders.
Contrast:
- Source G states that the Spaniards accused Atahualpa of treachery whereas
- Source H claims Atahualpa was charged with false accusations.
- Source G claims that after defeating Atahualpa, the Spaniards installed puppet Inca emperors and received local support whereas Source H states that the Incas continued to resist Spanish rule.
Examiners report
If was again pleasing to note that responses have continued to improve for the third question this session. Most candidates clearly identified comparisons and/or contrasts and had attempted to write a running commentary of similarities and differences. Indeed, there were some excellent responses to this question, usually characterised by precise references to the sources in support of the comparisons and/or contrasts that the candidate had identified. Nevertheless, some responses lacked clarity or offered only one or two links between the sources. As with the second question, some responses were presented in note-form and lacked development. Candidates should be made aware that, in order to access the top markband, more than two developed links between the sources should be established, for example two comparisons and two contrasts with development.
