CBSE Class 11 History Sample Paper 2023 - 2 | History Class 11 - Humanities/Arts PDF Download

General Instructions:

1. Question paper comprises five Sections — A, B, C, D, and E. There are 34 questions in the question paper. All questions are compulsory.
2. Section A – Question 1 to 21 are MCQs of 1 mark each.
3. Section B – Question no. 22 to 27 are Short Answer Type questions, carrying 3 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 60-80 words.
4. Section C – Question no 28 to 30 are Long Answer Type questions, carrying 8 marks each. Answer to each question should not exceed 300-350 words.
5. Section D – Question no. 31 to 33 are Source-based questions with three sub-questions and are of 4 marks each.
6. Section-E – Question no. 34 is Map-based, carrying 5 marks that includes the identification and location of significant test items. Attach the map with the answer book.
7. There is no overall choice in the question paper. However, an internal choice has been provided in few questions. Only one of the choices in such questions has to be attempted.

Section-A

Objective Type Questions.

Q1: Which was the first known language of Mesopotamia?
(a) German
(b) Japanese
(c) Urdu
(d) Sumerian
Ans: (d)
The earliest language known to the Mesopotamian people was Sumerian.

Q2: The Greeks are represented by which of the following words?
(a) Hellenes
(b) Ahoms
(c) Marines
(d) None of the above
Ans: (a)
The common notation used for the Greek people is ‘Hellenes’.

Q3: Which of these is a source for the reconstruction of history of the Mesopotamians?
(a) Mathematical texts
(b) Archaeological remains
(c) Water resources
(d) None of these
Ans: (b)
The reconstruction of the history of Mesopotamia was made possible due to the large amount of archaeological remains.

Q4: What constituted the heart of Roman Empire?
(a) Sahara Desert
(b) The Mediterranean Sea
(c) Rhine River
(d) Agriculture
Ans: (b)
The Roman Empire flourished due to the strategic presence of the Mediterranean Sea which was responsible for trade, agriculture, and commerce.

Q5: Directions: In the following questions, a statement of Assertion (A) is followed by a statement of Reason (R). Mark the correct choice as:
Assertion (A): Scandinavian merchants were sailing south from the North Sea to exchange furs and hunting- hawks for cloth; English traders came to sell tin.
Reason (R): The ‘guild hall’ was a feature of every town; it was a building for ceremonial functions, and where the heads of all the guilds met formally.
(a) Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A).
(b) Both (A) and (R) are true but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A).
(c) (A) is correct but (R) is incorrect
(d) (A) is incorrect but (R) is correct
Ans: (b)

Q6: How have the sedentary societies characterised nomads?
(a) Pastorals
(b) Herdsmen
(c) Primitive Barbarians
(d) Mongols
Ans: (c)
The nomads were characterised as primitive Barbarians by the other established sedentary societies.

Q7: Fill in the blank.
Mongols imported _______ from China.
(a) Horses
(b) Gold
(c) Diamonds
(d) Nickel
Ans: (a)
The majority of the horses used by the Mongolian warriors were imported from the China.

Q8:  Who was responsible for the introduction of feudalism in England?
(a) The French King William
(b) The Russian King William
(c) King Louis XVI
(d) Pope
Ans: (a)
Feudalism was introduced to England by William the Conqueror, who was the Duke of Normandy in France before he invaded England in 1066. William was a Norman, and the Normans had a feudal system in place in their own country. When William conquered England, he imposed the feudal system on the English people.

Q9: The Warka Head was recovered from which of the following places?
(a) Uruk
(b) Damascus
(c) Constantinople
(d) Ashar
Ans: (a)
The Warka Head, also known as the “Lady of Uruk” or the “Warka Mask,” was recovered from the ancient city of Uruk. Uruk was one of the most important cities in ancient Mesopotamia, located in what is now modern-day Iraq. The head is a sculpted fragment believed to be part of a larger statue, and it is considered one of the earliest examples of monumental sculpture from ancient Mesopotamia.

