WJEC A-Level History 601-5817-7
Government, Rebellion and Society in Wales and England c.1485-1603Period study
Government, Revolution and Society in Wales and England c.1603-1715Period study
Politics, Protest and Reform in Wales and England c.1780-1880Period study
Politics, People and Progress: Wales and England c.1880-1980Period study
Political and Religious Change in Europe c.1500-1598Period study
Europe in the Age of Absolutism and Revolution c.1682-1815Period study
Revolution and New Ideas in Europe c.1780-1881Period study
Europe in an Age of Conflict and Co-Operation c.1890-1991Period study
The Mid Tudor Crisis in Wales and England c.1529-1570Depth study
Royalty, Rebellion and Republic c.1625-1660Depth study
Reform and Protest in Wales and England c.1783-1848Depth study
Politics and Society in Wales and England c.1900-1939Depth study
The Religious Reformation in Europe c.1500-1564Depth study
France in Revolution c.1774-1815Depth study
The Crisis of the American Republic c.1840-1877Depth study
Germany: Democracy and Dictatorship c.1918-1945Depth study
Wales: Resistance, Conquest and Rebellion c.1240-1415Breadth study
Poverty, Protest and Rebellion in Wales and England c.1485-1603Breadth study
Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610Breadth study
Royalty, Revolution and Restoration in Wales and England c.1603-1715Breadth study
France: Ancien Régime to Napoleon c.1715-1815Breadth study
Parliamentary Reform and Protest in Wales and England c.1780-1885Breadth study
Social Change and Reform in Wales and England c.1890-1990Breadth study
The American Century c.1890-1990Breadth study
Changing Leadership and Society in Germany c.1871-1989Breadth study
Changing Leadership and Society in Russia c.1881-1989Breadth study
Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610
- 13 subtopics
- 39 things to know
- A2 Unit 3
- Unit 3, one breadth study of ten
What Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 covers
Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 is examined in Unit 3, the breadth study — one of ten options, of which a student takes one. It covers the condition of the Catholic Church around 1500, Luther and the challenge to Rome, the early reaction of the Catholic Church, the spread of the Reformation in the 1520s and 1530s, Zwingli, Calvin and the Reformed tradition, the Council of Trent and the Counter-Reformation, religious war and schism in France, the Netherlands and central Europe, change and continuity in European religion 1500 to 1600, motives for exploration and the role of monarchs, the early explorers: Columbus, da Gama, Cabot and Magellan, Spain, Portugal, England and the Netherlands overseas, the Spanish Main, colonisation and indigenous peoples and merchants, science and the changing world 1492 to 1610.
The 13 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- The condition of the Catholic Church around 1500Nepotism as practised by the Renaissance papacy and erasmus's satire on Church abuses and give its date.Open →
- Luther and the challenge to RomeSola fide, sola scriptura and why Luther's protest survived when earlier ones had been crushed.Open →
- The early reaction of the Catholic ChurchEdict of Worms, fifth Lateran Council and two problems that stopped Charles V crushing German Protestantism early.Open →
- The spread of the Reformation in the 1520s and 1530sAugsburg Confession, schmalkaldic League and schmalkaldic War.Open →
- Zwingli, Calvin and the Reformed traditionCalvin's doctrine of predestination, consistory in Geneva and genevan Academy.Open →
- The Council of Trent and the Counter-ReformationThree disciplinary reforms decreed at Trent, index of Prohibited Books and two other new or reformed orders of the Counter-Reformation.Open →
- Religious war and schism in France, the Netherlands and central EuropeRecall questions on the French Protestants and the massacre of 1572, the revolt against Spanish rule and the truce that ended it, the Bohemian grant of religious freedom, and why confession made these wars international.Open →
- Change and continuity in European religion 1500 to 1600Recall questions on how far princes gained control of the Church, the changed position of the clergy, what happened to poor relief where monasteries went, and the effect on women's religious life.Open →
- Motives for exploration and the role of monarchsHenry the Navigator's contribution, three technical advances that made ocean voyaging possible and manuel I of Portugal's part in exploration.Open →
- The early explorers: Columbus, da Gama, Cabot and MagellanRecall questions on the crossing of 1492 and what its patron expected, the sea route to India, the North Atlantic voyages, and the first circumnavigation and its cost.Open →
- Spain, Portugal, England and the Netherlands overseasEmpire did Portugal build in the east, three key Portuguese bases in the Indian Ocean and treasure fleet system.Open →
- The Spanish Main, colonisation and indigenous peoplesSpanish Main, mita in Peru and new Laws.Open →
- Merchants, science and the changing world 1492 to 1610Price revolution, joint-stock company and two navigational or cartographic advances of the period.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Who were the French Protestants, what began the wars of religion, which houses contended, and what happened in Paris in 1572?
