Key term
OCR GCSE History A J410
Castles: Form and Function c.1000–1750Historic environment
Topic overviewThe location of Kenilworth CastleThe appearance and layout of Kenilworth Castle at different times in its historyThe day-to-day functions of Kenilworth CastleThe evidence historians use for a castle’s changing functionLife in Kenilworth Castle at different times in its historyKey events associated with Kenilworth Castle at different times in its history
China 1950–1981: The People and the StateDepth study
Topic overviewEarly purges, the Hundred Flowers and social policy in the 1950sLand reform, collectivisation, the First Five Year Plan and the Great Leap ForwardCauses and impact of the Cultural Revolution, the Red Guards and TibetThe nature of Communist propaganda and its impactCommunism in China after the death of Mao 1976–1981The Communist state and the Chinese people
Germany 1925–1955: The People and the StateDepth study
Topic overviewThe Weimar Republic 1925–1928 and the impact of the DepressionRising support for Nazis 1929–1933The Nazi consolidation of power 1933–1934The Nazi terror state, propaganda and the people's communityNazi economic and social policy, and the lack of effective oppositionReaction to war, changing fortunes and the home front 1939–1945Racial persecution, the Holocaust and opposition during the warDefeat, occupation and the two Germanys 1945–1955The state and the German people, 1925–1955
International Relations: The Changing International Order 1918–1975
Topic overviewThe Versailles settlement, the League and the agreements of the 1920sThe Depression, the failure of the League and the road to warSoviet actions in Eastern Europe and the Western response, 1945–48NATO, the Warsaw Pact, the Berlin Wall and the Cuban Missile CrisisOrigins of US involvement in Vietnam and the tactics of the warUS withdrawal from Vietnam, opposition at home and the end of the warChanging interpretations of AppeasementChanging interpretations of the responsibility for the Cold WarThe big ideas behind the twentieth-century international order
Migration to Britain c.1000 to c.2010Thematic study
Topic overviewDiversity before 1066, and the impact of the Norman ConquestJews in medieval England: treatment, integration and expulsionResident aliens in later medieval EnglandAfricans in sixteenth-century England, the East India Company and Britain’s black communitiesThe readmission of Jews in 1656, and Protestant refugeesIndustrial-age migration: the Irish, Eastern European Jews, abolition and ChartismNaturalisation, port communities and immigration law 1870–1948Attitudes towards Jews in the 1930s and migrants in the two world warsThe impact of post-war migration on BritainImmigration as a political issue c.1990–c.2010The big questions about migration to Britain
Personal Rule to Restoration 1629–1660British depth
Topic overviewRelationship between Parliament and Charles I 1629–1642Attempts at settlement, the radical groups and the Army 1646–1649The execution of Charles I 1649The Rump, Cromwell and the Protectorate 1649–1658Attempts to reach a settlement September 1658 – April 1660The tensions that led to war, and the changes that followed
Power: Monarchy and Democracy in Britain c.1000 to 2014Thematic study
Topic overviewAnglo-Saxon kingship, 1066 and the Norman monarchyMagna Carta and the emergence of ParliamentRichard II’s deposition and the Wars of the RosesTudor government, personal rule and the Civil WarsThe Restoration, 1688 and the Bill of RightsThe rise of political parties and a parliamentary monarchyParliament and the people, c.1800–c.1918: reform and the unionsVotes for women, and the state in war and peaceChallenges to Parliament since 1980Claiming, keeping and losing power
South Africa 1960–1994: The People and the StateDepth study
Topic overviewConsolidating apartheid in the 1960s: the Bantustans, state control and SharpevilleReasons for, methods of and impact of different types of resistanceThe further development of resistanceThe Anti-Apartheid Movement and the regime's response in the 1970sGrowing pressure on the regimeThe State of Emergency and the failure of total strategy 1985–1990Negotiations between the government and the ANCThe state and the South African people, 1960–1994
The English Reformation c.1520–c.1550British depth
Topic overviewThe church in England c.1520 and its criticsPopular attitudes to reform, the annulment and the Reformation ParliamentCromwell, the Valor Ecclesiasticus and the dissolution of the monasteriesImmediate reactions to Dissolution including supportResistance and protestDevelopment and changes in religious policy under Henry VIII and Edward VIEnforcing the new religious policies and the Prayer Book Rebellion 1549The English Church before and after the Reformation
The Impact of Empire on Britain 1688–c.1730British depth
Topic overviewThe Glorious Revolution, the Hanoverian succession and the British IslesDarien, the Act of Union, the 1715 rising and emigration to the AmericasEconomic impact of war and imperial expansionThe Treaty of Utrecht, the South Sea Bubble and the slave-based colonial economyConsumerism, the slave-trading ports and the coffee housesIdeas of racial hierarchy, and opposition and resistance to slaveryWhat empire did to Britain and the British Isles
The USA 1919–1948: The People and the StateDepth study
Topic overviewThe US economy and women in the ‘Roaring Twenties’Prohibition, the Red Scare and immigration restrictionsJim Crow, the Ku Klux Klan and attempts to combat prejudiceEconomic and social effects of the Great Depression and government responseThe Second New DealThe mobilisation of the US people for the war effortSocial impact of the warThe Detroit Race Riots 1943 and segregation in the armed forcesThe state and the American people, 1919–1948
