Robert Carr was a young Scot who caught James's eye after breaking his leg at a tilt, and rose to be Earl of Somerset and the dominant figure at court by 1613.

What destroyed Somerset's position?

Somerset and his wife were convicted in 1616 of poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower, a scandal that disgraced the court and ended his influence.

Who was George Villiers?

George Villiers was a Leicestershire gentleman introduced to court in 1614, who rose within a decade to be Duke of Buckingham and the most powerful subject in England.

How unusual was Buckingham's rise?

His rise was without precedent: he became England's only duke, the first non-royal dukedom created since the 1550s, and monopolised patronage to a degree no earlier favourite had achieved.

CCEA A-Level History 4010

England 1509–58AS Unit 1

Topic overview The Church in England on the eve of the Reformation Criticism of the Church and the early reformers Henry VIII, Catherine of Aragon and the case for annulment The struggle for the divorce and the men who shaped it The Reformation Parliament and the break with Rome Opposition to religious change The dissolution of the monasteries The Pilgrimage of Grace Government under Somerset and Northumberland Rebellion in 1549: the Western Rising and Kett's rebellion Mary I, female monarchy and the succession crises Wyatt's rebellion The Edwardian religious reforms 1547–53 The Marian restoration and the persecutions Economic and social problems of the period

England 1603–49AS Unit 1

Topic overview James I's Elizabethan inheritance James I, the Church of England and the Puritans James I, the Catholics and the Gunpowder Plot The financial problems of James I The foreign policy of James I Royal favourites and the politics of the court Charles I, war and Parliament 1625–29 The decision to rule without Parliament Financing the Personal Rule Laudianism and religious reform in the 1630s The court culture of Charles I Scotland, Ireland and the collapse of the Personal Rule The Long Parliament and the outbreak of war 1640–42 The campaigns and battles of the Civil War Why Parliament won the Civil War The search for a settlement 1646–49 Radicalism, the Levellers and the Army The regicide and the birth of the Commonwealth

Britain in the Age of Reform 1830–80AS Unit 1

Topic overview The case for and against parliamentary reform The passing of the Reform Act 1830–32 The terms and consequences of the Reform Act The Whig reforms of the 1830s and the impulse behind them The New Poor Law of 1834 The rise of Chartism The People's Charter, Lovett and O'Connor Chartist methods and the reasons for failure The Anti-Corn Law League Peel and the making of the Conservative Party Peel's ministry 1841–46 The repeal of the Corn Laws and the split of 1846 Disraeli and Tory Democracy The Second Reform Act of 1867 Disraeli's ministry 1874–80 Gladstone from Peelite to Liberal Gladstone's first ministry 1868–74 Gladstone and Disraeli as leaders

Italy and Germany 1815–71AS Unit 1

Topic overview German nationalism, liberalism and cultural revival 1815–48 Economic change, the Zollverein and Prussian prosperity The 1848 revolutions in the German states The Frankfurt Parliament and the reasons for its failure Olmütz, army reform and the Prussian constitutional crisis Bismarck's aims, methods and the debate about his role Schleswig-Holstein and the Austro-Prussian War The North German Confederation and the southern German states The Franco-Prussian War and the proclamation of the German Empire The international climate and why Germany was unified Italian nationalism, culture and the ideas of the Risorgimento The 1848–49 revolutions in Italy and their failure Piedmont, Cavour's reforms and the war of 1859 Garibaldi, the Thousand and his relations with Cavour The Papal States, Rome and why Italy was unified

Germany 1919–45AS Unit 1

Topic overview The Weimar Constitution and the Treaty of Versailles Political threats from left and right 1919–23 Reparations, the Ruhr and the hyperinflation of 1923 The Weimar economy 1924–29 Stresemann's foreign policy and the 'golden years'The Nazi Party from the Munich putsch to 1929 The Wall Street Crash and the end of parliamentary government The Nazi electoral breakthrough and Hitler's appointment as Chancellor The creation of the Nazi dictatorship 1933–34 Anti-Semitism and persecution 1933–39 Youth, women and the churches 1933–39 Schacht, Göring and the Nazi economy 1933–39 Culture, the arts and the media in the Third Reich The war economy: Todt, Speer and total war The home front: rationing, bombing, labour and morale Opposition and resistance in wartime The Holocaust: ghettos, Barbarossa, Wannsee and genocide

