Paper two

Read the advice in red for each question. These are simplified tips for answering the exam questions. Please ask your teacher for more advice.

Q1. Describe... (4 Marks) - e.g. Describe two examples of challenges to the power of Parliament in the period 1979-1990. 4 Minutes.
Level 2 (3-4) - 1 mark for mentioning an example, second mark for giving details of it. 4 marks if you do this twice.

Q2. Explain... (8 Marks) - e.g. Explain why, by the early 1800s, there were criticisms of the systems to elect MPs to Parliament. 10 Minutes.

Level 4 (7-8) - Minimum 2 points fully explained with details from revision in two decent sized paragraphs.

Level 3 (5-6) - 1 point fully explained with details from revision or 2 points partly explained with details from revision.

Level 2 (3-4) - At least one reason, partly explained with some details from revision.

Q3. How significant... (14 Marks) - e.g. How significant a change was the Glorious Revolution for Britain? 18 Minutes

Level 4 (11-14) As well as changes or continuities explained (see L3), a criteria of significance of change/continuity to Political Nation is explained.
This could include explanations of it being a turning point/ long term consequences or the spread (or lack of) across the population as a whole.
Top of L4 includes more than one criteria of significance

Level 3 (7-10) Level 3 requires students to consider the changes and/or continuities of the event / moment.
This requires discussing the ‘before’ and ‘after’ and thus a explanation of changes or continuities.

Level 2 (4-6) Level 2 requires mentioning details about the event/moment that are relevant. But there’s no discussion of ‘before’ or ‘after’ and thus what changes or continuities were brought.

Q4. How far do you agree with this statement?... (24 Marks) - e.g. Between c.1000 and 1750 monarchs relied on co-operation with their subjects rather than conflict.’ How far do you agree with this statement? 25 Minutes.
Major Tip : Each paragraph should pick one relevant case study and fully explain it with detail rather throw in random details from lots of different case studies in one paragraph to make a point.

Level 5 (19-24) - Must have something from BOTH periods. Select a range of relevant examples on both sides of the statement from across both eras which support a balanced argument and reaches a valid conclusion. Top of Level 5 needs a ‘clincher’ conclusion.

Level 4 (14-18) - Level 4 answers will typically select relevant examples on both sides of the statement from across both eras which support a balanced argument.

Level 3 (10-13) - Level 3 answers will typically select relevant examples from either both sides of the statement OR from both eras.

1. What was the most significant challenge to English Monarchs before c.1485?

2. When did English Monarchs lose their supremacy?

3. How powerful did ‘the people’ become?

Wondering how to revise? Why not give any one of the following a go and ask your teacher to mark them? These are not official Exam Board Questions but are likely questions to turn up in your exam!

Question 3 (14 Marks) 18 Minutes - For more advice on how to answer this question - click here

• How significant was the death of Edward the Confessor?

• How significant was the Norman Conquest

• How significant was the Magna Carta?

• How significant was the emergence of Parliament in the 1260s?

• How significant was the deposition of Richard II?

• How significant were the Wars of the Roses?

• How significant was Parliament under Tudor Monarchs?

• How significant was the Act of Supremacy? (do after teaching Paper 3B)

• How significant was the Civil War?

• How significant was execution of Charles I?

• How significant was the Glorious Revolution?

• How significant were the Reform Acts of the 19th century?

• How significant was the Representation of the People Act 1918?

• How significant were protest movements in the 19th and early 20th centuries?

• How significant was state power for British people between 1914-80?

• How significant was WWII for power in Britain?

• How significant were challenges to Parliamentary power after 1980?

