Numbers
CCEA A-Level History 4010
England 1509–58AS Unit 1
Topic overviewThe Church in England on the eve of the ReformationCriticism of the Church and the early reformersHenry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and the case for annulmentThe struggle for the divorce and the men who shaped itThe Reformation Parliament and the break with RomeOpposition to religious changeThe dissolution of the monasteriesThe Pilgrimage of GraceGovernment under Somerset and NorthumberlandRebellion in 1549: the Western Rising and Kett's rebellionMary I, female monarchy and the succession crisesWyatt's rebellionThe Edwardian religious reforms 1547–53The Marian restoration and the persecutionsEconomic and social problems of the period
England 1603–49AS Unit 1
Topic overviewJames I's Elizabethan inheritanceJames I, the Church of England and the PuritansJames I, the Catholics and the Gunpowder PlotThe financial problems of James IThe foreign policy of James IRoyal favourites and the politics of the courtCharles I, war and Parliament 1625–29The decision to rule without ParliamentFinancing the Personal RuleLaudianism and religious reform in the 1630sThe court culture of Charles IScotland, Ireland and the collapse of the Personal RuleThe Long Parliament and the outbreak of war 1640–42The campaigns and battles of the Civil WarWhy Parliament won the Civil WarThe search for a settlement 1646–49Radicalism, the Levellers and the ArmyThe regicide and the birth of the Commonwealth
Britain in the Age of Reform 1830–80AS Unit 1
Topic overviewThe case for and against parliamentary reformThe passing of the Reform Act 1830–32The terms and consequences of the Reform ActThe Whig reforms of the 1830s and the impulse behind themThe New Poor Law of 1834The rise of ChartismThe People's Charter, Lovett and O'ConnorChartist methods and the reasons for failureThe Anti-Corn Law LeaguePeel and the making of the Conservative PartyPeel's ministry 1841–46The repeal of the Corn Laws and the split of 1846Disraeli and Tory DemocracyThe Second Reform Act of 1867Disraeli's ministry 1874–80Gladstone from Peelite to LiberalGladstone's first ministry 1868–74Gladstone and Disraeli as leaders
Italy and Germany 1815–71AS Unit 1
Topic overviewGerman nationalism, liberalism and cultural revival 1815–48Economic change, the Zollverein and Prussian prosperityThe 1848 revolutions in the German statesThe Frankfurt Parliament and the reasons for its failureOlmütz, army reform and the Prussian constitutional crisisBismarck's aims, methods and the debate about his roleSchleswig-Holstein and the Austro-Prussian WarThe North German Confederation and the southern German statesThe Franco-Prussian War and the proclamation of the German EmpireThe international climate and why Germany was unifiedItalian nationalism, culture and the ideas of the RisorgimentoThe 1848–49 revolutions in Italy and their failurePiedmont, Cavour's reforms and the war of 1859Garibaldi, the Thousand and his relations with CavourThe Papal States, Rome and why Italy was unified
Germany 1919–45AS Unit 1
Topic overviewThe Weimar Constitution and the Treaty of VersaillesPolitical threats from left and right 1919–23Reparations, the Ruhr and the hyperinflation of 1923The Weimar economy 1924–29Stresemann's foreign policy and the 'golden years'The Nazi Party from the Munich putsch to 1929The Wall Street Crash and the end of parliamentary governmentThe Nazi electoral breakthrough and Hitler's appointment as ChancellorThe creation of the Nazi dictatorship 1933–34Anti-Semitism and persecution 1933–39Youth, women and the churches 1933–39Schacht, Göring and the Nazi economy 1933–39Culture, the arts and the media in the Third ReichThe war economy: Todt, Speer and total warThe home front: rationing, bombing, labour and moraleOpposition and resistance in wartimeThe Holocaust: ghettos, Barbarossa, Wannsee and genocide
Spain and Europe 1556–98AS Unit 2