Spain and Europe 1556–98AS Unit 2

Topic overview Spain in 1556 and the legacy of Charles V Philip II's kingship and working methods Conciliar government, faction and the Pérez affair The revolts of the Moriscos and of Aragon The Spanish economy in 1556 and the king's revenues Agriculture, industry and commerce 1556–98 Bullion, debt, inflation and the royal bankruptcies The Spanish Church, Tridentine reform and the papacy The Inquisition, Conversos, Jews and Protestants The Spanish Empire and the aims of Philip II's foreign policy France, from Cateau-Cambrésis to Vervins The Mediterranean war with the Turks and the annexation of Portugal The Netherlands and the Dutch Revolt England, the sea dogs and the Armada Philip II's Spain in 1598

The Ascendancy of France in Europe 1660–1714AS Unit 2

Topic overview The foundations of French power under Louis XIV The War of Devolution 1667–68 The Dutch War 1672–78 and the Treaties of Nijmegen The Reunions and the Truce of Ratisbon The League of Augsburg and the alarm of Europe The Revocation of the Edict of Nantes and the quarrel with Rome The Cologne incident and the outbreak of the Nine Years' War French successes in the Nine Years' War Allied successes and the stalemate of the Nine Years' War The Peace of Ryswick 1697 The Partition Treaties and the Spanish succession problem Louis XIV's acceptance of the will and the road to war Marlborough and the great battles of the war Why the Grand Alliance won and France failed Utrecht, Rastatt and Europe after 1714

Ireland 1823–67AS Unit 2

Topic overview O'Connell and the Catholic Association The Clare election and Catholic Emancipation The impact of Emancipation and the Tithe War The Lichfield House Compact The Repeal Association and the monster meetings Clontarf and the failure of Repeal Peel's Irish reforms Young Ireland and the split with O'Connell The rising of 1848 The long-term causes of the Famine The course and extent of the Famine Peel, Russell and famine relief 1845–49 The consequences of the Famine to 1867 The origins, leadership and aims of the Fenians The Fenian Rising of 1867

France 1815–70AS Unit 2

Topic overview The restoration of the Bourbons and the Charter of 1814 Louis XVIII: the White Terror, moderation and the turn to the right Charles X, the ultras and the Church Economy, society and culture in France 1815–48 The July revolution of 1830 and the fall of Charles X Louis Philippe, Guizot and the bourgeois monarchy Opposition to Louis Philippe Louis Philippe's foreign policy The banquet campaign and the February revolution of 1848 The Second Republic: the National Workshops and the June Days The presidency of Louis Napoleon 1848–51 The coup of 1851 and the making of the Second Empire The authoritarian Empire and its liberalisation Economic modernisation, Haussmann's Paris and social change Napoleon III's foreign policy and the collapse of 1870

Russia 1914–41AS Unit 2

Topic overview The impact of the First World War on Russia Nicholas II, the Tsarina and Rasputin The February Revolution and the abdication of the Tsar The Provisional Government, the Petrograd Soviet and dual authority Lenin, the April Theses and the road to October The October Revolution and the consolidation of Bolshevik power The Civil War and the Bolshevik victory 1918–21 Lenin's economic policies 1917–24 Society and culture under Lenin The struggle to succeed Lenin 1924–29 Collectivisation and the peasantry Industrialisation and the Five Year Plans The social impact of Stalin's economic policies Terror and the purges 1934–39 Culture, propaganda and the cult of personality