Question 4 (24 Marks) 25 Minutes

• ‘Taxation was the main cause of political problems between c.1000 and 1800.’ How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘Military power was the main source of legitimacy for rulers between c.1000 and 1800’. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘Religion was the main cause of political problems between 1500 and 2014.’ How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘Rulers ruled with compromise between c.1485 and 2014. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘Those in power ruled with compromise between c.1500 and 2014’. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

Essential words - avoid going into the exam without being able to use these words

• Political Nation

• Significance

• Legitimacy

• Coercion

• Consent

• Compromise

• Democracy

• Nobles / Barons / Aristocrats

• Commoners

• Clergy / Church

useful words - go into the exam being able to use these words

• abdicated - gave up the throne or other position of power

• anarchy - the breakdown of law and order

• Anglo-Saxon Chronicle - a history of Anglo-Saxon England written by a series of authors (probably monks) from the mid-ninth century to 1154

• atheling - a prince of the royal family in Anglo-Saxon England

• authority / legitimacy - the right to command or rule

• Bank of England - a bank set up in 1694 to take care of the finances of the country and to help governments pay for wars or other important activities

• baronial - castle a castle belonging to a baron rather than the monarch (barons usually had to get permission to build or develop their own castles)

• baron - a nobleman from the medieval period; barons usually owned land from the monarch and in return served in government or provided troops in times of war

• Bayeux Tapestry - a visual representation of the events of 1066, probably commissioned by Odo, the bishop of Bayeux

• Bill of Rights - A law passed after the Glorious Revolution in 1688, which said that Catholics could not inherit the British throne

• borough - a village or a hamlet, depending on what it had been in medieval times

• charter - a document issued by a monarch, usually giving authority to an individual (such as a royal official) or group to act in a certain way or collect a tax

• chivalry - a set of rules and code of behaviour that knights were supposed to follow, including mercy to defeated enemies and respect for women

• chronicle - a history, usually of royal families or the history of countries; chronicles could be completed by more than one author

• chronicler - a person who writes a chronicle, usually a monk

• conscription - compulsory service in armed forces or related work

• constituencies - areas represented by MPs in parliament

• constitution - the laws that decide how a country is governed

• convoy - a group of ships or land vehicles gathered together for protection

• crusade - a religious war

• Danegeld - money paid by Anglo-Saxon rulers to stop attacks by Viking forces

• Danelaw - an area in eastern England with a substantial population of Danes and other Vikings

• deposed - removed from power

• devolution - the process of passing power to others

• Domesday - Book a collection of information about landholding in England, created in 1086

• Domesday survey - the survey that created the information in the Domesday Book

• earl - a senior member of the nobility

• earldom - land ruled by an earl

• enclosures - fencing off fields for private animal farming that were once available for public use

• exile - being forced to live outside your own country against your will

• feudalism - a system of land ownership and duties in medieval times (not a term used at the time)

• fyrd - the militia force of Anglo-Saxon England – part-time fighters who were called up when needed

• gentry - the lesser nobles, lower in rank than barons, earls or dukes – mostly knights

• Glorious Revolution - the name given to the overthrow of King James II in 1688, when William III and Mary II were invited to take the throne of England

• Harrying - of the North a series of attacks on northern England by William the Conqueror in 1069–70

• House of Commons - initially described the lesser nobles and other members of parliament, but by the twentieth century the term was also used for the building where they met

• House of Lords - initially described the greater nobles and senior churchmen, but by the twentieth century the term was also used for the building where they met

• housecarl - professional soldiers of Anglo-Saxon rulers

• hundred - a division of land in Anglo-Saxon England, usually with enough people and resources to provide the king with 100 troops

• justice system - the elements of the legal system including royal or government officials, judges, courts

• knight - an important landowner, usually given lands by a more senior noble (e.g. an earl) and who then owed the earl a certain number of days of military service per year

• legislation - laws

• legitimate - legal (although sometimes the term was used to mean reasonable)

• lesser nobles - noblemen who were below barons in rank and importance, usually knights

• looting - stealing food or property, often in times of war

• Magna Carta - a charter issued in 1Paper 2 - Power, Monarchy & Democracy 1000-201415 by King John under pressure from rebel barons, which granted some important rights and agreed to other changes to the power structure in England

• member of parliament - someone chosen to represent an area (constituency) and help make laws

