Key term
Edexcel GCSE History 1HI0
Anglo-Saxon and Norman England, c1060–88British depth
Topic overviewAnglo-Saxon government, economy and societyThe last years of Edward the Confessor and the succession crisisThe rival claimants for the throneThe Norman invasion, 1060–66Establishing control, 1066–87Anglo-Saxon resistance, 1068–71The legacy of resistance to 1087Revolt of the Earls, 1075The feudal system and the ChurchNorman government, 1066–88The Norman aristocracy, 1066–88William I and the succession
British America, 1713–83: Empire and RevolutionPeriod study
Topic overviewDevelopments in colonial societySlavery in North AmericaProblems within the coloniesThe impact of cultural developmentsWar in the coloniesThe aftermath of the French and Indian warAmerican colonist relations with Britain: growing opposition, 1765-75The War of Independence 1775-83Consequences of the war in America
Conflict in the Middle East, 1945–95Period study
Crime and Punishment in Britain, c1000–presentPaper 1 option
Topic overviewFactors driving change in crime and punishment, c1000–presentNature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1000–c1500The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1000–c1500Case study: the Church, sanctuary and trial by ordealNature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1500–c1700The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1500–c1700Case studies: the Gunpowder Plot and Matthew HopkinsNature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1700–c1900The nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1700–c1900Case studies: Pentonville prison and Robert PeelNature and changing definitions of criminal activity, c1900–presentThe nature of law enforcement and punishment, c1900–presentCase studies: conscientious objectors and Derek Bentley
Early Elizabethan England, 1558–88British depth
Topic overviewThe situation on Elizabeth’s accessionThe ‘settlement’ of religionChallenge to the religious settlementThe problem of Mary, Queen of ScotsPlots and revolts at homeRelations with Spain, 1569–88Outbreak of war with Spain, 1585–88The Armada, 1588Education and leisure, 1558–88The ‘problem’ of the poorExploration and voyages of discoveryAttempted colonisation of Virginia
Henry VIII and His Ministers, 1509–40British depth
Topic overviewHenry VIII, Renaissance PrinceThe rise of Wolsey and his policiesWolsey’s foreign policy, 1509–29Wolsey, Catherine, the succession and annulmentCromwell’s rise to power, 1529–34The king’s marriages, 1529–40Cromwell and government, 1534–40The fall of CromwellThe break with RomeOpposition to, and impact of, Reformation, 1534–40The dissolution of the monasteriesThe Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536
London and the Second World War, 1939–45Paper 1 option
Mao’s China, 1945–76Modern depth
Topic overviewThe Civil War, 1945–49Communist rule, 1945–59Consolidating the CCP’s hold on power, 1951–52The Hundred Flowers campaign, 1956–57Early changes in agriculture, 1949–57Industry and the Five-Year Plan, 1953–57The Great Leap ForwardEconomic reform, 1962–65Reasons for the Cultural RevolutionThe Red Guards and the Red TerrorThe effects of the Cultural RevolutionThe end of the Cultural Revolution, 1968–76Communist control, 1949–76Family life and the role of womenEducation and health, 1949–76Cultural change, 1949–76
Medicine in Britain, c1250–presentPaper 1 option
Topic overviewFactors driving change in medicine, c1250–presentIdeas about the cause of disease and illness, c1250–c1500Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1250–c1500Case study: the Black Death, 1348–49Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1500–c1700Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1500–c1700Case studies: William Harvey and the Great Plague of 1665Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1700–c1900Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1700–c1900Case studies: Jenner’s vaccination and the 1854 cholera outbreakIdeas about the cause of disease and illness, c1900–presentApproaches to prevention and treatment, c1900–presentCase studies: penicillin and the fight against lung cancer
Migrants in Britain, c800–presentPaper 1 option
Topic overviewFactors driving change in migration to Britain, c800–presentThe context for migration, c800–c1500The experience and impact of migrants, c800–c1500Case study: York under the VikingsThe context for migration, c1500–c1700The experience and impact of migrants, c1500–c1700Case studies: Flemish and Walloon migrants, and the HuguenotsThe context for migration, c1700–c1900The experience and impact of migrants, c1700–c1900Case studies: Liverpool, and Jewish migrants in the East EndThe context for migration, c1900–presentThe experience and impact of migrants, c1900–presentCase studies: Bristol, and Asian migrants in Leicester
Notting Hill, c1948–c1970Paper 1 option
Russia and the Soviet Union, 1917–41Modern depth
