INDEPEND ENT EXA MINA TIONS BOAR D
GRADE 9
2004
COMMON TASK FOR ASSESSMENT (CTA)
HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES
LEARNER'S BOOK
SECTION B
Time : 2 hours
Marks : 100
HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
SECTION A
TASK 1: WHO WAS CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS?
[15]
Read the following sources on the early life of Columbus, and then answer the
questions which follow:
Source A
Columbus was born in 1451 in the Olivella district of Genoa, near the
gate of the same name, of which his father, Domenico, a simple wool
weaver, was the warder.
[Source: The Life and Times of Columbus, Portraits of Greatness, 1967]
Source B
Cristoforo Colombo (or, in English, Christopher Dove) was born in or
near Genoa on the Italian coast, son of the weaver Domenico Colombo
and his wife Susanna Fontanarossa. The year is not certain, but 1451 is
usually accepted. As a craftsman, his father had some standing in the
community.
Source C
He was generally called Cristóbal Colón, as he still is among Spanish
speakers. Like heroes from Julius Caesar to John Kennedy,
Christopher Columbus has mostly been who people wanted him to
be… He was probably born in Genoa in 1451. His father was a wool
weaver and tavern keeper.
[Source: D.Gates, “Who was Columbus?”, Newsweek, 1991]
1.
Copy and complete this table in order to work out which sources agree or
disagree with each other.
Source A
Source B
(6)
Source C
Name
Place of birth
Year of birth
Father’s
profession/standing
in the community
2.
3.
What is the major difference between Source A and the two other sources,
in terms of how it has presented its evidence?
(2)
Source A is usually the version that is presented in history textbooks and
taught in schools. Why do you think teachers in the United States prefer to
use Source A?
(2)
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
4.
5.
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
What impact does the story have on children if they are told that Columbus
came from a simple or a poor background?
(1)
If you were a teacher teaching the story of Christopher Columbus, how
would you deal with the details of his early life? Give a reason why you
would teach it in your particular way.
(4)
TASK 2: CREATE A POSTER
[15]
Activity 1
Despite the fact that Christopher Columbus is regarded by many Americans as the
person who discovered America, no one knows what he really looked like. As you
see from the page of paintings of Columbus (on page 10), many artists have
created their own vision of what he looked like.
(12)
Imagine that you live in the United States, and the Columbus Day celebrations are
nearing. Once again, there are debates taking place as to whether the day should
be celebrated. You are required to design a poster on which you call for the
celebrations to take place OR a poster on which you call for the celebrations to be
banned. Choose one of the pictures of Columbus for your poster. You may cut out
the picture and paste it onto your poster. You also need to provide a slogan which
clearly states your position about the Columbus Day celebrations. The information
that you provide in your poster should be persuasive and convincing. You may
also include any other design features or information on your poster.
The following criteria will be used in an assessment of your poster:
Design and presentation – is your poster attractive, easy to read and logically
presented?
Content
– is the content justifiable (accurate, focused,
relevant)?
Slogan
– is the slogan appropriate, catchy, interesting?
Impact
– is your poster persuasive and convincing?
Activity 2
Below your poster, you need to provide a clear motivation for your choice of the
particular image of Columbus for your poster.
TASK 3: THE IMPACT OF DISEASE
(3)
[30]
Read the following sources and then answer the questions which follow:
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
Source D
Native peoples of the Americas had been epidemiologically isolated from Europe for
between 12,000 and 30,000 years. The Bering Land Bridge acted as a filter to keep
out Old World diseases. Additionally, the native American had only a handful of
domesticated animals, from which disease organisms could pass to man.
During this time in Europe, there had been rapid evolution of disease organisms, such
as measles, mumps, smallpox, tuberculosis and others. The native peoples of the
Americas were spared contact with these organisms during this time, but by the
same token did not have the same opportunity to develop resistance and immunity to
these diseases as Europeans had.
Consequently, when the Europeans did arrive in significant numbers, beginning with
Columbus, native peoples contracted these diseases easily and died in large numbers.
It is generally thought that many more died of disease than died of warfare. In many
areas, so many people were ill at one time that no one was available to nurse the sick
and many, who might otherwise have survived the disease itself, died of starvation or
dehydration. Other people fled their stricken homes in fear when a new disease
arrived and unintentionally spread the disease far beyond the areas actually visited
by Europeans.