• middle classes - professional people in jobs such as finance, insurance and administration, as well as shopkeepers and those in practical professions such as architects and engineers

• migrants - people who move to work and sometimes settle in a different country or area

• National Debt - the amount of money owed by the government; the National Debt is usually larger in times of war

• nobles - important members of society, usually landowners

• parliament - a group of people commanded by the monarch to advise them; parliament developed from the medieval period to become the main power in Britain in the nineteenth century

• patronage - giving money, land, jobs or other favours in return for loyal service or support

• persecute - to attack people (through the law or actual violence), usually on the basis of race or nationality or religion

• Political Nation - the people who have some say in how the country is run; the Political Nation changes over time

• Privy Council - a group of high-ranking officials or nobles who advise the monarch

• Provisions of Oxford - an agreement made in 1Paper 2 - Power, Monarchy & Democracy 1000-201485 which set out the roles and rights of monarchs and their subjects; often described as England’s first constitution

• Puritans - radical Christians who believed in simple church services and studying the Bible rather than following the Catholic Church, priests or bishops

• radicals - political groups in the nineteenth century which campaigned for political reform

• retainers - the followers of an important noble; in many cases retainers functioned as a private army

• saboteurs - spies or agents who attempt to undermine a war effort by actions such as damaging property or machinery or spreading FALSE rumours

• serf - a low-ranking member of society

• sheriff - a key royal official, responsible for justice, taxes and many other roles within a local area

• shire - an area under the control of an earl in Anglo-Saxon England

• suffrage - the right to vote

• tenant farmer - a farmer who does not own the land he farms but rents it from a landlord

• thegn - a noble in Anglo-Saxon society

• Tory - a political party that emerged in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries

• treason - to speak or take action against the ruler of a country

• treaty - a document agreed between two groups (usually countries) to end a conflict

• veto - to block a proposal or action

• Vikings - people from northern Europe who raided and settled in England from the eighth to the eleventh centuries

• villein - a low-ranking member of medieval society

• Wessex - a southern Anglo-Saxon kingdom

• Whig - a political party that emerged in the seventeenth century

• Witan - the council of senior nobles in Anglo-Saxon England

• writ - an instruction sent by the monarch to one of his officials, usually a sheriff

Medieval c.1000-1485

1002 - Aethelred gave an order that all Danes living in England should be killed – this was unpopular with nobles who ruled over Danish people, and many refused.

1016 - Cnut (Sweyn Forkbeard’s son) had conquered England

1052 - Godwin successfully returned to England Edward was forced to back down and Godwin effectively became the ruler of England.

1066 December - William I was crowned King of England

1066 January - Edward the Confessor died without an heir –the Witan choose Harold Godwinson

1066 October - William landed in the south unopposed. Harold rode back to the south and gathered a new army – they met William’s army at the Battle of Hastings. Harold was defeated.

1066 September - Another claimant (someone with a claim to the throne), Harald Hardrada, attacked the north of England – Harold Godwinson marched north to meet him and defeated him at the Battle of Stamford Bridge.

1069 - William I Harries the North

1170 - Henry II unintentionally orders the murder of the Archbishop of Canterbury Thomas Becket after he had refused to surrender some of the power of the Church in England (e.g. abolishing Church courts).

1215 - Civil war between John I and the Barons ends with the Magna Carta -embedded the principle that everyone (including the king) was subject to the law.

1251 - Simon de Montfort and a group of barons forced Henry II to accept the Provisions of Oxford. The Provisions stated that the king had to rule with the advice of a council of 24 advisers, andParliamenthad to meet three times a year.

1265 - Henry III challenges De Montfort and is imprisoned. DM ruled for a brief period in which he created the first Parliament but is killed by Henry’s son inBattle of Evesham

1295 - Edward I calls the Model Parliament. Knights and representatives (burgesses) from major towns were invited and this group made up the Commons

1381 - Richard II was challenged by the Peasants’ Revolt

1397 - Richard believes he is powerful enough to exile his most powerful Barons - Bolingbroke is exiled for ten years (later reduced to six); Mowbray is exiled for life.