Topic overviewSpain in 1556 and the legacy of Charles VPhilip II's kingship and working methodsConciliar government, faction and the Pérez affairThe revolts of the Moriscos and of AragonThe Spanish economy in 1556 and the king's revenuesAgriculture, industry and commerce 1556–98Bullion, debt, inflation and the royal bankruptciesThe Spanish Church, Tridentine reform and the papacyThe Inquisition, Conversos, Jews and ProtestantsThe Spanish Empire and the aims of Philip II's foreign policyFrance, from Cateau-Cambrésis to VervinsThe Mediterranean war with the Turks and the annexation of PortugalThe Netherlands and the Dutch RevoltEngland, the sea dogs and the ArmadaPhilip II's Spain in 1598
The Ascendancy of France in Europe 1660–1714AS Unit 2
Topic overviewThe foundations of French power under Louis XIVThe War of Devolution 1667–68The Dutch War 1672–78 and the Treaties of NijmegenThe Reunions and the Truce of RatisbonThe League of Augsburg and the alarm of EuropeThe Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the quarrel with RomeThe Cologne incident and the outbreak of the Nine Years' WarFrench successes in the Nine Years' WarAllied successes and the stalemate of the Nine Years' WarThe Peace of Ryswick 1697The Partition Treaties and the Spanish succession problemLouis XIV's acceptance of the will and the road to warMarlborough and the great battles of the warWhy the Grand Alliance won and France failedUtrecht, Rastatt and Europe after 1714
Ireland 1823–67AS Unit 2
Topic overviewO'Connell and the Catholic AssociationThe Clare election and Catholic EmancipationThe impact of Emancipation and the Tithe WarThe Lichfield House CompactThe Repeal Association and the monster meetingsClontarf and the failure of RepealPeel's Irish reformsYoung Ireland and the split with O'ConnellThe rising of 1848The long-term causes of the FamineThe course and extent of the FaminePeel, Russell and famine relief 1845–49The consequences of the Famine to 1867The origins, leadership and aims of the FeniansThe Fenian Rising of 1867
France 1815–70AS Unit 2
Topic overviewThe restoration of the Bourbons and the Charter of 1814Louis XVIII: the White Terror, moderation and the turn to the rightCharles X, the ultras and the ChurchEconomy, society and culture in France 1815–48The July revolution of 1830 and the fall of Charles XLouis Philippe, Guizot and the bourgeois monarchyOpposition to Louis PhilippeLouis Philippe's foreign policyThe banquet campaign and the February revolution of 1848The Second Republic: the National Workshops and the June DaysThe presidency of Louis Napoleon 1848–51The coup of 1851 and the making of the Second EmpireThe authoritarian Empire and its liberalisationEconomic modernisation, Haussmann's Paris and social changeNapoleon III's foreign policy and the collapse of 1870
Russia 1914–41AS Unit 2
Topic overviewThe impact of the First World War on RussiaNicholas II, the Tsarina and RasputinThe February Revolution and the abdication of the TsarThe Provisional Government, the Petrograd Soviet and dual authorityLenin, the April Theses and the road to OctoberThe October Revolution and the consolidation of Bolshevik powerThe Civil War and the Bolshevik victory 1918–21Lenin's economic policies 1917–24Society and culture under LeninThe struggle to succeed Lenin 1924–29Collectivisation and the peasantryIndustrialisation and the Five Year PlansThe social impact of Stalin's economic policiesTerror and the purges 1934–39Culture, propaganda and the cult of personality
Italy's Quest for Great Power Status 1871–1943AS Unit 2
Topic overviewThe aims and challenges of Italian foreign policy after 1871Colonisation in Africa: Tunisia, Eritrea, Abyssinia and LibyaThe Triple Alliance and relations with the Great PowersGiolitti and Italy's internal divisionsFrom neutrality to intervention 1914–15Italy's war 1915–18 and its impact at homeThe mutilated victory, the peace settlement and FiumeThe crisis of the Liberal state and the Biennio RossoThe rise of the Fascist movement 1919–22The March on Rome and Mussolini's appointmentThe consolidation of Fascist power 1922–26The aims of Fascist foreign policy and the years 1922–34Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil WarItaly, Germany and the road to war 1935–40Defeat and the fall of Mussolini 1940–43