Q10: The Church was granted the power to take one-tenth of the peasants total produce over the course of a year, known as:
(a) Taille
(b) Toll
(c) Tithe
(d) Franks
Ans: (c)
Tithe was the one-tenth produce which was taken as tax by the Church from the peasants.

Q11: Who was Petrarch?
(a) A great poet and historian of France
(b) A great poet and historian of Italy
(c) A great poet and historian of Australia
(d) A philanthropist of France.
Ans: (b)
Petrarch was one of the greatest poets and historians of Italy who also made the idea of humanism popular in Europe.

Q12: I was a famous painter of Italy who painted the below-given painting. My city was known by my name and work. Identify me.

(a) Michelangelo
(b) Giotto De Bondone
(c) Leonardo Da Vinci
(d) Picasso
Ans: (b)
Giotto Di Bondone was one of the most famous Italian painters who produced several marvellous works.

Q13: About which of the following subjects is Ptolemy’s Almagest:
(a) Geometry
(b) Astrology
(c) Science
(d) Geography
Ans: (b)
The famous work of Ptolemy “Almagest” was related to Astrology.

Q14: What do you understand by “The Great Australian Silence”?
(a) Electrifying lecture given by the anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner in 1968
(b) A mourning ceremony
(c) Battle between Australia and France
(d) Both (b) and (c)
Ans: (a)
“The Great Australian Silence” refers to a concept introduced by the anthropologist W.E.H. Stanner in his 1968 Boyer Lectures titled “After the Dreaming”. In this lecture series, Stanner discussed the omission of the Indigenous Australian presence and history from mainstream Australian historical narratives and cultural consciousness. He coined the term “The Great Australian Silence” to highlight this phenomenon.

Q15: Choose the correct option.
Cherokees were an American _________.
(a) Elite
(b) Tribe
(c) Native
(d) Settlers
Ans: (b)
The Cherokees were an American tribe, specifically a Native American tribe. They were indigenous to the southeastern United States and had their own unique language, culture, and history. The Cherokees were forced to relocate to Oklahoma during the Trail of Tears in the 1830s.

Q16: Workers who provided cheap labour in Australia were –
(a) Chinese immigrants
(b) African slaves
(c) Australian aborigine
(d) Indian labourers
Ans: (a)
In the history of Australia, Chinese immigrants were among the groups of workers who provided cheap labour, especially during the 19th century. They were brought to Australia for various labour-intensive tasks, including mining, agriculture, and railway construction.

Q17: Indicate which of the following options is not correct:
(a) China is a small continental country that has the same climate throughout the year.
(b) Chinese food reflects its regional diversity with at least four distinct types.
(c) Japan lacks a tradition of animal rearing.
(d) In eastern China, both rice and wheat are eaten.
Ans: (a)
China is a vast country with a wide range of climates due to its diverse geographical features and large landmass. It experiences a variety of climate types, including subtropical, temperate, and arid, depending on the region.

Q18: What is the correct chronology?
(i) The Chinese Communist Party founded
(ii) First Opium War
(iii) Meiji Restoration
(iv) Long March
(a) (ii), (iii), (i) & (iv)
(b) (i), (ii), (iii) & (iv)
(c) (iii), (ii), (i) & (iv)
(d) (iv), (i), (iii) & (ii)
Ans: (a)
The First Opium war took place between 1839 to 1842. The Meiji Restoration took place in Japan in the year 1868. The Chinese Communist Party was founded in the year 1921. The Long March in China took place in the year 1934.

Q19: Guomindang’s political philosophy was based on _______ ideas.
(a) Sun Yat Sen
(b) Mao Zedong
(c) Zhou Enlai
(d) Toju
Ans: (a)
The Guomindang (Kuomintang or KMT) was a political party in China, and its political philosophy was based on the ideas of Sun Yat-sen.

Q20: Who used the term ‘Expel Asia’?
(a) Fukuzawa Zukichi
(b) Fukuzawa Yukichi
(c) Fukuva Yukichi
(d) Fukuzawa Lukichi
Ans: (b)
The expel Asia term was the brainchild of Fukuzawa Yukichi.