The USA 1945–1974: The People and the StateDepth study
Topic overviewFears of Communism at home, the Red Scare and McCarthyismJim Crow and the development and achievements of the civil rights movementOpposition to civil rights and the role of the Supreme Court and EisenhowerThe roles of Kennedy and Johnson in civil rights campaignsBlack Power, radical leaders, and Native American and Chicano campaignsThe impact of feminismStonewall, anti-war protest and the Great SocietyThe state and the American people, 1945–1974
Urban Environments: Patterns of MigrationHistoric environment
Topic overviewWhen immigrant groups arrived, why and from whereSpitalfields: who came, when and whyWhere immigrants settled and how they were receivedSettling in Spitalfields, and how newcomers were receivedThe experiences of immigrantsWork, housing and faith in SpitalfieldsKey events in local migration historyAltab Ali, Brick Lane 1978 and other key events in SpitalfieldsThe impact of migration on the areaSpitalfields today: impact and the multicultural communityReading an urban site for its migration historyReading the buildings, maps and records of Spitalfields
War and British Society c.790 to c.2010Thematic study
Topic overviewViking raids and the Norman ConquestThe feudal system and feudal military serviceWar in medieval society, c.1290–c.1450Elizabeth I’s wars with Spain, and English privateersBorder warfare, the Civil Wars and the Jacobite risingsImperial wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuriesThe Crimean War and the Boer WarsThe two world wars and the Cold WarThe IRA campaigns and conflict since 1945What war did to British people and their rulers
War and British Society c.790 to c.2010
- 10 subtopics
- 28 things to know
- Paper 2
- Paper 2, one British thematic study of three; it fixes the Paper 3 pair
What War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 covers
War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 is examined in Paper 2, British thematic study. It covers Viking raids and the Norman Conquest; the feudal system and feudal military service; war in medieval society, c.1290–c.1450; Elizabeth I’s wars with Spain and English privateers; border warfare, the Civil Wars and the Jacobite risings; imperial wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries; the Crimean War and the Boer Wars; the two world wars and the Cold War; the IRA campaigns and conflict since 1945; and what war did to British people and their rulers.
Where it is assessed
Paper 2
British thematic study, one of three; 25% of the GCSE.
Check the OCR specification ↗The 10 subtopics
Each one has its own page.
- Viking raids and the Norman ConquestLindisfarne, why raiders chose monasteries, the Great Heathen Army, Alfred's burhs and the divided fyrd, Danegeld, the northern rising of 1069, Hereward, the Harrying of the North and how William held England down.Open →
- The feudal system and feudal military serviceWilliam's claim to all the land, tenants-in-chief and knights' fees, a villein's obligations, Domesday Book, the new landowning class, peasant life after the Conquest, the Forest Laws, servitium debitum, homage, scutage, and the breakdowns under Stephen and John.Open →
- War in medieval society, c.1290–c.1450Crécy and Agincourt, the chevauchée, early gunpowder, recruitment by indenture, why forty days' service failed, taxation and the wool subsidy, the Italian bankers, purveyance, French villagers' suffering and raids on the English coast.Open →
- Elizabeth I’s wars with Spain, and English privateersThe Treaty of Nonsuch, the Armada and Elizabeth's image, the years after 1588, Parliament and the cost of war, monopolies, privateers and pirates, Drake, Hawkins, Cadiz and what raiding gave and cost England.Open →
- Border warfare, the Civil Wars and the Jacobite risingsThe border reivers, Flodden, the marches and their wardens, bastle houses and pele towers, the Wars of the Three Kingdoms, sieges and skirmishes, the New Model Army, Cromwell in Ireland and Scotland, free quarter and wartime taxes, the Jacobite risings and the Highlands after Culloden.Open →
- Imperial wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuriesThe gains of 1763, the year of victories, Plassey, how victory led to the loss of America, the new patriotism, the wars with Revolutionary and Napoleonic France, invasion fears, the repression of radicals, income tax and the unrest after 1815.Open →
- The Crimean War and the Boer WarsThe Charge of the Light Brigade, disease in the Crimea, Florence Nightingale and Mary Seacole, war reporting and its effects, Majuba Hill, the causes of the second Boer War, Black Week and Mafeking, farm burning and the camps, and the unfit recruits of 1899.Open →
- The two world wars and the Cold WarTotal war, the Defence of the Realm Act, conscription and conscientious objectors, women's war work and the vote, the Second World War at home, wartime planning and welfare, National Service, Britain's nuclear weapons, CND and the Cold War in everyday life.Open →
- The IRA campaigns and conflict since 1945Troops in Northern Ireland, internment and Bloody Sunday, bombings in Britain, the 1981 hunger strikes, the case for war in Iraq, the February 2003 protest, lost trust, the 2005 London bombings and later powers.Open →
- What war did to British people and their rulersShifting opinion on the First World War, the Boer War and Iraq, the Blitz, objectors, nuclear weapons, who fought and who suffered, memorials, Ireland and the Highlands, and how war shaped Parliament, repression and welfare.Open →
What you need to know
Answer each one before you reveal it.