Crown and Parliament in England 1625–1714A2 Unit 1
Topic overviewThe powers of Crown and Parliament in 1625The breakdown under Charles I 1625–40The Constitutional Revolution 1640–42Civil war, regicide and the republican interludeThe Restoration Settlement 1660–62The Clarendon Code and religion after 1660Charles II, finance and dependence on FranceThe Exclusion Crisis and the emergence of partiesCharles II's personal rule 1681–85James II's assault on Parliament and the corporationsCatholicising policies and the fear of absolutismThe causes of the Glorious RevolutionThe Revolution Settlement of 1689War, the financial revolution and the power of the purseThe Triennial Act, the Act of Settlement and the independence of the judgesParty, the Crown and Parliament under AnneFinance, religion and foreign policy across the periodHow far had a constitutional monarchy been created by 1714?
Ireland Under the Union 1800–1900A2 Unit 1
Topic overviewThe Protestant ascendancy and the supporters of the UnionThe power of the Irish landlordThe decline of the landlords and the land legislation from 1870Industrialisation in Ulster across the centuryUlster and Southern unionism from 1885The Protestant Churches and support for the UnionThe Catholic Church and the growth of nationalismConstitutional nationalism from Grattan to EmancipationO'Connell after 1829: reform, repeal and the limits of moral forceButt, Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary PartyDavitt, the Land League and the New DepartureRevolutionary nationalism 1803–67 comparedCultural nationalism from Davis to the Gaelic RevivalThe British government's response 1800–1900Ireland's social and economic transformation across the century
The Causes and Consequences of Great Power Conflict 1848–1945A2 Unit 1
Topic overviewThe legacy of 1848 and German unification by forceBismarck's alliance system and Germany's relations with its neighboursThe Eastern Question and the decline of the Ottoman EmpireBosnia, the Balkan Wars and Serbian ambitionKaiser William II, Weltpolitik and the naval race with BritainThe armed camps: the Dual Alliance and the Franco-Russian allianceImperial, economic and nationalist rivalry by 1914Austria-Hungary, Serbia and the July crisis of 1914The Paris peace settlement and its consequencesThe League of Nations, American isolationism and the challenge from JapanThe isolation of the USSR and its consequencesThe Depression and the rise of the dictatorsHitler's aggressive foreign policy 1933–39Appeasement and its failureEurope in 1945
The American Presidency 1901–2000A2 Unit 1
Topic overviewTheodore Roosevelt and the revival of the presidencyWoodrow Wilson: reform at home and war abroadLaissez-faire, the boom and the Wall Street CrashThe Hundred Days and the New Deal agenciesOpposition to the New Deal and the court-packing planThe New Deal, the Second World War and American recoveryTruman, containment and the national security stateEisenhower, Kennedy and the imperial presidencyJohnson, civil rights and the Great SocietyVietnam and the limits of presidential powerNixon, détente and the opening to ChinaWatergate and the fall of NixonFord, Carter and the weakened presidencyReagan: recovery, rearmament and Iran-ContraBush, Clinton and the changing power of the presidency
Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000A2 Unit 1
Topic overviewTsarist foreign policy 1900–17Lenin's foreign policy and the western response 1917–24Soviet foreign policy and the West 1924–33Collective security and the failure of the West 1933–39The Nazi-Soviet Pact and its consequencesThe Grand Alliance and the impact of the war on the USSRYalta, Potsdam and the post-war settlementThe breakdown of the Grand Alliance and Soviet control in Eastern EuropeContainment, the Berlin blockade and NATO 1947–55Khrushchev, peaceful coexistence and control in Eastern Europe 1956–64Brezhnev, Czechoslovakia and the Brezhnev DoctrineDétente, SALT and the western response 1964–79Afghanistan and the second Cold War 1979–85Gorbachev, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet blocSuccess and failure in Soviet foreign policy 1917–91