Q21: What form of government was established by the Meiji Constitution?
(a) Absolute Monarchy with a Parliament
(b) Communalism
(c) Parliamentary form of government
(d) Dictatorship
Ans: (a)
The Meiji Constitution established an absolute monarchy with a parliament in Japan. The constitution was adopted in 1889 during the Meiji period and marked a significant step in Japan’s modernisation and transition from feudalism to a more centralised and modern state.

Section-B

Short answer Type Questions.

Q22: Briefly mention the salient features of town planning of the city of Ur. 
OR
What do you know about the temple construction in southern Mesopotamia?
Ans:
Ur was one of the earliest cities to be excavated. Its main features are:

• Irregular-shaped houses and narrow winding streets indicate absence of town planning.
• There were no street drains as found in contemporary Mohenjo-Daro.
• Inward sloping roofs channeled rainwater via drain pipes to a sump.
• The town cemetery had graves of both the kings and the commoners.
• Household refuse was littered into the streets and so the thresholds of the houses were raised to avoid street mud flowing back in.
• The construction of houses was guided by superstitions which are supported by Omen tablets found at Ur.

OR

The work relating to temple construction was done by the war captives or the local people as compulsory service. They were paid in the form of rations. The rulers commanded the people to bring stones or metal ores, to come and make bricks or lay bricks or to go to distant country to get suitable building materials or precious stones. In around 3000 BCE, bronze tools began to be used for various crafts. Architects learned to make brick columns. Baked clay cones were made and used after painting them in different colours.

Q23: Describe the life of the Christian monks in a monastery during the medieval period in Europe.
Ans: The monks were deeply religious people who chose to live a life of isolation. They lived in monasteries or abbeys which were usually far from human habitation. The monks took a vow to remain in the monasteries for the rest of their lives. They used to spend their time in prayer, study and manual labour like farming. Both men and women could choose this life. Men were called monks and women were called nuns. They were not allowed to marry. Most of the abbeys were single-sex communities, there were separate abbeys for monks and nuns. With the passage of time monasteries grew into large communities, they had their schools and hospitals and also contributed to the development of art. From the 13th century, some monks moved from place to place to spread the word of Christ and lived on charity.

Q24: Describe the contributions made by the Arabs in the fields of science and philosophy.
Ans: The Arabs translated the ancient manuscripts of Plato and Aristotle. These translations were preserved carefully. Plato was known as Aflatun and Aristotle as Arastu in Arabic. The Arabs’ contribution was significant in the field of science and philosophy. Greeks also translated works of Arabic and Persian scholars for further transmission to Europe. These works included works on natural science, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and chemistry.
Ptolemy’s Almagest written in Greek was translated into Arabic. Ibn Sina, an Arab physician and philosopher of Bukhara, and Al-Razi author of a medical encyclopaedia were regarded as men of wisdom in the Italian world. then Rushed was an Arab philosopher of Spain who tried to resolve the tension between philosophical knowledge and religious beliefs. His method was also adopted by Christian thinkers.

Q25: Describe the early encounters of the natives with the Europeans in the 17th century.
Ans: During the early encounters, the natives were friendly and welcoming. The Europeans had come to trade in fish and furs they procured from natives who were expert hunters. Along the Mississippi river, the French found that the natives held regular meetings to exchange unique handicrafts or food items. The Europeans gave natives blankets, iron vessels, guns and alcohol.

Q26: Why did American empires of Spain and Portugal did not expand after 17th century?
Ans: This was because at this time other countries like France, Holland, and England began to expand their trading activities and established colonies in America, Africa, and Asia. Ireland was also the virtual colony of England, as the landowners were mostly English settlers. From the 18th century, it became obvious that while it was the prospect of profit which drove people to establish colonies, there were significant variations in the nature of the colonies’ establishment.