Topic overviewThe growth of opposition to the tsar in early 1917The February RevolutionThe Provisional GovernmentThe Bolshevik RevolutionEarly consolidation of power, 1917–18The Civil War, 1918–21Moves towards totalitarianism, 1917–24Economic and social change, 1918–24The struggle for power, 1924–28The use of terror in the 1930sPropaganda and censorship, 1924–41The Cult of StalinAgriculture and collectivisation, 1924–41Changes in industry, 1924–41Life in the Soviet UnionThe position of women and ethnic minorities
Spain and the ‘New World’, c1490–c1555Period study
Superpower Relations and the Cold War, 1941–91Period study
Topic overviewEarly tension between East and WestThe development of the Cold WarThe Cold War intensifiesIncreased tension between East and WestCold War crises, 1958–70Reaction to crisis, 1958–70Attempts to reduce superpower tensions in the 1970sThe end of détente and the ‘Second Cold War’The collapse of Soviet control of Eastern Europe, 1985-91
The American West, c1835–c1895Period study
Topic overviewIndigenous peoples of the Plains: their beliefs and ways of lifeMigration and early settlementConflict and tension, c1835–c1862The development of settlement in the WestRanching and the cattle industryChanges in the ways of life of Indigenous peoples of the PlainsChanges in farming, the cattle industry and settlementConflict and tension, c1876–c1895Indigenous peoples of the Plains: the destruction of their ways of life
The British Sector of the Western Front, 1914–18: Injuries, Treatment and the TrenchesPaper 1 option
Topic overviewThe British sector of the Western Front and the trench systemConditions requiring medical treatment on the Western FrontMedical treatment on the Western FrontExperiments in surgery and medicine on the Western FrontMedicine in the early twentieth centurySources for a Western Front enquiry
The Reigns of King Richard I and King John, 1189–1216British depth
Topic overviewThe feudal system, 1189–1216Kingship and succession, 1189–1216Royal government and financesEnglish society, 1189–1216The nature of crusadingRichard and the Third CrusadeAftermath of the crusadeRichard, John and the loss of NormandyThe dispute with the PapacyWorsening relations with the baronsMagna Carta and the First Barons’ WarEngland in 1216
The USA, 1954–75: Conflict at Home and AbroadModern depth
Topic overviewThe position of Black Americans in the early 1950sDevelopments in education, 1954–60The Montgomery Bus Boycott and its impact, 1955–60Opposition to the civil rights movementDevelopments, 1960–62Peaceful protests and their impact, 1963–65Malcolm X and Black Power, 1963–70The civil rights movement, 1965–75Reasons for US involvement in the conflict in Vietnam, 1954–63Escalation of the conflict under JohnsonThe nature of the conflict in Vietnam, 1964–68Changes under Nixon, 1969–73Opposition to the warSupport for the warThe peace process and end of the warReasons for the failure of the USA in Vietnam
Warfare and British Society, c1250–presentPaper 1 option
Topic overviewFactors driving change in warfare, c1250–presentThe nature of warfare, c1250–c1500The experience of war, c1250–c1500Case studies: the battles of Falkirk and AgincourtThe nature of warfare, c1500–c1700The experience of war, c1500–c1700Case study: the Battle of Naseby, 1645The nature of warfare, c1700–c1900The experience of war, c1700–c1900Case studies: the battles of Waterloo and BalaclavaThe nature of warfare, c1900–presentThe experience of war, c1900–presentCase studies: the Somme and the Iraq War
Weimar and Nazi Germany, 1918–39Modern depth
Topic overviewThe origins of the Republic, 1918–19The early challenges to the Weimar Republic, 1919–23The ‘Golden Years’: recovery of the Republic, 1924–29Changes in society, 1924–29Early development of the Nazi Party, 1920–22The Munich Putsch and the Nazi Party, 1923–28The growth in support for the Nazis, 1929–32How Hitler became Chancellor, 1932–33The creation of a dictatorship, 1933–34The police state, 1933–39Controlling and influencing attitudesOpposition, resistance and conformityNazi policies towards womenNazi policies towards the youngEmployment and living standardsThe persecution of minorities
Whitechapel, c1870–c1900: Crime, Policing and the Inner CityPaper 1 option
Medicine in Britain, c1250–present
- 13 subtopics
- 39 things to know
- Paper 1
- Paper 1, one thematic study with its linked historic environment, of four pairs
What Medicine in Britain, c1250–present covers
Medicine in Britain, c1250–present is examined in Paper 1, Thematic study and historic environment. It covers factors driving change in medicine, c1250–present, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1250–c1500, Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1250–c1500, case study: the Black Death, 1348–49, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1500–c1700, Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1500–c1700, case studies: William Harvey and the Great Plague of 1665, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1700–c1900, Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1700–c1900, case studies: Jenner’s vaccination and the 1854 cholera outbreak, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1900–present, Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1900–present and case studies: penicillin and the fight against lung cancer.
