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2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660

  • 27 subtopics
  • 76 things to know
  • Component 2

What 2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660 covers

Option 2E is a depth study of the English Revolution, taken as one of the Component 2 choices. It covers the collapse of consensus under Charles I, the Personal Rule, civil war and radicalism, and the experiments in republican government.

Where it is assessed

Component 2

A depth study, of which a student sits one.

Check the AQA specification ↗

The 27 subtopics

Each one has its own page.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

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Key term

What were the two main religious factions that created divisions in the Church of England by the end of James I's reign?

Key term

Define the Divine Right of Kings as understood by Charles I.

Key term

How did the character of Charles I's court affect his relationship with Parliament and his subjects?

Process

What did the sermons of Manwaring and Sibthorpe argue in 1627?

Key term

What was the Five Knights' Case (1627)?

Process

What happened to the Duke of Buckingham?

Key term

How long did Charles I's Personal Rule last, and what were its dates?

Key term

Name two prerogative courts used to enforce royal policy and suppress opposition during the Personal Rule.

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What was Distraint of Knighthood?

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Define Arminianism as a theological position.

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Name the three Puritan critics punished by Star Chamber in 1637 who became martyrs to the cause.

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What did Charles I and Laud attempt to impose on Scotland in 1637?

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What was the Scottish response to the introduction of the new Prayer Book?

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How did Wentworth's policies alienate Old English Catholics in Ireland?

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How did Wentworth's policies alienate Ulster Scots?

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Which sectarian groups emerged during the 1630s rejecting both episcopal and Presbyterian church structures?

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When did the First Bishops' War occur, and what was its cause?

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What happened at the Battle of Newburn in August 1640?

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What military defeat forced Charles I to recall Parliament in November 1640?

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What governmental powers did Charles I retain in 1640 that strengthened his position?

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What ecclesiastical question divided MPs within the parliamentary opposition?

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What control over royal appointments did Pym seek?

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What was the Grand Remonstrance?

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What was the 'London mob' in the context of 1640-1642?

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What did Parliament demand that Charles saw as unacceptable?

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Who rose against whom in the Irish Rebellion?

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Why did the Irish Rebellion require raising an army?

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Name the Five Members whom Charles attempted to arrest on 4 January 1642.

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Where did the Five Members take refuge after escaping?

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What local military issue contributed to the slide into civil war?

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What strategic assets did Charles attempt to secure in early 1642?

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What did the Militia Ordinance of March 1642 claim?

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What ecclesiastical concern led some to rally to Charles I?

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What military demand was included in the Nineteen Propositions?

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What demand regarding the royal family was included in the Nineteen Propositions?

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When and where did Charles I raise his standard to begin the First Civil War?

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Which regions did the Royalists control at the start of the Civil War?

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Why did Charles I's status as anointed monarch benefit the Royalist cause?

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What tactical approach was Prince Rupert known for employing?

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What structural problem affected Royalist military coordination?

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What strategic weakness resulted from the priorities of Royalist regional commanders?

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What external financial source did the Royalists pursue?

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How did Parliamentary strategic direction compare to that of the Royalists?

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Which city did Parliament control that gave them crucial financial advantages?

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How did City merchants contribute to Parliament's war finances?

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What military benefit did Parliament gain from the Solemn League and Covenant?

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Which commanders were removed from their positions by the Self-Denying Ordinance?

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What was Cromwell's relationship to Fairfax in the New Model Army command structure?

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What significant documents were captured at the Battle of Naseby?

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What religious beliefs spread among New Model Army soldiers and officers?

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What range of opinions could be expressed in print after censorship collapsed?

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What type of settlement did the Presbyterian faction in Parliament favour?

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Which Parliamentary leaders were associated with the Independent faction?

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How did Charles I respond to the Newcastle Propositions?

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What grievance regarding unpaid wages contributed to the politicisation of the New Model Army after 1646?

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Who was the leading figure of the Leveller movement?

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What principle did the Levellers support regarding the legal system?

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What religious settlement did the Newcastle Propositions of July 1646 demand?

