Mark Scheme

Section A — Multiple Choice Answer Key

Total marks: 60 (1 mark per question)

Detailed Mark Scheme Notes

Questions 1-5: Indigenous Peoples and Early Colonization

• Question 1: Accept B (Taino). Note that "Arawak" (D) is sometimes used but Taino is the more accurate term for Jamaica's indigenous inhabitants. CXC accepts Taino as the preferred term.
• Question 2: Accept A (Encomienda). This was the Spanish labour grant system.
• Question 3: Accept C. The demographic collapse resulted from multiple factors; the key is recognizing disease, overwork and mistreatment as the primary causes.
• Question 4: Accept B (Spain and Portugal). This papal-sponsored treaty divided the Atlantic world.
• Question 5: Accept C (England). This marked the beginning of British Jamaica.

Questions 6-20: Slavery, Resistance and Revolution

• Question 6: Accept B. This completes the triangular trade pattern: Europe-Africa-Americas.
• Question 7: Accept B. The Middle Passage is specifically the transatlantic journey of enslaved Africans.
• Question 8: Accept C (Saint Domingue, now Haiti). This was France's most profitable colony.
• Question 9: Accept D. This is a "NOT" or "EXCEPT" question. Enslaved people adapted Christianity; they did not accept it completely as a form of cultural erasure.
• Question 10: Accept B. Haiti became independent in 1804.
• Question 11: Accept B. Toussaint was the key military and political leader.
• Question 12: Accept B. Apprenticeship lasted 1834-1838.
• Question 13: Accept B. Economic reasons drove the search for alternative labour.

Questions 14-20: Post-Emancipation and Indentureship

• Question 14: Accept B (India and China). These were the two main sources.
• Question 15: Accept D (Guyana, then British Guiana). Over 238,000 Indians arrived there.
• Question 16: Accept B (Paul Bogle). Baptist deacon and national hero.
• Question 17: Accept B. Crown Colony meant appointed, not elected, governance.
• Question 18: Accept A. Wages were the primary pull factor.
• Question 19: Accept B. Garvey promoted Black nationalism.
• Question 20: Accept B. Economic depression and political exclusion caused unrest.

Questions 21-30: 20th Century Nationalism and Independence

• Question 21: Accept C. Both were key figures in mid-20th century Jamaica.
• Question 22: Accept B. Economic concerns and inter-island rivalry, especially Jamaica's withdrawal.
• Question 23: Accept C (Haiti, 1804). In the 20th century context among British Caribbean territories, Jamaica and Trinidad were first in 1962, but Haiti was first overall.
• Question 24: Accept B. These are the Windward Islands.
• Question 25: Accept B. Castro established a socialist/communist state.
• Question 26: Accept B. CARICOM promotes regional economic cooperation.
• Question 27: Accept A. Rastafarianism emphasizes African identity and venerates Haile Selassie.
• Question 28: Accept C (Trinidad and Tobago). Calypso has Trinidadian origins.
• Question 29: Accept A. These are Hindu and Muslim festivals celebrated by Indo-Caribbean people.
• Question 30: Accept B. Williams's thesis linked slavery profits to industrialization.

Questions 31-45: Social and Economic Structures

• Question 31: Accept B. Plantation system defined by export crops, large estates, enslaved labour.
• Question 32: Accept C. Maroons were escaped enslaved people who formed autonomous communities.
• Question 33: Accept B. Apprenticeship bound people to estates for fixed terms.
• Question 34: Accept A. Competition, especially from European beet sugar, damaged Caribbean sugar.
• Question 35: Accept B (August 1). Marks full emancipation in 1838.
• Question 36: Accept B (Sam Sharpe). Baptist War was also called Sam Sharpe's Rebellion.
• Question 37: Accept B. Free Coloureds occupied a middle position in slave society.
• Question 38: Accept B. Sugar required intensive labour and mills/boiling houses.
• Question 39: Accept B. Slave codes regulated enslaved people's lives and restricted their rights.
• Question 40: Accept B. Merikens were African-American ex-enslaved people settled in Trinidad.

Questions 41-50: Culture and Historiography

• Question 41: Accept B. Obeah refers to folk spiritual practices.
• Question 42: Accept C (19th century). Chinese indentureship began 1850s-1860s.
• Question 43: Accept C (Guyana/Berbice). Major slave revolt in Dutch colony.
• Question 44: Accept C (Cuba). Spanish rule until Spanish-American War 1898.
• Question 45: Accept B. 1807 Act abolished the trade, not slavery itself.
• Question 46: Accept B. Indentureship brought religious and cultural diversity.
• Question 47: Accept B. Hosay is a Shia Muslim commemoration.
• Question 48: Accept B. Free villages enabled land ownership and independence.
• Question 49: Accept B. Rodney's most famous work.
• Question 50: Accept B. James wrote about the Haitian Revolution.