Overwork, depression, suicide, infanticide, warfare and lowered fertility are other
factors. Most authorities estimate the rate of death to have been 90% to 95%.
In Hispaniola alone, an area ‘discovered’ by Columbus, there was an estimated
population of 1 million native Indians living there in 1492. By 1508, there were only
60,000 left. By 1514, there was an estimated population of 14,000, and by 1550,
there were no natives left on Hispaniola.
[Source: Adapted from M. Baron, In the Wake of Columbus, 1991,
http://alliance.la.asu.edu/azga/lp_view.php3?lesson_id=6&AZGZ_Session=b085caee…]
epidemiologically – in relation to epidemic diseases
domesticated animals – animals which are either tame or used as a source of
agricultural income/human use, eg. horses, cows
immunity – ability to resist infection through the development of antibodies
dehydration – lack of fluids
infanticide – the killing of babies
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
Source E
The disaster began almost as soon as Columbus arrived, fuelled mainly by smallpox and
measles. When smallpox struck the Caribbean island of Santo Domingo, it killed up to
half of the indigenous population. From there outbreaks spread across the Antilles
islands, onto the Mexican mainland, and into South America. The Spaniards were
moving in the same direction, but their diseases often reached there first.
When the Spanish arrived in Peru in the 1520s, they found the Incas fighting a civil war
that left them weak and divided. Pizarro exploited these divisions to his advantage. The
reason for the civil war was that an epidemic of smallpox had killed the Inca emperor and
most of his family, including his heir. This led to a struggle for the throne which divided
the empire. One Spanish soldier said, “Had the land not been divided, we would not have
been able to enter and win.”
Because so many of their people had died, some Indians believed that their ancestors had
abandoned them and so they became more open to the idea of the Christianity of their
conquerors. Marriage patters changed as well. Tradition required that they marry outside
their own clans. As populations died off and appropriate marriage partners died off, it
was impossible to keep up such customs.
[Source: Adapted from G. Cowley, “The Great Disease Migration”, Newsweek, 1991]
indigenous – people who are native or belong naturally to a place
epidemic – disease spreading quickly to a large number of people
Activity 1: Answer questions
Read the two sources on the impact of diseases on the native Indians and then
answer the following questions:
1.
2.
3.
4.
[10]
Why were the native Indian populations of the Americas more vulnerable to
the spread of diseases than the European conquerors were?
(3)
Provide three other reasons why the native Indian populations in the
Americas declined so rapidly.
(3)
Why was the Spanish conqueror, Pizarro, able to defeat the Incas so
easily?
(3)
Why did some native Indians convert to Christianity?
(1)
Activity 2: Draw a bar graph
[10]
Using the information provided in Source D, draw a bar graph of the native Indian
population of Hispaniola from 1492 to 1550.
The vertical scale should be 1cm = 100 000 people.
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
The following criteria will be used in an assessment of your bar graph:
Accuracy –
Information –
Neatness –
graphs are drawn accurately and all information is correct
all aspects of the graph are correctly labelled
work is presented neatly and is easy to read
Activity 3: Create a flow diagram
[10]
Read the two sources on the impact of diseases on the native Indian populations
of the Americas. Create a flow diagram, which highlights the following two
important consequences:
• the impact on the Indian communities
• how disease helped the Spanish to invade the Americas more easily.
You should focus on the following aspects when creating your flow diagram:
• What was the effect of disease on the native population?
• What were the different responses to the disease?
• What steps did the native population take to try and get away from the
disease?
• How was the day-to-day living of the native population affected?
• How did the Spanish invaders benefit from the native population’s exposure
to disease?
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
SECTION B
Columbus opened the way for European exploration and conquest of the
Americas. Portuguese explorers paved the way for European exploration of Africa,
and in 1652, the Dutch landed at the Cape and established a trading station there
under Jan van Riebeeck. During the apartheid years in South Africa, Van
Riebeeck was regarded in very similar ways to Columbus, as the founder of South
Africa.
TASK 4: COMPARING PICTURES
[15]
Carefully examine the two paintings below.
Source F
[Source: John Vanderlyn, “Columbus lands in the Bahamas”,painted in 1847]
Source G
[Source: Van Riebeeck’s Arrival at the Cape, painted in 1850]
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
1.