Your recallNot started
Key term
What was a chevauchée, and what was it meant to achieve?
Key term
Why was the old forty days’ knight service useless for a war fought in France?
Numbers
What did Francis Drake bring home from his voyage round the world in 1577–80?
Key term
What was done to the Highlands after Culloden?
Numbers
Why did peace in 1815 bring unrest rather than relief?
Numbers
Which two events of 1971 and 1972 turned much of the Catholic population against the army?
Key term
How did Londoners actually respond to the bombing of 1940–41, compared with the official picture?
Key term
In the medieval period, who did the fighting, and why is it hard to call anyone a civilian?
Key term
Why did the cost of medieval warfare give English subjects a hold over their kings?
Key term
Which island monastery was sacked in 793, in an attack remembered as the opening of the Viking age in England?
Key term
What changed about the Scandinavian threat when the Great Heathen Army landed in 865?
Key term
What did a villein owe his lord, and how was that different from a knight’s obligation?
Key term
What happened to the Armada Philip II sent against England in 1588?
Key term
Which battle of 1513 showed how quickly the border could turn into a full national war?
Key term
What did Britain gain by the peace of 1763 at the end of the Seven Years War?
Numbers
What made the Second Boer War break out in 1899?
Numbers
What were Black Week and the relief of Mafeking?
Key term
Why were British troops sent onto the streets of Northern Ireland in 1969?
Key term
What were burhs, and how did they protect Wessex?
Key term
How completely had the landowning class changed by 1086?
Key term
What did Crécy in 1346 and Agincourt in 1415 show about how battles were now being won?
Key term
Why did the war with Spain force Elizabeth to summon Parliament more often?
Key term
What were free quarter and plunder, and why did civilians dread both sides?
Key term
Why is 1759 remembered as a year of victories?
Key term
What did army recruiting during the Boer War reveal about Britain itself?
Process
How were British civilians affected in the First World War?
Numbers
How did the conflict reach mainland Britain, and how did Parliament respond?
Take War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 further
The same content, four other ways.
Commonly confused
Pairs that lose marks when they are blurred together.
Burhs vs Danegeld
Burhs: fortified towns a day's march apart where people sheltered from raiders. Danegeld: land tax raised to buy off Danish armies with silver.
Scutage vs Purveyance
Scutage: money payment made instead of turning out for knight service. Purveyance: the Crown's right to seize grain, animals and carts for the army.
Chevauchée vs Indenture
Chevauchée: fast mounted raid burning crops, villages and towns across enemy country. Indenture: written contract by which a captain supplied an agreed number of men for wages.
Questions from this topic
Each one with the model answer underneath.
- 1
Which island monastery was sacked in 793, in an attack remembered as the opening of the Viking age in England?
Model answer
Lindisfarne, off the Northumbrian coast, where the raiders killed and enslaved monks and carried away the church treasures.
- 2
Why did the early Scandinavian raiders single out monasteries and coastal settlements?
Model answer
They held silver, gold and stores of food, stood on undefended shores within easy reach of a longship, and were guarded only by monks.
- 3
What changed about the Scandinavian threat when the Great Heathen Army landed in 865?
Model answer
Seasonal plundering gave way to conquest and settlement, and Northumbria, East Anglia and Mercia fell, leaving Wessex alone by 878.
- 4
What were burhs, and how did they protect Wessex?
Model answer
Fortified towns garrisoned by Alfred’s men and spaced roughly a day’s march apart, so people and stock could shelter and raiders could be met before they got far inland.
- 5
How did Alfred reorganise the fyrd so that Wessex could keep an army in the field all year?
Model answer
He divided it in two so that one half served while the other worked the land, and then the halves changed places.
- 6
What was Danegeld?
Model answer
A land tax raised to buy off Danish armies with silver, paid repeatedly under Æthelred II from 991.
What is inside Levo
Six ways to work the same material.
War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 revision questions
- What does War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 cover in OCR GCSE History A?
- 10 subtopics: viking raids and the norman conquest, the feudal system and feudal military service, war in medieval society, c.1290–c.1450, elizabeth i’s wars with spain, and english privateers, border warfare, the civil wars and the jacobite risings, imperial wars of the eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, the crimean war and the boer wars, the two world wars and the cold war, the ira campaigns and conflict since 1945 and what war did to british people and their rulers. Each one has its own page with questions and model answers.
- How is War and British Society c.790 to c.2010 organised?
- By the OCR J410 specification, subtopic by subtopic, so it matches the order you are taught it in.
Every question in War and British Society c.790 to c.2010, 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.
Or £46 a year, about £3.83 a month. Cancel anytime.