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What did the Newcastle Propositions demand regarding military control?

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What did the Newcastle Propositions demand concerning royalist supporters?

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Where did royalist risings occur in Wales during the Second Civil War of 1648?

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Which battle effectively ended the Second Civil War, and when did it occur?

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Who formed the core of those pushing for the trial of Charles I?

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What was the Third Civil War (1649–1651) and what triggered it?

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What were the core political beliefs advocated by the Levellers?

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Why did the Levellers lack a broad base of support in English society?

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Why did the Digger movement ultimately fail?

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What was the Rump Parliament and how did it come into being?

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What was the Parliament of the Saints (Barebone's Parliament) and when was it convened?

Key term

What key characteristics defined Oliver Cromwell's personality as a leader?

Key term

Why were Catholics still persecuted under Cromwell's religious settlement?

Key term

When and why did Richard Cromwell resign as Lord Protector?

Process

What did Parliament gain and commit to under the Solemn League and Covenant, and which battle did the alliance help win?

Process

What settlements did the Presbyterians and the Independents each want?

Process

What kind of leader was Cromwell, what did the Instrument of Government establish, and why did he refuse the Crown?

Process

Why did Charles I have to recall Parliament in November 1640?

Take 2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660 further

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Commonly confused

Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.

  • Presbyterian vs Independent

    Presbyterian: supporter of a church governed through elected elders. Independent: supporter of autonomous congregations free from a national hierarchy.

Questions from this topic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

  1. 1

    What were the two main religious factions that created divisions in the Church of England by the end of James I's reign?

    Model answer

    Arminians, who favoured ceremonial worship, and Calvinist Puritans, who sought further reformation of the Church of England.

  2. 2

    What key constitutional tensions did James I's reign establish regarding governance?

    Model answer

    Tensions over the relationship between Crown and Parliament, particularly regarding parliamentary privileges and the royal prerogative.

  3. 3

    What was the Spanish Match, and why did it create conflict between James I and Parliament?

    Model answer

    The Spanish Match was a failed negotiation for Prince Charles's marriage to a Spanish princess. It conflicted with Parliament's preference for a Protestant foreign policy, as Parliament opposed James I's policy of peace with Catholic Spain.

  4. 4

    Define the Divine Right of Kings as understood by Charles I.

    Model answer

    The belief that monarchs derived their authority directly from God and were accountable only to God, not to Parliament or the people.

  5. 5

    What key personality traits characterised Charles I's approach to kingship?

    Model answer

    A belief in his own rectitude, an unwillingness to compromise, a reserved and formal manner, and a commitment to order and ceremony.

  6. 6

    Why did Charles I's marriage to Henrietta Maria arouse suspicion among English Protestants?

    Model answer

    As a French Catholic queen, she aroused Protestant suspicions about Catholic influence at court and concerns about the direction of royal religious policy.

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2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660 revision questions

What does 2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660 cover in AQA A-Level History?
27 subtopics: james i's legacy and charles i's kingship, charles i, buckingham and the petition of right, the personal rule and its ministers, laud's reforms and protestant fears, the scottish prayer book and thorough in ireland, puritan emigration, the national covenant and the first bishops' war, the bishops' wars and the recall of parliament, charles i and the parliamentary opposition in 1640, john pym and the long parliament, deadlock, the fall of strafford and the irish rebellion, the attempt on the five members, the militia ordinance and the drift to war, the nineteen propositions and the outbreak of war, royalist strengths at the outbreak of war, royalist weaknesses and war finance, parliament's commanders and the wealth of london, the solemn league, marston moor and the new model army, naseby, popular radicalism and the press, presbyterians, independents and the captive king, the politicisation of the army and the levellers, the sects, the heads of the proposals and the king's escape, the engagement and the second civil war, pride's purge and the regicide, the third civil war: dunbar and worcester, radical sects, the rump and barebone's parliament, cromwell, the instrument of government and the crown and the collapse of the protectorate and the restoration. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
How is 2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660 organised?
By the AQA 7042 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.

Every question in 2E The English Revolution, 1625–1660, on a schedule.

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