IB History Syllabus + Topics

• Origins, development, and impact of industrialization (1750–2005) – where teachers may for instance focus on some of the following case studies:    
  • The combustion engine; the steam engine; generation of electricity; nuclear power; growth in information technology 

• Independence movements (1800–2000) – where teachers may for instance focus on some of the following case studies:
  • Kenyatta and Kennya; Bolivar and Gran Columbia; Jinnah and Pakistan; Kolokotronis and Greece

• Emergence and development of democratic states (1848–2000) – where teachers may for instance focus on some of the following case studies:
  • Ghana; Israel; Lebanon; Ghana; South Africa; Argentina; Mexico; Chile; Japan; Poland; Germany; Italy; Czech Republic 

• Authoritarian states (20th century)
  • Nasser and Egypt; Saddam Hussein and Iraq; Castro and Cuba; Mao and China; Indonesia and Sukarno; Cambodia and Pol Pot; Hitler and Germany; Stalin and the USSR; Franco and Spain; Peron and Argentina; 

• Causes and effects of the 20th-century wars – where teachers may for instance focus on some of the following case studies:
  • Iran–Iraq War (1980–1988); Contra War (1981–1990); Chinese Civil War (1927–1937); First World War (1914–1918); Second World War (1939–1945); the Balkan Wars (1990s); Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905); 

• The Cold War: Superpower tensions and rivalries (20th century) – where teachers may for instance focus on some of the following case studies:
  • Truman; Stalin; Cuban Missile Crisis; Suez Crisis; Soviet Invasion of Afghanistan; Berlin blockade; the Prague Spring; US intervention in Chile; the Angolan Civil War; Hungary (1956); 

Regional topics (HL only)

For HL students, teachers must select one of the four world regions. From the chosen region, they are required to pick three topics to focus on. The available options include the following:

World Region 1: Africa and the Midle East

• The ‘Abbasid dynasty (750–1258) 
• The Fatimids (909–1171) 
• The Crusades (1095–1291) 
• The Ottomans (1281–1566)
• Trade and the rise and decline of African states and empires (800–1600)
• Pre-colonial African states (1800–1900)
• The slave trade in Africa and the Middle East (1500–1900)
• European imperialism and the partition of Africa (1850–1900)
• Response to European imperialism (1870–1920)
• Africa under colonialism (1890–1980)
• 20th-century nationalist and independence movements in Africa
• The Ottoman Empire (c1800–1923)
• War and change in the Middle East and North Africa 1914–1945
• Africa, international organizations and the international community (20th century)
• Developments in South Africa 1880–1994
• Social and cultural developments in Africa in the 19th and 20th centuries
• Post-war developments in the Middle East (1945–2000)
• Post-independence politics in Africa to 2005

World Region 2: History of the Americas

• Indigenous societies and cultures in the Americas (c750–1500)
• European explorations and conquests in the Americas (c1492–c1600)
• Colonial government in the New World (1500–1800)
• Religion in the New World (1500–1800)
• Slavery and the New World (1500–1800)
• Independence movements (1763–1830)
• Nation-building and challenges (c1780–c1870)
• US Civil War: causes, course and effects (1840–1877)
• The development of modern nations (1865–1929)
• Emergence of the Americas in global affairs (1880–1929)
• The Mexican Revolution (1884–1940)
• The Great Depression and the Americas (mid 1920s–1939)
• The Second World War and the Americas (1933–1945)
• Political developments in Latin America (1945–1980)
• Political developments in the United States (1945–1980) and Canada (1945–1982)
• The Cold War and the Americas (1945–1981)
• Civil rights and social movements in the Americas post-1945
• The Americas (1980–2005)

World Region 3: History of Asia and Oceania 

• Trade and exchange: The Silk Road in the medieval world (750–1500)
• Japan in the Age of the Samurai (1180–1333)
• Exploration, trade and interaction in East Asia and South-East Asia (1405–1700)
• The rise and fall of the Mughal Empire (1526–1712)
• Colonialism and the development of nationalism in South-East Asia (c1750–1914)
• India, Afghanistan and Burma (1750–1919)
• Challenges to traditional East Asian societies (1700–1868)
• British colonialism and emerging national identities in Oceania (1788–1919)
• Early modernization and imperial decline in East Asia (1860–1912)
• Nationalism and independence in India (1919–1964)
• Japan (1912–1990)
• China and Korea (1910–1950)
• Impact of the Second World War on South-East Asia
• The People’s Republic of China (1949–2005)
• Cold War conflicts in Asia
• Developments and challenges in South Asia after 1947
• Developments in Oceania after the Second World War (1945–2005)
• Social, cultural and economic developments in Asia (excluding China, Japan and India) (1980–2005)

World Region 4: History of Europe

• Monarchies in England and France (1066–1223)
• Muslims and Jews in medieval Europe (1095–1492)
• Late medieval political crises (1300–1487)
• The Renaissance (c1400–1600)
• The Age of Exploration and its impact (1400–1550)
• Aspects of the Reformation (c1500–1563)
• Absolutism and Enlightenment (1650–1800)
• The French Revolution and Napoleon I (1774–1815)
• France (1815–1914)
• Society, politics and economy in Britain and Ireland (1815–1914)
• Italy (1815–1871) and Germany (1815–1890)
• Imperial Russia, revolution and the establishment of the Soviet Union (1855–1924)
• Europe and the First World War (1871–1918)
• Inter-war domestic developments in European states (1918–1939)
• Diplomacy in Europe (1919–1945)
• The Soviet Union and post-Soviet Russia (1924–2000)
• Post-war western and northern Europe (1945–2000)
• Post-war central and eastern Europe (1945–2000)

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