1399 - Richard II conflicts with Bolingbroke by raising a force and defeating him in 1399. Bolingbroke was crowned Henry IV.

1485 - Henry Tudor killed Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth and is crowned Henry VII

Early Modern 1485 - c.1800

1534 - Henry passed the Act of Supremacy

1569 - Elizabeth defeated the rebels in Northern Rebellion who wanted to see Mary Queen of Scots on the throne – 750 executed.

1625 - Charles I is crowned - he and his father (James I) both believed that they had been appointed by ‘divine right’ (directly by God).

1629-1640 - Charles I dissolves Parliament for second time for 11 years - period of Personal Rule

1635 - Charles charges Ship Money

1638 - Charles goes to war with Scotland after he tries to change Scottish bible

1641 - Charles ignores Parliament's Grand Remonstrance ( document created by MPs that listed over 200 criticisms and demands).

1642 - Charles triggers Civil War by trying to arrest 5 MPs

1646 - First Civil War ends when Charles is captured by Scots and handed to Parliament.

1648 - Oliver Cromwell and other senior commanders of the New Model Army pushed for a trial of Charles. Roughly 300 MPs who disagreed with Charles being tried were thrown out of Parliament (this left a ‘Rump Parliament’ of about 200).

1649 - Charles I is executed

1660 - Declaration of Breda restores the Monarchy and brings King Charles II to the throne.

1688 - Some leading nobles asked James’ Protestant daughter, Mary (with her husband William of Orange – the ruler of the Netherlands), to take James’ place. William and Mary’s forces landed and James fled to France.

1689 - Bill of Rights - Catholic could not become king or queen in England, Scotland or Ireland. Monarch could not keep a large army in peacetime. Monarch could collect taxes but only do for a four-year period. Parliament had to meet at least once a year. MPs were given freedom of speech in Parliament.

1689 - Toleration Act was passed – this made it legal for Protestants to belong to Churches other than the Church of England.

Modern c.1800 - 2014

1833 - 1840s - The Chartist Movement begins for the Working Class people (men and women) demanding the vote - who had not been given it by the Great Reform Act . They had 6 demands including universal suffrage and secret ballot.

1831 (and Before) - The political system was corrupt - there was no secret ballot, this meant that people had to vote in public and candidates would offer to pay bribes in return for votes. There were also Rotten Boroughs - ones that were able to elect an MP despite having very few voters (e.g. Old Sarum)

1832 - Great Reform Act

• 56 boroughs (such as rotten boroughs) of less than 2000 voters were disenfranchised (no longer had the right to return an MP)

• 31 small boroughs lost one of their two MPs

• 22 new two-member boroughs were created, for example Manchester, Leeds, Birmingham.

• After the Great Reform Act one in seven English males could vote.

1867 - Second Reform Act - doubled the electorate to 40 per cent of the male population: all male urban householders and lodgers (mostly working class) paying £10 rent a year could vote

1884 - Third Reform Act - added 2.6 million voters to the electorate, increasing it from 3.1 million to 5.7 million, and qualifications to vote were the same in all constituencies.

1897 - NUWSS formed

1903 - WSPU formed

1916 - Conscription was introduced to force men to fight in WWI

1918 - Representation of the People Act was passed. This gave the vote to some women (and all men over the age of 21).

1938 - Conscription was introduced to force men to fight in WWII even before Britain had officially entered it.

1990 - PM Margaret Thatcher introduced the poll tax. People protested because they thought it was unfair for everyone - rich or poor - to pay the same.

1997-8 - Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland all gain more powers / their own regional Parliaments to govern themselves on lots of issues

2004 - Blair was a powerful Prime Minister and dominated Parliament - taking Britain to war in Iraq

We’ll be asking these questions at every period of Paper Two.

1. Who held power?

2. Why were they so powerful at this time?

3. How did they use their power?

4. What challenges did they face in ruling Britain?

5. How successful were they at ruling?