Paper One, 2nd June 2008

You must have a detailed knowledge of the Indians of the Plains for the exam. Divide your revision notes into these aspects:

1. How the environment shaped their lifestyle
2. How their society was organised
3. Their beliefs and rituals
4. Their wars with the Americans
5. How their lifestyle was destroyed

You should aim to note down, memorise and recall at least ten facts/factors/points for each aspect.

Chucking them all in the air in the exam hall and writing down as much as you can remember about the Indians would in all likelihood just get you a D grade. To get a C you must apply what you know to answer the particular question being asked.

Typical questions might be:
1. Why were the Plains Indians able to live so successfully on the Great Plains?
2. Why did their way of life disappear so quickly with the coming of the settlers?

Answering question 1

You must:

* Describe the Plains Indians' way of life in detail.
* Explain how this way of life was suited to the Plains.
* Explain the problems that people faced living on the Plains and how the Plains Indians were able to overcome them.

Remember - you have to link your description of how they lived to the question. It is not enough just to describe.

Answering question 2

You must:

* Briefly summarise the Plains Indians' way of life.
* Describe the changes that the settlers brought.
* Explain how these changes destroyed the Indians' way of life.
* Conclude by commenting on whether the Plains Indians' were able to adapt to the changes, whether there is an issue of blame and whether the land could ever support both lifestyles.

Remember to include some of the following points:

* Land was the central issue that led to conflict.
* Railroads, buffalo herds disturbed, sacred burial grounds being mined for gold, settlers taking Indians' hunting ground, the use of reservations.
* The use of the US Army and the effect of misunderstandings about Indian life (which made it mentally easier to kill "savages").
* The Indians were not united (for example the Crow helped the US Army fight the Sioux).
* The question of inevitability - was it impossible to protect the Plains Indians' way of life?

Top Tip
Make a mind-map of all the factors you have listed. Join up factors in different aspects to create links between them. A handy site to do this online is http://www.bubbl.us . Use it and post up your mind-maps here if you wish.
In the exam hall, spend a couple of minutes drawing out your mind-map on your answer sheet - I guarantee it will up your grade!

Between 1787 and 1867, over 160,000 people from Britain, Ireland and other parts of the Empire were transported to the distant continent of Australia. Prior to that, in the 1600s rebels and crooks had been transported into slavery in the West Indies, and in the 1700s to the North American colonies. As African slaves replaced British ones and the American colonies won their independence, a new place for Britain to send her unwanted people was required.

The First Fleet set sail for Australia on 13 May, 1787. 11 ships (including five warships and supply ships) carrying 717 convicts arrived in January 1788 minus 48 poor souls who died on the way. Conditions on the ships were brutal - cramped, violent and unhygienic.

The story of the transported convicts is an example of a punishment intended to remove the 'problem' of crime. In this age, it was believed that a criminal class of people were born, and the best thing was to remove them from society. This is before large numbers of prisons were built in the mid to late 1800s, and it coincides with the massive social changes that came with the industrial revolution.

In your exam you may be presented with many examples of source material, so the more you familiarise with the better. There is a wealth of resources out there - I have gathered some of the best website links here: http://del.icio.us/learnhistory/transportation. Keep checking back to it, as I will add more when I come across them.

An interesting exercise is to rummage through the various databases of convict lists, to see their names, ages and reasons for conviction. These are after all real people, and its what makes history part of us.

The Revision Task

This is designed by the man who will write your exam paper. You are advised to do it with care.
Transportation GCSE Work

Upload your work to your http://docs.learnhistory.org.uk account or post it up here.

The Video

Exam Question (2002):

Why was transportation introduced as a punishment? (6)

Answer this, please.