CDS History · World History
Classical World to the Age of Revolutions
The Greek, Roman and Arab scholars behind words we still use, the first Europeans to trade in Africa, and the thinkers, dates and laws of the age of revolutions.
Why this matters
Seven CDS questions from 2017 to 2020. Each one asks a single name, word or date, and the wrong options are real people and real years from the same story, so the tables below teach the distractors too.
Concept 1 of 3: Greek, Roman and Arab learning
Many words in everyday use began as the name of a scholar or a Greek word. CDS asks you to trace a word back: who first said geography, whose name gave us algorithm, what barbarian first meant.
Definition
Words and the scholars behind them:
- Barbarian comes from the Greek barbaros: anyone who did not speak Greek. The Romans later used it for the peoples on their frontiers: the Germanic tribes, the Gauls and the Huns.
- Eratosthenes (3rd century BCE) coined the word geography and measured the circumference of the earth.
- Al-Khwarizmi (9th century, Baghdad) gave his name to the algorithm (from the Latin form Algoritmi). His book on al-jabr gave us algebra.
- The other great scholars of the Islamic world: Ibn Sina (Avicenna, medicine), Ibn Rushd (Averroes, commentaries on Aristotle), Ibn al-Haytham (Alhazen, optics).
| Name or word | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | Greek barbaros, a non-Greek; Romans used it for Germans, Gauls and HunsQ CDS 2018 (I): both statements, the Greek origin and the Roman use, are correct. |
| Eratosthenes | Coined the word geography; measured the earth's circumferenceQ CDS 2019 (II): the Greek who coined geography in the 3rd century BCE. |
| Euclid | Geometry (the Elements) |
| Clio | The Greek muse of history, not a philosopher |
| Al-Khwarizmi | Algorithm (from his name) and algebra (from his book)Q CDS 2019 (I): the scholar who gave the algorithm its name. |
| Ibn al-Haytham | Optics: how light and vision work |
| Ibn Sina | Medicine: the Canon of Medicine |
| Ibn Rushd | Philosophy: commentaries on Aristotle |
Practice this concept4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (II) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q72Moderate
Example 1 · World History · Classical World to the Age of Revolutions
Which Greek philosopher coined the term "Geography" in the 3rd century B.C.E. ?
Clio is a muse, not a scholar
An option list of Greek thinkers may slip in Clio. She is the muse of history from Greek myth, so she never coined or wrote anything.
Algorithm and algebra both come from al-Khwarizmi
Algorithm comes from his name and algebra from the title of his book. Ibn Sina, Ibn Rushd and Ibn al-Haytham are real scholars of the same age, but of medicine, philosophy and optics.
Concept 2 of 3: The first Europeans on the African coast
In the fifteenth century the Portuguese sailed down the west coast of Africa, looking for gold and a sea route to India. Their trading posts came first; the other European powers followed, and the full colonisation of Africa came four centuries later.
Definition
The order of arrival:
- Portugal first: trading posts on the West African coast in the 15th century. Bartolomeu Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope in 1488, and Vasco da Gama reached Calicut in 1498.
- The Dutch came later and founded Cape Town in 1652.
- The scramble for Africa, when European powers divided almost the whole continent, came in the late 19th century (the Berlin Conference of 1884-85).
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Portuguese trading posts on the West African coast | 15th centuryQ CDS 2020 (I): the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Africa as traders. |
| Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope | 1488 |
| Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut | 1498 |
| The Dutch found Cape Town | 1652 |
| Berlin Conference divides Africa | 1884 to 1885 |
Practice this concept3 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2020 · CDS (I) 2020 — General Knowledge · Q85Moderate
Example 2 · World History · Classical World to the Age of Revolutions
Who among the following was the first to arrive in Africa as traders that eventually led to European colonization of Africa?
Portugal came first, not the Dutch
The Dutch at the Cape (1652) are the best-known early settlers, so they pull wrong answers. The Portuguese had been trading on the African coast for almost two hundred years by then.
Concept 3 of 3: Thinkers, dates and laws of the revolutions
The age of revolutions rested on a few books, a handful of dates and, in America, a fight over slavery. CDS pairs a book with its author, a year with an event, or a law with what it changed.
Definition
Books behind the revolutions:
- Rousseau, The Social Contract (1762). Hobbes (Leviathan) and Locke (Two Treatises of Government) also argued from a social contract, but neither book has that title. Montesquieu, The Spirit of the Laws (1748), separated the powers of government.
The French Revolution in five dates:
- 1789: the Estates General meets, the Tennis Court Oath (June), the fall of the Bastille (14 July).