Q27: Explain the emperor system which prevailed in Japan.
OR
Discuss the political system under Tokugawa Shogun.
Ans: The ‘emperor system’ meant that the emperor was part of a system along with the bureaucracy and military that exercised power. This was used after the Meiji Restoration and its main features were:

• Officials were sent to study European monarchies on which they planned to model their own. Edicts were issued in the name of the monarch to set up modern educational institutions.
• The emperor was treated with reverence as he was considered as the direct descendant of the Sun Goddess. His birthday became a national holiday. He was shown as the leader of the modernisation and westernisation. He wore western style military uniforms.
• A new school system was built and by 1910 schooling was almost universal. “Moral culture” was taught and children were urged to revere their parents, be loyal to the nation and become good citizens.
• Nationalism was sustained by representing the emperor as the family patriarch and people were urged ‘to die for the emperor and pray that he live forever’.

Or

The Tokugawa period is taken from 1603-1868. The Shogunate was founded by Tokugawa Ieyasu. Its main features were:

• The political system was based on a rigid social structure headed by the emperor whose role was largely symbolic. The country was in effect controlled by the Tokugawas.
• The Shoguns were followed by the Daimyos.
• These lords exercised power over 250 domains, into which the country was divided.
• Each Daimyo exercised autonomous control over his domain and were responsible for maintaining troops and collection of taxes.
• The Shogun sought to maintain control over the Daimyos by what has been called the ‘alternate attendance system’ and ‘hostage system’.
• This required the families of Daimyos to remain in Edo while the Daimyo took care of his domain.
• The Daimyos were followed by the warrior dass the ‘Samurai’. Since most of the Tokugawa period was peaceful, these came to be a part of ‘privileged idlers’. Then came the peasants and the last were the merchant class.

Section C

Long Answer Type Questions.

Q28: Throw some light on the slavery prevalent in the Roman Empire.
OR
How the third-century crisis was different than the first and second centuries a period of peace?
Ans: The Roman economy was run on slavery. It was so deeply rooted that even Christianity did not challenge this institution as bulk of the labour in the economy, whether in agriculture, mining or handicraft production was performed by the slaves. Roman law recognised slaves as a form of property.

The state exercised strict control over the slaves. The authority of the master over the slave was absolute and they suffered complete legal deprivation. They were bought and sold like commodities in the market and were made to work beyond their capacity. Many private employers cast their agreements with workers in the form of debt contracts to ensure tighter control over them. Various methods for constant supervision of workers, both free and slaves, were developed. It was a general presumption that without supervision no work would ever get done.

For example:

• To make supervision tasks easier, workers were sometimes grouped into manageable groups i.e., squads of ten.
• Slaves who worked in gangs were usually chained, as runaway slaves were a constant problem.
• In frankincense factories of Alexandria, Piny the Elder, told that a seal was put on the aprons of workers. They were required to wear a mask to cover their heads. Before leaving the premises, they had to take off all their clothes.
• A law of 398 referred to workers being branded so that they could be recognised and retrieved if they tried to run away.

OR

If the first and second centuries were by and large a period of peace, prosperity, and economic expansion, the third century brought the first major signs of internal strain. From the 230 CE onwards, the empire found itself fighting on several fronts simultaneously. In Iran, a new and more aggressive dynasty emerged in 225 CE, the Sasanians, who started expanding fast. In a famous rock inscription cut in three languages, Shapur I, the Iranian ruler, claimed that he had annihilated a Roman army of 60,000 and even captured the eastern capital of Antioch.

Meanwhile, a whole series of Germanic tribes or rather tribal confederacies (Alamanni, Franks, and the Goths) began to move against the Rhine and Danube frontiers, and the whole period from 233 to 280 saw repeated invasions of a whole line of provinces that stretched from the Black Sea to the Alps and southern Germany. The Romans were forced to abandon much of the territory beyond the Danube, while the emperors of this period were constantly in the field against the Romans called ‘barbarians’. Also, the rapid succession of emperors in the third century (25 emperors in 47 years) was an obvious symptom of the strains faced by the empire in this period.