England 1558–1603A2 Unit 2
Topic overviewElizabeth I's character, inheritance and the succession questionThe Elizabethan myth: Gloriana and the Virgin QueenThe Court, the Privy Council and the royal favouritesPatronage, faction and Elizabeth I's leading ministersElizabeth I and her ParliamentsThe religious settlement of 1559The Puritan challenge and Elizabeth I's responseThe Catholic threat, the missionary priests and recusancyMary, Queen of Scots in EnglandThe Northern Earls and the Catholic plotsRelations with France, Scotland and the NetherlandsIreland and the Nine Years' WarSpain, the Armada and the war at seaPopulation, prices and the Elizabethan economySocial structure, social mobility and the problem of poverty
Ireland 1685–1714A2 Unit 2
Topic overviewIreland in 1685: land, church and the two communitiesJames II, Tyrconnell and the Catholicisation of IrelandThe remodelling of the army, the judiciary and the corporationsThe land settlement and Protestant fears in IrelandJames II's first year in England: support, opposition and rebellionJames II's pro-Catholic policies in EnglandOpposition in England and the causes of the Glorious RevolutionThe outbreak of war and the Siege of DerryThe Patriot Parliament and the campaign of 1689The Battle of the BoyneFrom the Boyne to Aughrim: Limerick, Cork and AthloneThe Battle of AughrimThe second siege of Limerick and the TreatyThe penal lawsThe Protestant Ascendancy, Molyneux and the Union of 1707
Ireland 1778–1803A2 Unit 2
Topic overviewMolyneux, Swift and the Patriot traditionThe American War and the rise of the VolunteersThe Free Trade campaign and the Constitution of 1782The decline of the Volunteers by 1789Grattan's Parliament and the Castle executiveHenry Grattan and Henry FloodIreland's economy and commerce 1782–1800The Catholic Relief Acts and the Fitzwilliam episodeThe French Revolution and the United IrishmenWolfe Tone and the alliance with FranceThe Defenders, the Orange Order and sectarianism in UlsterGovernment repression in the 1790sThe 1798 RebellionThe making of the Act of UnionEmmet's rebellion of 1803
Partition of Ireland 1900–25A2 Unit 2
Topic overviewIrish politics and the Liberal victory of 1906The elections of 1910 and the parliamentary balanceThe Third Home Rule Bill and Ulster's responseSouthern Unionism and the Conservative allianceThe Home Rule Act and the crisis of September 1914Ireland and the First World War 1914–16The causes of the Easter RisingThe Rising and its aftermathThe rise of Sinn Féin and the election of 1918The Anglo-Irish War 1919–21The Government of Ireland Act 1920 and partitionThe Truce and the Anglo-Irish TreatyThe Treaty debates and the Irish Civil WarThe new state of Northern Ireland 1921–25Craig's government and the Boundary Commission
England 1558–1603
- 15 subtopics
- 45 things to know
- A2 Unit 2
- A2 Unit 2, one option of four
What England 1558–1603 covers
England 1558–1603 is examined in A2 2, Historical Investigations and Interpretations — the option chosen from four. It covers Elizabeth I's character, inheritance and the succession question, the Elizabethan myth: Gloriana and the Virgin Queen, the Court, the Privy Council and the royal favourites, patronage, faction and Elizabeth I's leading ministers, Elizabeth I and her Parliaments, the religious settlement of 1559, the Puritan challenge and Elizabeth I's response, the Catholic threat, the missionary priests and recusancy, Mary, Queen of Scots in England, the Northern Earls and the Catholic plots, relations with France, Scotland and the Netherlands, Ireland and the Nine Years' War, Spain, the Armada and the war at sea, population, prices and the Elizabethan economy and social structure, social mobility and the problem of poverty.