- 1791: a constitution makes France a constitutional monarchy.
- 1792: the National Convention meets and abolishes the monarchy; France becomes a republic.
- 1793: Louis XVI is executed.
- 1804: Napoleon becomes emperor and the Napoleonic Code (Civil Code) comes in.
Slavery in the United States:
- The Missouri Compromise (1820) banned slavery north of a fixed line.
- The Kansas-Nebraska Act (1854) repealed it and let the settlers of each territory vote on slavery (popular sovereignty). The fighting that followed was called Bleeding Kansas.
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1762 | Rousseau publishes The Social ContractQ CDS 2017 (II): the author of The Social Contract. |
| 1789 | Tennis Court Oath; fall of the Bastille |
| 1791 | France's first written constitution |
| 1792 | National Convention meets; France a republic |
| 1804 | Napoleon emperor; Napoleonic Code |
| 1820 | Missouri Compromise |
| 1854 | Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri CompromiseQ CDS 2019 (I): the act let the people of each territory decide on slavery. |
Practice this conceptself-check · 4 quick reps
The same idea in a real exam question:
CDS · 2019 · CDS (I) 2019 — General Knowledge · Q43Hard
Example 3 · World History · Classical World to the Age of Revolutions
Which one of the following developments took place because of the Kansas-Nebraska Act of 1854?
Social contract ideas are not all The Social Contract
Hobbes and Locke both built their theories on a social contract, so their names sit in the options. The book with that title is Rousseau's (1762).
The French dates are moved by one or two years
Wrong pairs shift a real event to a near year: the Tennis Court Oath to 1791, the Napoleonic Code to 1789. Learn the five dates as a chain: 1789 oath, 1791 constitution, 1792 republic, 1793 execution, 1804 empire and code.
Kansas-Nebraska gave the choice to the settlers
The act did not hand slavery to the federal government or take the vote away. It repealed the Missouri Compromise and let each territory's people vote on slavery.
Summary — formulas & gotchas at a glance
A revision cheat-sheet for the formulas and gotchas above. Click any concept name to jump back to its full explanation.
Reference tables (3)
Greek, Roman and Arab learning8 rows
| Name or word | What to remember |
|---|---|
| Barbarian | Greek barbaros, a non-Greek; Romans used it for Germans, Gauls and HunsQ CDS 2018 (I): both statements, the Greek origin and the Roman use, are correct. |
| Eratosthenes | Coined the word geography; measured the earth's circumferenceQ CDS 2019 (II): the Greek who coined geography in the 3rd century BCE. |
| Euclid | Geometry (the Elements) |
| Clio | The Greek muse of history, not a philosopher |
| Al-Khwarizmi | Algorithm (from his name) and algebra (from his book)Q CDS 2019 (I): the scholar who gave the algorithm its name. |
| Ibn al-Haytham | Optics: how light and vision work |
| Ibn Sina | Medicine: the Canon of Medicine |
| Ibn Rushd | Philosophy: commentaries on Aristotle |
The first Europeans on the African coast5 rows
| Event | When |
|---|---|
| Portuguese trading posts on the West African coast | 15th centuryQ CDS 2020 (I): the Portuguese were the first Europeans to arrive in Africa as traders. |
| Bartolomeu Dias rounds the Cape of Good Hope | 1488 |
| Vasco da Gama reaches Calicut | 1498 |
| The Dutch found Cape Town | 1652 |
| Berlin Conference divides Africa | 1884 to 1885 |
Thinkers, dates and laws of the revolutions7 rows
| Year | Event |
|---|---|
| 1762 | Rousseau publishes The Social ContractQ CDS 2017 (II): the author of The Social Contract. |
| 1789 | Tennis Court Oath; fall of the Bastille |
| 1791 | France's first written constitution |
| 1792 | National Convention meets; France a republic |
| 1804 | Napoleon emperor; Napoleonic Code |
| 1820 | Missouri Compromise |
| 1854 | Kansas-Nebraska Act repeals the Missouri CompromiseQ CDS 2019 (I): the act let the people of each territory decide on slavery. |
Watch out for (6)
- Clio is a muse, not a scholar→ Greek, Roman and Arab learning
- Algorithm and algebra both come from al-Khwarizmi→ Greek, Roman and Arab learning
- Portugal came first, not the Dutch→ The first Europeans on the African coast
- Social contract ideas are not all The Social Contract→ Thinkers, dates and laws of the revolutions
- The French dates are moved by one or two years→ Thinkers, dates and laws of the revolutions
- Kansas-Nebraska gave the choice to the settlers→ Thinkers, dates and laws of the revolutions
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