Q29: Describe the social and political background of the Mongols.
OR
Mongolia has projected Genghis Khan as an iconic figure for forging national identity, along with carrying the nation into the future. Justify this statement with suitable arguments.
Ans:
Social background: The Mongols consisted of different types of people who were linked together with similarities of languages. Some Mongols were pastoralists who tended horses, sheep, cattle, goats, and camels while others were hunter-gatherers.
They habituated the area of the Steppes of Central Asia and the hunter-gatherers resided in the Siberian forests. They made a living by trading in furs of animals. The Mongols did not take to farming and travelled with their herds from winter-summer pasture lands.

Political background: The scarce resources and natural calamities like harsh cold winters led to conflicts to have control over more pasture lands or to search more livestock. The groups of families would form confederacies for offensive or defensive purposes. These confederacies were however formed for a short duration. The size of confederation formed by Genghis Khan was almost the same as formed by Attila in the fifth century.

OR
In the 20 years leading up to his death, Genghis Khan built a massive empire.
The following are some of the primary reasons for his success:

• He was a natural commander who had a knack for finding success wherever he went. His opponents were terrified of him.
• He also built a large, well-trained army. It was difficult to take on such a large force.
• His spies used to gather as much information as they could about the opponent’s army and pass it on to him.
• He understood the importance of psychological warfare and utilised it to terrorise the region.
• He used to instill fear in people’s hearts so that they would surrender rather than fight him.
• Horseback riding and archery were two of the Mongol soldiers’ specialties.
• Genghis Khan’s expeditions were usually launched in the winter. Because rivers used to ice during this season, making it easier to cross them.
• The use of naphtha bombing devastated opposing forts and had disastrous consequences throughout the war.

Q30: Describe the two roads to modernisation as adopted by Japan and China.
OR
Do you agree that Mao Zedong and the Communist party of China were successful in liberating China and laying the basis of its current success?
Ans:
The roads to modernisation as adopted by China and Japan were entirely different. Japan’s program of modernisation was carried out in a western environment. It imitated Western Imperial powers but found its own solutions. For e.g., the Meiji school system was modelled on European and American systems, it introduced new subjects but the main objective was to make loyal citizens. Children were taught moral culture and were urged to revere their parents and become good citizens by being loyal to their country. The changes in daily life and family life were also combination of foreign and indigenous ideas.
China’s path to modernisation was very different. The condition of Chinese people was miserable due to foreign imperialism, a weak King dynasty, warlordism, banditry, and civil war. Efforts were made to put an end to traditions. After 1949, the communists built a highly centralised state and were successful at it. It removed age-old inequalities, spread education, and raised consciousness among the people. Market reforms were carried out and China became economically powerful as well.

OR

Yes, Mao Zedong and the Communist party of China were successful in liberating China and laying the basis of its current progress. Mao based his programme on the peasantry. A strong peasant’s council was organised. He stressed the need for an independent government and army. He was aware of the women’s problems and supported the emergence of rural women’s associations. He promulgated a new marriage laws that forbade arranged marriages and stopped the sale of marriage contracts and simplified divorce.

Similarly, critical areas of economy were put under government control. Private enterprise and private ownership of land were gradually ended. The programme of socialist transformation “the Great Leap Forward” movement was launched in 1958 to galvanise the country to industrialise rapidly. People were encouraged to set up steel furnaces at home in their backyards. In the rural areas, people’s communes were started. Thus, Mao was able to mobilise the masses to attain the goals set by the party.

In 1965, the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution was launched. In 1978, the party declared its goal-the four modernisations i.e., to develop science, industry, agriculture and defence. Thus, the communist programme removed centuries-old inequalities, spread education, and raise consciousness among the people. The party has carried out market reforms and has been successful in making China economically powerful.

Section-D

Source-based Questions.