How did religious change alter the authority of princes, the clergy, poor relief and the position of women?
What was the Edict of Nantes?
What was Luther's own spiritual problem before 1517?
How did Rome first treat Luther's protest?
Why was the printing press decisive for the Reformation?
Where did Zwingli lead the Reformation?
Which pope finally summoned the Council of Trent?
Summarise the three classic motives for European exploration.
What did Columbus believe he would reach by sailing west?
What kind of empire did Portugal build in the east?
What was the Spanish Main?
Why did the Atlantic ports rise at the expense of the Mediterranean cities?
Define an indulgence.
Define sola fide.
Why did Leo X move so slowly against Luther?
Why did reformed ideas take hold fastest in towns?
How did Luther and Zwingli differ over the Eucharist?
What did Trent rule about the Mass?
By 1600, which parts of Europe were solidly Protestant?
Why did Europeans want a sea route to Asia?
Name the three ships of Columbus's first voyage.
Name three key Portuguese bases in the Indian Ocean.
What happened at San Juan de Ulúa in 1568?
Who were the Fuggers?
What is pluralism?
Define sola scriptura.
What did the bull Exsurge Domine do, and when?
Which prince turned the Teutonic Order's lands into a Lutheran duchy, and when?
What happened at the Marburg Colloquy in 1529?
Name three disciplinary reforms decreed at Trent.
Who were the Huguenots?
Which regions that had seemed likely to turn Protestant were recovered for Rome?
Which spices were most sought after, and where did they grow?
How many Atlantic voyages did Columbus make?
Who was Afonso de Albuquerque?
What was a privateer?
Why did Amsterdam replace Antwerp?
Take Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Union of Arras vs Union of Utrecht
Union of Arras: the 1579 agreement by which the Catholic southern provinces of the Netherlands made their peace with Spain. Union of Utrecht: The 1579 agreement binding the northern provinces of the Netherlands together in continued resistance to Spain.
Bartolomeu Dias vs Vasco da Gama
Bartolomeu Dias: the Portuguese captain who first rounded the Cape of Good Hope, in 1488, before turning back. Vasco da Gama: The Portuguese captain who sailed from Lisbon in 1497 and reached Calicut in 1498, opening the sea route from Europe to the spice markets.
Magellan vs Elcano
Magellan: the commander who set out to reach the Spice Islands by sailing westwards, and was killed in the Philippines in 1521 before the voyage was completed. Elcano: The Basque officer who brought the Victoria home to Spain in 1522 with a handful of survivors, completing the first circumnavigation.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
What did the Church teach about how a soul reached heaven, and why did that make it so powerful?
Model answer
That salvation came through grace and good works channelled by the sacraments, so the Church controlled the means by which a soul was saved.
- 2
Define an indulgence.
Model answer
A remission of the temporal punishment due for sin, granted by the Church and increasingly obtained by a money payment.
- 3
What was purgatory, and why did belief in it fuel the trade in indulgences?
Model answer
It was the place where souls were purged of sin before entering heaven, and indulgences promised to shorten that suffering for the buyer or a dead relative.
- 4
What is pluralism?
Model answer
The holding of more than one church office, and its income, by a single clergyman at the same time.
- 5
What is absenteeism, and how was it connected to pluralism?
Model answer
It is non-residence in a benefice; a pluralist could not live in all his livings, so parishes were left to poorly paid and often ignorant deputies.
- 6
Define simony.
Model answer
The buying and selling of Church offices or spiritual benefits.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 revision questions
- What does Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 cover in WJEC A-Level History?
- 13 subtopics: the condition of the catholic church around 1500, luther and the challenge to rome, the early reaction of the catholic church, the spread of the reformation in the 1520s and 1530s, zwingli, calvin and the reformed tradition, the council of trent and the counter-reformation, religious war and schism in france, the netherlands and central europe, change and continuity in european religion 1500 to 1600, motives for exploration and the role of monarchs, the early explorers: columbus, da gama, cabot and magellan, spain, portugal, england and the netherlands overseas, the spanish main, colonisation and indigenous peoples and merchants, science and the changing world 1492 to 1610. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610 organised?
- By the WJEC 601-5817-7 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Reformation and Discovery: Europe c.1492-1610, 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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