Where it is assessed
A2 Unit 2
Historical Investigations and Interpretations, one option of four.
Check the CCEA specification ↗The 15 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Elizabeth I's character, inheritance and the succession questionThe experiences that formed her, the debts and the war she inherited, and the pressure to marry and name a successor.Open →
- The Elizabethan myth: Gloriana and the Virgin QueenPresenting Elizabeth I as 'the Virgin Queen, two other identities under which poets praised Elizabeth I and accession Day tilts.Open →
- The Court, the Privy Council and the royal favouritesRoyal Court in Elizabethan England and three functions of the Elizabethan Privy Council.Open →
- Patronage, faction and Elizabeth I's leading ministersPatronage as it operated in Elizabethan government, faction at the Elizabethan Court and three duties of an Elizabethan justice of the peace.Open →
- Elizabeth I and her ParliamentsHow often Parliament met and why it was called, the disputes over the succession, monopolies and free speech, and how far it was managed.Open →
- The religious settlement of 1559Protestant was Elizabeth I herself, ornaments rubric and thirty-Nine Articles.Open →
- The Puritan challenge and Elizabeth I's responseVestiarian controversy, admonition to the Parliament and classis movement.Open →
- The Catholic threat, the missionary priests and recusancyChurch papist and regnans in Excelsis.Open →
- Mary, Queen of Scots in EnglandHer flight in 1568 and long confinement, the plots that formed around her, the Bond of Association and her execution.Open →
- The Northern Earls and the Catholic plotsOutcome of the Ridolfi plot and consequences of the Throckmorton plot.Open →
- Relations with France, Scotland and the NetherlandsThe Treaty of Berwick and intervention in Scotland, the failure at Le Havre, and the decision to send an army to the Netherlands.Open →
- Ireland and the Nine Years' WarElizabeth I's basic aims in Ireland, policy of surrender and regrant and desmond rebellions.Open →
- Spain, the Armada and the war at seaThe deterioration of relations with Philip II, the campaign of 1588, the privateering war and the unfinished conflict after it.Open →
- Population, prices and the Elizabethan economyThree causes of the Tudor price rise, new draperies and three industries that expanded in Elizabethan England.Open →
- Social structure, social mobility and the problem of povertyThe ranks of Elizabethan society and the routes between them, the causes of poverty, and the statutes that led to the poor law of 1601.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Why did favourites matter politically as well as personally?
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Why was patronage essential to how England was governed?
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What divided Burghley and Leicester in the 1560s and 1570s?
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Why was the rivalry between Essex and Robert Cecil in the 1590s more dangerous than earlier faction?
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Give three examples of consensus between Elizabeth I and her Parliaments.
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What privileges did the Speaker request at the opening of each Parliament?
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Who were the Separatists, and what happened to their leaders?
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How great was the Catholic threat in reality?
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Why was Mary's presence in England so dangerous to Elizabeth I?
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When was Mary executed and what were the consequences?
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Why was the Babington plot fatal to Mary?
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What did the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis settle for England in 1559?
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How did Elizabeth I help the Dutch before 1585 without going to war?
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How stable were England's foreign relations by 1603?
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What happened at Smerwick in 1580?
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What was Philip II's plan for the Armada of 1588?
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How did English ship design and tactics differ from Spanish?
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Why did the Spanish plan fail?
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How large was the Elizabethan peerage?
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What is the gentry controversy among historians?
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What did the poor law Act of 1576 add?
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When did Elizabeth I become queen?
Key term
What was meant by presenting Elizabeth I as 'the Virgin Queen'?
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What was the ornaments rubric?
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What happened to prices and real wages under Elizabeth I?
Evaluation
Why was Elizabeth I's birth a political weakness at her accession?