Q31: Read the below passage and answer the following questions.
In India, early stone seals were stamped. In Mesopotamia until the end of the first millennium BCE, cylindrical stone seals, pierced down the center, were fitted with a stick and rolled over wet clay so that a continuous picture was created. They were carved by very skilled craftsmen, and sometimes carry writing: the name of the owner, his god, his official position, etc. A seal could be rolled on clay covering the string knot of a cloth package or the mouth of a pot, keeping the contents safe. When rolled on a letter written on a clay tablet, it became a mark of authenticity. So the seal was the mark of a city dweller’s role in public life.
(a) Who carved the seals during Mesopotamian civilisation?
(b) What do you see on each of the seals?
(c) What does the inscribed sign describe?
Ans:
(a) Skilled craftsmen carved the seals in the Mesopotamian civilisation.
(b) The seal depicts a continuous picture which was probably rolled on clay.
(c) The inscribed sign carries the name of the owner, his God, his official position, etc. The seal was the mark of a city dweller’s role in public life.

Q32: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
From the ninth century, there were frequent localised wars in Europe. The amateur peasant soldiers were not sufficient, and good cavalry was needed. This led to the growing importance of a new section of people-the knights. They were linked to the lords, just as the latter were linked to the king. The lord gave the knight a piece of land (called ‘fief’) and promised to protect it. The fief could be inherited. It extended to anything between 1,000 and 2,000 acres or more, including a house for the knight and his family, a church and other establishments to house his dependants, besides a watermill and a wine press. As in the feudal manor, the land of the fief was cultivated by peasants. In exchange, the knight paid his lord a regular fee and promised to fight for him in war. To keep up their skills, knights spent time each day fencing and practising tactics with dummies.
A knight might serve more than one lord, but his foremost loyalty was to his own lord. In France, from the twelfth century, minstrels travelled from manor to manor, singing songs which told stories-partly historical, partly invented about brave kings and knights. In an age when not too many people could read and manuscripts were few, these traveling bards were very popular. Many manors had a narrow balcony above the large hail where the people of the manor gathered for meals. This was the minstrels’ gallery, from where singers entertained nobles while they feasted.
(a) Who has written these lines?
(b) To whom is the Knight referring?
(c) Who were the Knights? What were their duties?
Ans:
(a) These lines were written by a 13th-century French poet (Doon de Mayence), recounting the adventures of the knights.
(b) The knight is referring to his lord.
(c) Knights were professional mounted warriors.
They were linked to the lord by the same promising relationship between the king and the lord. The lord gave the knight a piece of land called the ‘fief’. The duties of the Knights were to protect the piece of land, payment of a regular fee, and fight for the lord in wars.

Q33: Read the passage carefully and answer the questions that follow:
Following the research of David Ayalon, recent work on the yasa, the code of law that Genghis Khan was supposed to have promulgated at the quilt of 1206, has elaborated on the complex ways in which the memory of the Great Khan was fashioned by his successors. In its earliest formulation, the term was written as yasaq which meant ‘law’, ‘decree’ or ‘order’. Indeed, the few details that we possess about the yasaq concern administrative regulations: the organisation of the hunt, the army, and the postal system. By the middle of the thirteenth century, however, the Mongols had started using the related term yasa in a more general sense to mean the ‘legal code of Genghis Khan’
(a) What was yasa?
(b) What are some of the subjects concerning the yasaq?
(c) Which term was started to be used as the “Legal Code of Genghis Khan” by the middle of thirteenth century? What term was used for representing Genghis Khan?
Ans:
(a) Yasa was initially written as ‘yasaq’, which meant law, decree or order. Over time, the term evolved to also represent the ‘Legal Code of Genghis Khan’.
(b) Some of the subjects concerning the yasaq included administrative regulations related to the organization of the hunt, the army, and the postal system.
(c) The term ‘Yasa’ was started to be used as the “Legal Code of Genghis Khan” by the middle of the thirteenth century. Genghis Khan was represented by the term ‘Great Khan’.

Section-E

Map-based Questions.

Q34: On a given map of Italy mark five major cities of Italy which has experienced the golden era of the Renaissance.
Ans: