OCR A-Level History A H505
Y101: Alfred and the Making of England 871–1016Unit group 1
Y102: Anglo-Saxon England and the Norman Conquest 1035–1107Unit group 1
Y103: England 1199–1272Unit group 1
Y104: England 1377–1455Unit group 1
Y105: England 1445–1509: Lancastrians, Yorkists and Henry VIIUnit group 1
Y106: England 1485–1558: The Early TudorsUnit group 1
Y107: England 1547–1603: The Later TudorsUnit group 1
Y108: The Early Stuarts and the Origins of the Civil War 1603–1660Unit group 1
Y109: The Making of Georgian Britain 1678–c.1760Unit group 1
Y110: From Pitt to Peel 1783–1853Unit group 1
Y111: Liberals, Conservatives and the Rise of Labour 1846–1918Unit group 1
Y112: Britain 1900–1951Unit group 1
Y113: Britain 1930–1997Unit group 1
Y201: The Rise of Islam c.550–750Unit group 2
Y202: Charlemagne 768–814Unit group 2
Y203: The Crusades and the Crusader States 1095–1192Unit group 2
Y204: Genghis Khan and the Explosion From the Steppes c.1167–1405Unit group 2
Y205: Exploration, Encounters and Empire 1445–1570Unit group 2
Y206: Spain 1469–1556Unit group 2
Y207: The German Reformation and the Rule of Charles v 1500–1559Unit group 2
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598Unit group 2
Y209: African Kingdoms c.1400–c.1800: Four Case StudiesUnit group 2
Y210: Russia 1645–1741Unit group 2
Y211: The Rise and Decline of the Mughal Empire in India 1526–1739Unit group 2
Y212: The American Revolution 1740–1796Unit group 2
Y213: The French Revolution and the Rule of Napoleon 1774–1815Unit group 2
Y214: France 1814–1870Unit group 2
Y215: Italy and Unification 1789–1896Unit group 2
Y216: The USA in the 19th Century: Westward Expansion and Civil War 1803–c.1890Unit group 2
Y217: Japan 1853–1937Unit group 2
Y218: International Relations 1890–1941Unit group 2
Y219: Russia 1894–1941Unit group 2
Y220: Italy 1896–1943Unit group 2
Y221: Democracy and Dictatorships in Germany 1919–1963Unit group 2
Y222: The Cold War in Asia 1945–1993Unit group 2
Y223: The Cold War in Europe 1941–1995Unit group 2
Y224: Apartheid and Reconciliation: South African Politics 1948–1999Unit group 2
Y301: The Early Anglo-Saxons c.400–800Unit group 3
Y302: The Viking Age c.790–1066Unit group 3
Y303: English Government and the Church 1066–1216Unit group 3
Y304: The Church and Medieval Heresy c.1100–1437Unit group 3
Y305: The Renaissance c.1400–c.1600Unit group 3
Y306: Rebellion and Disorder Under the Tudors 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y307: Tudor Foreign Policy 1485–1603Unit group 3
Y308: The Catholic Reformation 1492–1610Unit group 3
Y309: The Ascendancy of the Ottoman Empire 1453–1606Unit group 3
Y310: The Development of the Nation State: France 1498–1610Unit group 3
Y311: The Origins and Growth of the British Empire 1558–1783Unit group 3
Y312: Popular Culture and the Witchcraze of the 16th and 17th CenturiesUnit group 3
Y313: The Ascendancy of France 1610–1715Unit group 3
Y314: The Challenge of German Nationalism 1789–1919Unit group 3
Y315: The Changing Nature of Warfare 1792–1945Unit group 3
Y316: Britain and Ireland 1791–1921Unit group 3
Y317: China and Its Rulers 1839–1989Unit group 3
Y318: Russia and Its Rulers 1855–1964Unit group 3
Y319: Civil Rights in the USA 1865–1992Unit group 3
Y320: From Colonialism to Independence: The British Empire 1857–1965Unit group 3
Y321: The Middle East 1908–2011: Ottomans to Arab SpringUnit group 3
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598
- 8 subtopics
- 18 things to know
- Unit group 2
- Non-British period study, one unit of twenty-four
What Y208: Philip II 1556–1598 covers
Philip II 1556–1598 is unit Y208 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them. Its four key topics are political authority, religion, foreign policy and the Netherlands. 263 recall questions across 8 subtopics.
Where it is assessed
Unit group 2
Non-British period study, one unit of twenty-four.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 8 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Political authority: Legacy of Charles I and condition of SpainRecall questions on legacy of Charles I, condition of Spain, absolutism, the conciliar system, centralisation, methods and style of government.Open →
- Political authority: faction, justice, revolts and financeRecall questions on Ruy Gómez and faction, the Pérez brothers and Escobedo, Philip’s view of justice, the fates of Don Carlos and Montigny, the Morisco revolt, the Aragonese crisis and royal finances by 1598.Open →
- Religion: Philip II’s inheritance and relations with the PapacyRecall questions on Philip II’s inheritance, family issues, personal religion, relations with the Papacy, the Spanish Church and Inquisition.Open →
- Religion: attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, moral and spiritual impact of the InquisitionRecall questions on attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, Jesuits, the Index, heretics, Moriscos and Conversos, the moral and spiritual impact of the Inquisition.Open →
- Foreign policy: foreign situation in 1555, Holy League and the Battle of LepantoRecall questions on the foreign situation in 1555, priorities, defence, crusade, expansion, peace or war, foreign relations and military operations in the Mediterranean, the Holy League and the Battle of Lepanto.Open →
- Foreign policy: relations with England, France, Portugal and Philip’s reputation abroadRecall questions on relations with England, France, Portugal, annexation, the consistency of Spain’s aims, methods and the nature of policies, Philip’s reputation abroad.Open →
- The Netherlands: origins of the revolt and its course to 1576Recall questions on the political, religious and economic origins of the Dutch Revolt, Granvelle, the events of 1566, Alva and the Tenth Penny, the revival of 1572 and Requesens’s failure.Open →
- The Netherlands: religion, reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt and situation in 1598Recall questions on religion, divisions between north and south, effects of the assassination of William of Orange, economic and strategic position of northern provinces, reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt, the situation in 1598.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Explain how the conciliar system worked under Philip.
How did faction operate at Philip's court?
What were the roles of Gonzalo and Antonio Pérez?
What happened to the Baron of Montigny?
What religious inheritance did Philip receive from his father?
Name the three great church grants that helped fund his policies.
Why did Philip quarrel with the papacy despite his devotion to the Church?
Why was the Mediterranean Philip's first priority until the later 1570s?
Explain the significance of the siege of Malta in 1565.
Explain the plan of the Armada of 1588 and why it failed.
Why did the nobles turn against Cardinal Granvelle?
What was the Spanish Fury, and what did it produce?
Describe the position in the Netherlands in 1598.
What financial and economic grievances lay behind the revolt?
How were conversos treated under Philip?
Why did Philip make truces with the Ottomans from the later 1570s?
What were the religious origins of the revolt?
Take Y208: Philip II 1556–1598 further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Spanish Fury vs Pacification of Ghent
Spanish Fury: the sack of Antwerp by unpaid troops in 1576. Pacification of Ghent: the agreement of 1576 by which the provinces combined to demand the removal of foreign troops.
Union of Arras vs Union of Utrecht
Union of Arras: the league of the southern provinces that made terms with the king in 1579. Union of Utrecht: the league of the northern provinces that bound themselves to continue the war.
Antonio Pérez vs Duke of Alba
Antonio Pérez: the secretary whose flight to Aragon in 1590 provoked a constitutional crisis. Duke of Alba: the commander sent to the Netherlands in 1567 whose Council of Troubles executed thousands.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Outline what Philip inherited from his father in 1556.
Model answer
He received Spain and the Indies, the Netherlands, Franche-Comté and the Italian lands, together with an unfinished war against France, obligations to defend Catholicism, and debts so large that payments to the bankers had to be suspended in 1557.
- 2
Describe the condition of Spain at Philip's accession.
Model answer
Castile was populous and prosperous with a growing colonial trade, but heavily taxed and inflated in price, while the monarchy was a bundle of kingdoms with separate laws, so the crown's real power varied sharply between Castile and the rest.
- 3
How far is it accurate to call Philip's rule absolutism?
Model answer
He acknowledged no earthly superior and made every important decision himself, but he was bound by the fueros of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and later Portugal, depended on the Castilian Cortes for taxes, and was limited by distance and by his own officials, so his authority was greater in theory than in practice.
- 4
Explain how the conciliar system worked under Philip.
Model answer
Separate councils dealt with each territory and with matters such as finance, war, the Indies and the Inquisition; each debated business and sent the king a written recommendation, on which he wrote his decision in the margin, so the councils advised while he alone decided.
- 5
Why did Philip increasingly govern through juntas in the later part of the reign?
Model answer
The councils were slow and the business too great for one man, so he referred urgent matters to small committees of trusted ministers who could work quickly and secretly, an arrangement that concentrated power in a handful of hands.
- 6
Why was Madrid made the seat of government in 1561?
Model answer
A fixed and central capital allowed the councils, secretaries and archives to work in one place around a king who no longer travelled, replacing the itinerant court of his father and pulling government towards Castile.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Y208: Philip II 1556–1598 revision questions
- What does Y208: Philip II 1556–1598 cover in OCR A-Level History A?
- 8 subtopics: political authority: legacy of charles i and condition of spain, political authority: faction, justice, revolts and finance, religion: philip ii’s inheritance and relations with the papacy, religion: attitude towards the tridentine decrees, moral and spiritual impact of the inquisition, foreign policy: foreign situation in 1555, holy league and the battle of lepanto, foreign policy: relations with england, france, portugal and philip’s reputation abroad, the netherlands: origins of the revolt and its course to 1576 and the netherlands: religion, reasons for spain’s failure to crush the revolt and situation in 1598. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Y208: Philip II 1556–1598 organised?
- By the OCR H505 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Y208: Philip II 1556–1598, 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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