Italy's Quest for Great Power Status 1871–1943AS Unit 2

Topic overview The aims and challenges of Italian foreign policy after 1871 Colonisation in Africa: Tunisia, Eritrea, Abyssinia and Libya The Triple Alliance and relations with the Great Powers Giolitti and Italy's internal divisions From neutrality to intervention 1914–15 Italy's war 1915–18 and its impact at home The mutilated victory, the peace settlement and Fiume The crisis of the Liberal state and the Biennio Rosso The rise of the Fascist movement 1919–22 The March on Rome and Mussolini's appointment The consolidation of Fascist power 1922–26 The aims of Fascist foreign policy and the years 1922–34 Abyssinia and the Spanish Civil War Italy, Germany and the road to war 1935–40 Defeat and the fall of Mussolini 1940–43

Crown and Parliament in England 1625–1714A2 Unit 1

Topic overview The powers of Crown and Parliament in 1625 The breakdown under Charles I 1625–40 The Constitutional Revolution 1640–42 Civil war, regicide and the republican interlude The Restoration Settlement 1660–62 The Clarendon Code and religion after 1660 Charles II, finance and dependence on France The Exclusion Crisis and the emergence of parties Charles II's personal rule 1681–85 James II's assault on Parliament and the corporations Catholicising policies and the fear of absolutism The causes of the Glorious Revolution The Revolution Settlement of 1689 War, the financial revolution and the power of the purse The Triennial Act, the Act of Settlement and the independence of the judges Party, the Crown and Parliament under Anne Finance, religion and foreign policy across the period How far had a constitutional monarchy been created by 1714?

Ireland Under the Union 1800–1900A2 Unit 1

Topic overview The Protestant ascendancy and the supporters of the Union The power of the Irish landlord The decline of the landlords and the land legislation from 1870 Industrialisation in Ulster across the century Ulster and Southern unionism from 1885 The Protestant Churches and support for the Union The Catholic Church and the growth of nationalism Constitutional nationalism from Grattan to Emancipation O'Connell after 1829: reform, repeal and the limits of moral force Butt, Parnell and the Irish Parliamentary Party Davitt, the Land League and the New Departure Revolutionary nationalism 1803–67 compared Cultural nationalism from Davis to the Gaelic Revival The British government's response 1800–1900 Ireland's social and economic transformation across the century

The Causes and Consequences of Great Power Conflict 1848–1945A2 Unit 1

Topic overview The legacy of 1848 and German unification by force Bismarck's alliance system and Germany's relations with its neighbours The Eastern Question and the decline of the Ottoman Empire Bosnia, the Balkan Wars and Serbian ambition Kaiser William II, Weltpolitik and the naval race with Britain The armed camps: the Dual Alliance and the Franco-Russian alliance Imperial, economic and nationalist rivalry by 1914 Austria-Hungary, Serbia and the July crisis of 1914 The Paris peace settlement and its consequences The League of Nations, American isolationism and the challenge from Japan The isolation of the USSR and its consequences The Depression and the rise of the dictators Hitler's aggressive foreign policy 1933–39 Appeasement and its failure Europe in 1945

The American Presidency 1901–2000A2 Unit 1

Topic overview Theodore Roosevelt and the revival of the presidency Woodrow Wilson: reform at home and war abroad Laissez-faire, the boom and the Wall Street Crash The Hundred Days and the New Deal agencies Opposition to the New Deal and the court-packing plan The New Deal, the Second World War and American recovery Truman, containment and the national security state Eisenhower, Kennedy and the imperial presidency Johnson, civil rights and the Great Society Vietnam and the limits of presidential power Nixon, détente and the opening to China Watergate and the fall of Nixon Ford, Carter and the weakened presidency Reagan: recovery, rearmament and Iran-Contra Bush, Clinton and the changing power of the presidency

Clash of Ideologies in Europe 1900–2000A2 Unit 1

Topic overview Tsarist foreign policy 1900–17 Lenin's foreign policy and the western response 1917–24 Soviet foreign policy and the West 1924–33 Collective security and the failure of the West 1933–39 The Nazi-Soviet Pact and its consequences The Grand Alliance and the impact of the war on the USSR Yalta, Potsdam and the post-war settlement The breakdown of the Grand Alliance and Soviet control in Eastern Europe Containment, the Berlin blockade and NATO 1947–55 Khrushchev, peaceful coexistence and control in Eastern Europe 1956–64 Brezhnev, Czechoslovakia and the Brezhnev Doctrine Détente, SALT and the western response 1964–79 Afghanistan and the second Cold War 1979–85 Gorbachev, the end of the Cold War and the collapse of the Soviet bloc Success and failure in Soviet foreign policy 1917–91

