| Date | May 2022 | Marks available | 4 | Reference code | 22M.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
Source G Mosen Diego de Valera, warrior, poet and writer in his Compiled Letters. Extract of Letter XXI [21] to the Catholic Monarchs (c1485).
It’s God’s hand that will give you victory because the Moors are so confident and arrogant about their past that they will risk everything. Please remember, my King, that this is a holy and necessary war. The enemies of our holy faith may be weakened and the land that they have seized may be taken. Where God is now currently condemned, blasphemed and despised; he may once again be praised, adored, and loved. Bear this in mind and keep on fighting as our former glorious kings did in long sieges and terrible battles. But do not believe, my Lord, that these battles can wait much longer. The Moors can survive on little bread, and find ways to grow some crops. [Furthermore] you cannot fully control the seas and it could very well be that Moors from across the sea, feeling for the suffering of their fellow believers in the peninsula, will come to their aid. You must be wise and prepared as a good knight would be.
[Source: Epístolas y otros varios tratados de Mosen Diego de Valera. c1485. National Library of Spain, from a printed
copy in Madrid, 1878. Available at: http://bdh-rd.bne.es/viewer.vm?lang=es&id=0000092867&page=1 [Accessed 09
March 2021]. Translated from Spanish by IBO, 2021.]
With reference to its origin, purpose and content, analyse the value and limitations of Source G for an historian studying the unification of the Iberian Peninsula.
Markscheme
Value:
- As a contemporary letter it is a first-hand account of the motives for the Christian conquest of the Moorish territories.
- It shows how a contemporary writer justified the need for taking action against the Moors.
- It shows the importance of religious motives as justification for the unification.
Limitations:
- As a contemporary Christian account, it may be an emotional response to the events, lacking the benefit of hindsight.
- Christian motives for attacking the Moors could have been exaggerated in order to persuade the monarchs to act.
- The source is focused only on Christian motives.
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
In general, candidates seem to be better prepared for this question and most attempted to address the value and limitation of the source from its origin, purpose and content. Nevertheless, there remains a proportion of candidates that focus primarily on the content of the source at the expense of the provenance and purpose. In addition, a significant minority continue to begin their response with lengthy descriptions of origin, purpose and content before evaluating these elements, which wastes valuable examination time. Quite often candidates would not refer to what the question was asking, but would just make very general comments. As per previous sessions, some candidates did not refer to one of the elements in their response — for example, no reference to purpose or to content. Candidates should be aware that they need to make valid comments on the value and limitations of the source drawn from its origin, purpose and content.