Where it is assessed
Paper 1
Thematic study and historic environment, 30% of the GCSE, one option of four.
Check the Pearson Edexcel specification ↗The 13 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Factors driving change in medicine, c1250–presentThe three factors behind change, turning points and Germ Theory, the medieval Church as brake and support, government's growing role, the microscope and printing press, slow acceptance of proven discoveries, continuity and the Four Humours, the Royal Society, towns and trade, the Renaissance, industrial ill health, war, factors combining for penicillin and the 1875 Act, faster progress after 1850 and three epidemics compared.Open →
- Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1250–c1500Illness as God's punishment or test, the Devil, astrology in diagnosis, supernatural and rational explanations, the Theory of the Four Humours and Hippocrates, Galen's Theory of Opposites, miasma, and why Galen's authority lasted so long.Open →
- Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1250–c1500Religious actions and the flagellants, bloodletting and purging, purifying the air against miasma, the regimen sanitatis, how treatments matched explanations, the training and methods of physicians, apothecaries and barber surgeons, Church-run hospitals and whom they turned away, care at home and herbal remedies.Open →
- Case study: the Black Death, 1348–49The years of the outbreak, God's punishment and the planets, buboes and other symptoms, bleeding, purging and lancing, religious responses, shutting up households, Gloucester's gates, street cleaning and the death toll.Open →
- Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1500–c1700Miasma and the humours after 1500, the decline of supernatural explanations, Thomas Sydenham's observation of patients, scarlet fever, Observationes Medicae, the printing press, and the Royal Society and Philosophical Transactions.Open →
- Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1500–c1700Medieval treatments that lasted after 1500, the loss of monastery hospitals and what replaced them, transference, new remedies from the New World, the Royal College of Physicians of 1518, changes in training, and Vesalius: The Fabric of the Human Body of 1543, the errors of Galen he corrected and his influence in England.Open →
- Case studies: William Harvey and the Great Plague of 1665Galen on blood, Harvey's proof of circulation in 1628, the heart's output and the valves, why treatment was slow to change, then the plague of 1665, shut-up houses, searchers of the dead, bans and posies.Open →
- Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1700–c1900Miasma in the early nineteenth century, spontaneous generation, Pasteur's souring liquids and swan-necked flask, Germ Theory in 1861 and its slow reception, Koch's methods and the microbes he identified, and Lister's carbolic acid.Open →
- Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1700–c1900Eighteenth-century hospitals, Nightingale at Scutari, her wards, Notes on Nursing and her school, surgery before anaesthetics, chloroform and Queen Victoria, Lister's carbolic acid, deaths after anaesthetics, compulsory vaccination, Pasteur's vaccines and the 1875 Act.Open →
- Case studies: Jenner’s vaccination and the 1854 cholera outbreakJenner's milkmaids, the test on James Phipps, the word vaccination, opposition and Parliament's grant, then Snow's map of Broad Street, the pump handle, the leaking cesspit and why his conclusion was doubted.Open →
- Ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1900–presentWatson and Crick's double helix of 1953, the Human Genome Project, inherited conditions and genetic testing, lifestyle factors behind the main causes of death, and modern diagnosis through blood tests, X-rays, scans, endoscopes and home monitors.Open →
- Approaches to prevention and treatment, c1900–presentThe NHS of 1948 under Bevan, the Beveridge Report, free treatment at the point of use, doctors' opposition and wider access to care, magic bullets from Salvarsan 606 to Prontosil, antibiotics and resistance, high-tech treatment, mass vaccination and the eradication of smallpox, and government campaigns to change how people live.Open →
- Case studies: penicillin and the fight against lung cancerFleming's discovery of penicillin in 1928, Florey and Chain's work at Oxford, the first patient Albert Alexander, American mass production, then the diagnosis of lung cancer, surgery, radiotherapy, chemotherapy and targeted treatment, the smoking ban of 2007, tobacco tax and plain packaging.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
Who treated the sick in medieval England besides the physician, and what did hospitals offer and refuse?
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What were hospitals like before Florence Nightingale, and how did her work change nursing and the hospital ward?