England 1558–1603A2 Unit 2

Topic overview 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 Social structure, social mobility and the problem of poverty

Ireland 1685–1714A2 Unit 2

Topic overview Ireland in 1685: land, church and the two communities James II, Tyrconnell and the Catholicisation of Ireland The remodelling of the army, the judiciary and the corporations The land settlement and Protestant fears in Ireland James II's first year in England: support, opposition and rebellion James II's pro-Catholic policies in England Opposition in England and the causes of the Glorious Revolution The outbreak of war and the Siege of Derry The Patriot Parliament and the campaign of 1689 The Battle of the Boyne From the Boyne to Aughrim: Limerick, Cork and Athlone The Battle of Aughrim The second siege of Limerick and the Treaty The penal laws The Protestant Ascendancy, Molyneux and the Union of 1707

Ireland 1778–1803A2 Unit 2

Topic overview Molyneux, Swift and the Patriot tradition The American War and the rise of the Volunteers The Free Trade campaign and the Constitution of 1782 The decline of the Volunteers by 1789 Grattan's Parliament and the Castle executive Henry Grattan and Henry Flood Ireland's economy and commerce 1782–1800 The Catholic Relief Acts and the Fitzwilliam episode The French Revolution and the United Irishmen Wolfe Tone and the alliance with France The Defenders, the Orange Order and sectarianism in Ulster Government repression in the 1790s The 1798 Rebellion The making of the Act of Union Emmet's rebellion of 1803

Partition of Ireland 1900–25A2 Unit 2

Topic overview Irish politics and the Liberal victory of 1906 The elections of 1910 and the parliamentary balance The Third Home Rule Bill and Ulster's response Southern Unionism and the Conservative alliance The Home Rule Act and the crisis of September 1914 Ireland and the First World War 1914–16 The causes of the Easter Rising The Rising and its aftermath The rise of Sinn Féin and the election of 1918 The Anglo-Irish War 1919–21 The Government of Ireland Act 1920 and partition The Truce and the Anglo-Irish Treaty The Treaty debates and the Irish Civil War The new state of Northern Ireland 1921–25 Craig's government and the Boundary Commission

England 1603–49

Royal favourites and the politics of the court

3 things to know
AS Unit 1

Overview

Robert Carr and the Overbury scandal, the rise of Buckingham, the sale of honours and the revival of impeachment.

What you need to know

Answer each one before you reveal it.

Your recallNot started

Key term

What was a royal favourite?

Key term

Why did favourites matter so much in early Stuart politics?

Numbers

Who was Robert Carr?

Questions from this subtopic

Each one with the model answer underneath.

1
What was a royal favourite?
Model answer
A favourite was a courtier who enjoyed the King's personal affection and used that intimacy to control access to patronage and office.
2
Why did favourites matter so much in early Stuart politics?
Model answer
Office, land, titles and pardons all flowed from the King's person, so whoever controlled access to him effectively controlled the distribution of reward.
3
Who was Robert Carr?
Model answer
Robert Carr was a young Scot who caught James's eye after breaking his leg at a tilt, and rose to be Earl of Somerset and the dominant figure at court by 1613.
4
What destroyed Somerset's position?
Model answer
Somerset and his wife were convicted in 1616 of poisoning Sir Thomas Overbury in the Tower, a scandal that disgraced the court and ended his influence.
5
Who was George Villiers?
Model answer
George Villiers was a Leicestershire gentleman introduced to court in 1614, who rose within a decade to be Duke of Buckingham and the most powerful subject in England.
6
How unusual was Buckingham's rise?
Model answer
His rise was without precedent: he became England's only duke, the first non-royal dukedom created since the 1550s, and monopolised patronage to a degree no earlier favourite had achieved.

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England 1509–58

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