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How did the 'small… (Class 10 Social Science 2023, Q21B)

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Social ScienceCBSE Class 10 · Board exam 2023, set 32/4/1 · 2 marks · Very short answer

CBSE Class 10 Social Science 2023: question 21(B)

Set in the CBSE Class 10 board exam of 2023, paper 32/4/1, section B, question 21(B), for 2 marks. Try it first; the hints and our step-by-step solution are below.

Q21(B) · 2 marks · Very short answerThe Making of a Global World

How did the 'small pox' prove as the most powerful weapon of the Spanish conquerors in the mid-sixteenth century? Explain.

Source: official question paper from cbse.gov.in (PDF). See it in the full 2023 board paper, set 32/4/1.

Hints

Open one hint at a time and try again before the next.

Hint 1

Think about immunity in a population meeting a new disease.

Hint 2

Why was disease a better weapon than guns?

Step-by-step solution

Each step shows the marks it earns, as an examiner would award them. Checked by an independent re-solve from the question paper.

  1. The Spanish carried smallpox germs on their bodies. The native Americans had no immunity or previous exposure, so the disease killed them in large numbers.

    1 mark

  2. Once introduced, it spread deep into the continent ahead of the Europeans themselves and wiped out whole communities. This paved the way for conquest, since guns could be captured and turned on the invaders but disease could not, as the Europeans were largely immune.

    1 mark

Answer: Smallpox, to which Americans had no immunity, decimated communities and made Spanish conquest easy.

Where the marks are

  • Germs carried by the Spanish, no immunity among Americans (1 mark)
  • Spread ahead of conquerors, destroyed communities and eased conquest (1 mark)

Revise the chapter

Practise this chapterBoard-style questions from The Making of a Global World, one at a time, marked against the answer key and marking points.Back to the full paper2023 board paper, set 32/4/1: every question, by section.

The question is transcribed from the official paper; figures are described in words. The solution, hints and chapter tag are ours. Spotted an error? Write tosupport@questionbuddy.in.