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How did the NHS change access to care for ordinary families?
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Besides God, which supernatural being was blamed for illness in the Middle Ages?
Numbers
Which event in the sky was blamed for bringing the Black Death?
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Which older explanation of disease was still widely believed in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
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What effect did the closure of the monasteries have on care for the sick?
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How did Harvey show that fresh blood could not be made each time?
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What did most doctors still blame for disease in the first half of the nineteenth century?
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Where does the word vaccination come from?
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What did Watson and Crick work out in 1953, and whose work made it possible?
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What did Fleming find in his laboratory in 1928?
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Which three key factors are used to explain why medicine changed quickly or slowly across the whole period?
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What is the difference between a supernatural and a rational explanation of disease?
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Which idea about disease made people try to purify the air around them?
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Which symptoms did people recognise in a victim of the Black Death?
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Which explanation of illness became much less common among educated people in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
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What kinds of hospital gradually took the place of the monastic hospitals?
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Who were the searchers of the dead?
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What was the theory of spontaneous generation?
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What were British hospitals like in the eighteenth century?
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Why was Jenner’s work opposed at first?
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What was the Human Genome Project, and when was it completed?
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When did the NHS begin, and which minister was responsible for it?
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What did Florey and Chain add to Fleming’s discovery?
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Which single discovery is usually treated as the greatest turning point in explaining disease, and why?
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What did the Theory of the Four Humours say caused illness?
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What was a regimen sanitatis?
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What did Gloucester attempt in 1348?
Who and when
Who was Thomas Sydenham?
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Which new remedies reached England from abroad in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries?
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What did the London authorities forbid in order to slow the plague?
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What problem was Pasteur investigating when he began the work that led to Germ Theory?
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What did Nightingale insist on in a well-run ward?
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Where in London was the cholera outbreak that Snow investigated in 1854?
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Name two conditions a person can inherit.
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Which report of 1942 led towards the NHS, and what did it call disease?
Numbers
What happened to the first person treated with penicillin?
Take Medicine in Britain, c1250–present further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Pasteur vs Koch
Pasteur: the French scientist who published Germ Theory in 1861 after studying souring liquids. Koch: the scientist who showed one specific microbe causes one specific disease.
Bloodletting vs Purging
Bloodletting: opening a vein or applying leeches to remove an excess humour. Purging: emptying the body by vomiting or the bowels to remove an excess humour.
Miasma vs Spontaneous generation
Miasma: bad air from rotting matter thought to poison anyone who breathed it. Spontaneous generation: the belief that microbes were produced by rotting matter rather than causing it.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which three key factors are used to explain why medicine changed quickly or slowly across the whole period?
Model answer
Individuals and institutions such as the Church and government, science and technology, and attitudes in society.
- 2
What is meant by calling a development a turning point in medicine?
Model answer
It is a moment after which progress moves in a clearly different direction from the one it had been following.
- 3
Which single discovery is usually treated as the greatest turning point in explaining disease, and why?
Model answer
Pasteur’s Germ Theory, because it replaced guesswork about bad air with a cause that could be proved and acted on.
- 4
How did the medieval Church hold back new ideas about the body?
Model answer
It taught that illness came from God and protected Galen’s writings, so questioning them was treated as an attack on faith.
- 5
Give one way the same Church encouraged medicine even while it discouraged new theories.
Model answer
Monasteries ran hospitals and the Church ran the universities, so the sick were cared for and physicians were trained.
- 6
How did the role of government in health change between the medieval period and the modern one?
Model answer
It moved from leaving health to families and the Church to taking legal responsibility for clean water, housing and free treatment.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
Medicine in Britain, c1250–present revision questions
- What does Medicine in Britain, c1250–present cover in Edexcel GCSE History?
- 13 subtopics: factors driving change in medicine, c1250–present, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1250–c1500, approaches to prevention and treatment, c1250–c1500, case study: the black death, 1348–49, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1500–c1700, approaches to prevention and treatment, c1500–c1700, case studies: william harvey and the great plague of 1665, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1700–c1900, approaches to prevention and treatment, c1700–c1900, case studies: jenner’s vaccination and the 1854 cholera outbreak, ideas about the cause of disease and illness, c1900–present, approaches to prevention and treatment, c1900–present and case studies: penicillin and the fight against lung cancer. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is Medicine in Britain, c1250–present organised?
- By the Edexcel 1HI0 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in Medicine in Britain, c1250–present, 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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