Questions 51-60: Modern Caribbean Culture and Politics

• Question 51: Accept B. Crop Over celebrated harvest end.
• Question 52: Accept C. Jonkonnu has African masquerade roots.
• Question 53: Accept C. Banana industry developed late 19th/early 20th century.
• Question 54: Accept B. Cedula encouraged French Catholic settlement especially.
• Question 55: Accept B. 1938 disturbances led to union and party formation.
• Question 56: Accept C (1944). Universal adult suffrage introduced in Jamaica.
• Question 57: Accept C (1974). Grenada's independence date.
• Question 58: Accept B. US intervention followed Bishop's assassination.
• Question 59: Accept C (Jamaica). Reggae emerged from Jamaica.
• Question 60: Accept B. Colonial legacy created linguistic/cultural diversity.

Sample Answers with Examiner Commentary

Question 30 — Sample Answers

Note: While Question 30 is a multiple-choice item (correct answer B), for the purpose of demonstrating extended response marking, we will treat two content areas from the paper as if they were essay-style questions, reflecting how CXC CSEC typically assesses extended responses in Paper 2. Below are constructed extended-response versions.

Constructed Extended Question 30:
"Explain Eric Williams's argument in 'Capitalism and Slavery' regarding the relationship between slavery and European economic development." (8 marks)

Grade I (Distinction) answer

Eric Williams, in his groundbreaking work "Capitalism and Slavery" (1944), argued that the profits generated from the transatlantic slave trade and Caribbean plantation slavery were fundamental to financing Britain's Industrial Revolution. Williams challenged the traditional view that slavery was abolished purely for humanitarian reasons. Instead, he contended that slavery became economically unprofitable by the early 19th century, and that economic interests, rather than moral considerations, drove abolition.

Williams demonstrated that profits from slave-produced commodities, particularly sugar, tobacco and cotton, accumulated massive capital in British ports like Liverpool and Bristol. This capital was then invested in emerging industries such as textiles, iron production and railways. He showed how major British industrial families built their fortunes on slavery-related commerce. Furthermore, Williams argued that the triangular trade stimulated British manufacturing by creating markets for British goods in Africa and the Americas, while the plantation system provided raw materials for British factories.

His thesis fundamentally altered Caribbean historiography by centering the Caribbean's role in global capitalism and challenging Eurocentric narratives that minimized slavery's economic significance. Though debated by subsequent historians, Williams's work established economic analysis as central to understanding slavery and emancipation.

Mark: 8/8

Examiner Commentary: This answer demonstrates comprehensive understanding of Williams's thesis with precise detail. The candidate accurately identifies the core argument linking slavery profits to industrial development, addresses the challenge to humanitarian explanations of abolition, provides specific examples (ports, industries, commodities), and recognizes the historiographical significance of Williams's work. Clear structure, accurate terminology and analytical depth throughout merit full marks.

Grade III (Pass) answer

Eric Williams wrote "Capitalism and Slavery" and argued that slavery helped Britain become industrialized. He said that the money made from the slave trade and from sugar plantations in the Caribbean was used to build factories in Britain. Williams believed that slavery was not ended because people felt sorry for enslaved Africans, but because it was no longer making enough profit.

The triangular trade brought wealth to British merchants and this wealth was invested in industry. Williams showed that slavery was important to the British economy. His book changed how historians thought about slavery because it focused on economics rather than just moral reasons.

Mark: 5/8

Examiner Commentary: This answer demonstrates basic understanding of Williams's main argument and achieves a passing standard. The candidate correctly identifies the link between slavery profits and industrialization and recognizes the challenge to humanitarian explanations. However, the answer lacks specific detail (no mention of particular commodities, ports, or industries), provides limited development of key points, and does not fully explain the historiographical impact. More precise terminology and supporting evidence needed for higher marks.

Grade V (Near miss) answer

Eric Williams said that slavery caused capitalism. He wrote that Britain became rich because of slavery and that slavery was bad for the economy so they stopped it. The Industrial Revolution happened because of the slave trade. Williams thought slavery ended because it wasn't making money anymore. His book was important for Caribbean history.

Mark: 2/8

Examiner Commentary: This answer shows very limited understanding with significant misconceptions. The opening statement that "slavery caused capitalism" misrepresents Williams's argument about the relationship between the two. The answer conflates Williams's point about declining profitability (one factor he discussed) with the broader thesis about slavery's role in capital accumulation. There is minimal supporting detail, vague language, and insufficient development of any single point. To improve, the candidate must distinguish between Williams's arguments about slavery's contribution to industrialization versus the reasons for abolition, provide specific examples, and develop points with clear explanation rather than assertion.