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Which poet gave Elizabeth I the name Gloriana?
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What were the Royal Injunctions of 1559?
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What was the vestiarian controversy?
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How did the government treat Catholics before 1570?
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Who led the rising of the Northern Earls in 1569?
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What were Elizabeth I's basic aims in Ireland?
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What did the recoinage of 1560–61 do?
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Why was Elizabeth imprisoned in 1554?
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Name two other identities under which poets praised Elizabeth I.
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How did Elizabeth I change the size of the Privy Council?
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How often did Parliament meet during Elizabeth I's reign?
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Where did the strongest parliamentary opposition to the settlement come from?
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What did Presbyterians want?
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What did the Treasons Act of 1571 make punishable?
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On what did Mary, Queen of Scots base her claim to the English throne?
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Why did the rising of 1569 collapse?
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Who was Shane O'Neill?
Key term
Name three industries that expanded in Elizabethan England.
Take England 1558–1603 further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Supreme Head vs Supreme Governor
Supreme Head: the title Henry VIII took, claiming headship of the Church itself. Supreme Governor: the softened 1559 formula, claiming authority over the Church without claiming to be its head.
Seminary priest vs Jesuit
Seminary priest: a secular priest trained at the continental colleges from 1568 to keep the sacraments alive in Catholic households. Jesuit: belonged to a disciplined religious order sent from 1580 and was treated by the government as a political agent.
The vestiarian controversy vs The Admonition controversy
The vestiarian controversy: a quarrel of the mid-1560s about clerical dress and ceremony within an accepted structure. The Admonition controversy: it came in 1572 and attacked the structure itself, demanding that bishops be abolished.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
When did Elizabeth I become queen?
Model answer
Elizabeth I succeeded on 17 November 1558 on the death of her half-sister Mary I.
- 2
Why was Elizabeth I's birth a political weakness at her accession?
Model answer
Anne Boleyn had been executed for treason and her marriage declared void, so Catholics who still recognised Henry VIII's first marriage regarded Elizabeth as illegitimate and her title as defective.
- 3
How did Elizabeth I's education shape her as a ruler?
Model answer
Elizabeth I received a humanist education under tutors including Roger Ascham and could read and speak Latin, French and Italian, so she could deal with foreign ambassadors without an interpreter and draft her own speeches.
- 4
What did the Thomas Seymour affair of 1548–49 teach the young Elizabeth?
Model answer
The scandal taught Elizabeth to guard her reputation and to give nothing away under questioning, and her cool denials meant no charge could be fastened on her.
- 5
Why was Elizabeth imprisoned in 1554?
Model answer
Elizabeth was suspected of complicity in Wyatt's rebellion and was held in the Tower and then under guard at Woodstock, although nothing was ever proved against her.
- 6
State Elizabeth I's personal motto and explain what it advertised.
Model answer
Elizabeth I's motto was 'semper eadem', meaning always the same, which advertised constancy and stability after two decades of religious upheaval.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
England 1558–1603 revision questions
- What does England 1558–1603 cover in CCEA A-Level History?
- 15 subtopics: elizabeth i's character, inheritance and the succession question, the elizabethan myth: gloriana and the virgin queen, the court, the privy council and the royal favourites, patronage, faction and elizabeth i's leading ministers, elizabeth i and her parliaments, the religious settlement of 1559, the puritan challenge and elizabeth i's response, the catholic threat, the missionary priests and recusancy, mary, queen of scots in england, the northern earls and the catholic plots, relations with france, scotland and the netherlands, ireland and the nine years' war, spain, the armada and the war at sea, population, prices and the elizabethan economy and social structure, social mobility and the problem of poverty. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is England 1558–1603 organised?
- By the CCEA 4010 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in England 1558–1603, on a schedule.
Attempt a question from memory, write the correct version, then attempt it again. Levo records the jump between your first attempt and your last, and brings each question back on the day you are due to forget it.
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