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
Create a table in your notebook that is similar to the one below. Identify
three similarities and two differences between these two paintings by filling
out the table.
Similarities
1.
2.
3.
2.
(5)
Differences
1.
2.
Why do you think that it is possible to identify so many similar elements in
these paintings, despite them being about different events and being
painted by different artists?
(2)
What do you think were the intentions of each of the artists in painting these
pictures?
(2)
4.
Why does the flag dominate in both of these paintings?
(1)
5.
Why do you think that the painting of Columbus does not show any
indigenous people in the picture?
(1)
How are the indigenous people shown in the painting on Jan van
Riebeeck’s arrival at the Cape?
(2)
Do you think that this an accurate portrayal of how the indigenous people
welcomed van Riebeeck? Provide a reason for your answer.
(2)
3.
6.
7.
TASK 5: ANALYSING SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY
[25]
Before 1994, many South African history textbooks portrayed issues around the
white occupation of the land as clear facts. Read the following accounts and then
answer the questions which follow:
Note: Bantu = used in the Apartheid era to refer to 'black' people in South Africa –
considered to be an offensive term.
Source H
Of the manner of the coming of the Bantu little need be said. They were no more
the aboriginals to the land than the Europeans who came to live there. Towards
the close of the 16th century, they began the effective penetration of the future
Union of South Africa.
[Source: Adapted from J.H. Hofmeyr, South Africa,1952]
Source I
“The Bantu began to trek from the north across the Limpopo when Van Riebeeck
landed in Table Bay.”
[Source: Address, by Eric Louw, South Africa’s Foreign Minister, 1959]
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
Source J
Recent research shows that Iron Age societies existed throughout the eastern part
of South Africa. They chose this area because it is a summer rainfall area which is
suitable for growing crops. These farmers who brought the Iron Age to this part of
Africa were Africans who spoke Bantu languages.
[Source: E. Potenza, The Broken String, 1997]
Source K
Pottery heads recovered from Lydenburg, dated about 500 AD
[Source: K. Shillington, A History of Southern Africa, 1987]
Source L
X
[Source: The History of Southern Africa by K. Shillington, 1987]
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
Source M
Our knowledge of the early Southern African Iron Age is based virtually entirely
upon archaeological evidence. Since people settled for some years in one
site, they left behind a fair amount of material in their rubbish dumps when they
moved on. And it is from these that today’s archaeologist gets much of his
information. Fragments of clay pottery show that pots and bowls were fairly
thick-sided and decorated by characteristic cuts and simple stamped patterns.
The basic style of manufacture and design seems to have been common to all
the early Iron Age communities in the region.
[Source: K.Shillington, History of Southern Africa, 1987]
archaeological evidence = a study of prehistoric remains
Activity 1: Answer questions
1.
[15]
What do you think is the main point that both Source H and Source I are
trying to make?
(1)
Why do you think these kinds of views were taught in schools in South
Africa before 1994?
(2)
3.
Who were the Bantu?
(1)
4.
Source H states that the Bantu were not the “aboriginals to the land”. Who
were the aboriginals of Southern Africa? What evidence did you use to get
this answer?
(2)
5.
What kind of evidence is Source K?
(1)
6.
If you were a teacher, how would you use Sources J, K, L and M in the
classroom to disprove Sources H and I? Write a clear paragraph in which
you outline your intentions.
(8)
2.
Activity 2: Map Analysis
1.
[10]
In what direction did Early Iron Age farmers move into southern Africa in
350 AD?
(2)
2.
From which direction did Early Iron Age farmers come in 650 AD?
(1)
3.
Estimate the number of kilometres that Early Iron Age farmers travelled
from north of the Zambezi River to south of the Tugela River (marked X on
the map) in 400 AD.
(3)
Source F suggests that the eastern parts of South Africa were rich summer
rainfall areas. Why would this be important to Iron Age farmers?
(2)
What impact do you think farming would have had on the nature of these
Iron Age communities?
(2)
4.
5.
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HUMAN AND SOCIAL SCIENCES CTA 2004
LEARNER'S BOOK: SECTION B
IMAGES OF CHRISTOPHER COLUMBUS
[Source: Newsweek, 1991]
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