Question 50 — Sample Answers

Constructed Extended Question 50:
"Assess the significance of C.L.R. James's 'The Black Jacobins' to Caribbean historiography and understanding of the Haitian Revolution." (10 marks)

Grade I (Distinction) answer

C.L.R. James's "The Black Jacobins: Toussaint L'Ouverture and the San Domingo Revolution" (1938) revolutionized the study of the Haitian Revolution and Caribbean history more broadly. James's work was significant for several interconnected reasons.

First, James placed enslaved Africans at the center of their own liberation narrative. Writing at a time when European and American historians either ignored the Haitian Revolution or portrayed it as a barbaric massacre, James presented it as a legitimate anti-colonial struggle comparable to the French and American Revolutions. He demonstrated that enslaved people were not passive victims but active agents who understood Enlightenment ideals and fought strategically for freedom.

Second, James employed a materialist historical analysis, examining the economic foundations of Saint Domingue's plantation system and how contradictions within French colonial capitalism created revolutionary conditions. He showed how the French Revolution's proclamation of universal rights exposed the hypocrisy of maintaining slavery, emboldening enslaved people to claim those rights.

Third, James provided sophisticated analysis of Toussaint L'Ouverture as a military genius and political leader, rescuing him from historical obscurity in Western historiography. James portrayed Toussaint as simultaneously a revolutionary and a tragic figure whose limitations reflected the constraints of his time.

Fourth, the book's historiographical significance extends beyond Haiti. "The Black Jacobins" established a framework for analyzing Caribbean history from Caribbean perspectives, influenced Pan-Africanist thought, and inspired post-colonial scholarship. James demonstrated that Caribbean people had shaped world history, challenging Eurocentric historical narratives that marginalized non-European agency.

Finally, the work connected Caribbean history to global anti-colonial movements. Written as fascism rose in Europe, James drew parallels between Caribbean slavery and contemporary imperialism, making historical scholarship politically relevant.

Mark: 10/10

Examiner Commentary: This answer demonstrates exceptional analytical depth and comprehensive coverage of James's significance. The candidate systematically addresses multiple dimensions: centering enslaved people's agency, materialist methodology, biographical treatment of Toussaint, historiographical impact, and political relevance. The answer uses precise historical terminology, provides contextual detail (timing, prevailing historiographical attitudes), and shows sophisticated understanding of how scholarship shapes historical understanding. The clear structure, with each paragraph developing a distinct aspect of significance, and the synthesis connecting Caribbean history to broader anti-colonial thought, fully merit top-band marks.

Grade III (Pass) answer

C.L.R. James wrote "The Black Jacobins" about the Haitian Revolution in 1938. This book was important because it told the story of how enslaved people in Saint Domingue fought for their freedom and won. Before James wrote this book, not many historians wrote about Haiti or took the revolution seriously.

James focused on Toussaint L'Ouverture, who was the leader of the revolution. He showed that Toussaint was an intelligent military leader who organized the enslaved people to fight against the French. The book explained how the ideas of the French Revolution about freedom and equality inspired enslaved Africans to rebel.

"The Black Jacobins" was significant because it gave Caribbean people their own history and showed that they were important in world history. James was from Trinidad and he wrote from a Caribbean perspective. His book influenced other Caribbean historians and writers.

The book is still studied today and helped change how people think about slavery and revolution in the Caribbean.

Mark: 6/10

Examiner Commentary: This answer demonstrates satisfactory understanding and achieves a solid pass. The candidate correctly identifies key elements: the focus on enslaved agency, the biography of Toussaint, connections to French Revolutionary ideals, and historiographical impact. However, the analysis remains largely descriptive rather than evaluative. Missing are: specific discussion of James's methodology, concrete examples of historiographical change, analysis of how the work challenged existing narratives, and deeper exploration of the book's political and intellectual context. The candidate needed to move beyond "what James said" to "why it mattered and how it changed historical understanding" with more specific supporting detail.

Grade V (Near miss) answer

"The Black Jacobins" is a book by C.L.R. James about slavery in Haiti. It tells about Toussaint L'Ouverture who led a slave revolt. The book is significant because it is about Caribbean history. James wanted to show that Haitians fought for freedom. The Haitian Revolution was when slaves killed the plantation owners and Haiti became independent.

The book is important to Caribbean people because it is about their history. Many people read this book. James was a historian from the Caribbean who wrote about revolution.

Mark: 3/10

Examiner Commentary: This answer demonstrates basic factual awareness but falls short of the passing standard due to minimal development and significant weaknesses. The candidate correctly identifies the subject (Haitian Revolution, Toussaint, James's Caribbean origin) but provides no substantive analysis of significance. The characterization of the revolution as simply "when slaves killed plantation owners" is reductive and misses the complexity James presented. There is no discussion of historiographical context, methodology, or why the work mattered beyond vague statements about "importance." The answer lacks specific supporting evidence and analytical framework. To reach passing standard, the candidate must explain how the book changed understanding, what made it different from previous histories, and why James's approach mattered, using concrete examples and clearer conceptual organization.