Paper 2 Section A/B: Britain: Power and the people:

June 2021

Q1: How useful is Source A to an historian studying Charles I?

Explain your answer using Source A and your contextual knowledge.

Answer:

In analysing and evaluating sources, students will draw on their contextual example, the context of the time in which source was created, place, author’s For example, Source A is useful because so many people bought this book which supports King Charles I. It shows King Charles to have got on his side as a very religious person. It was meant to encourage Royalists against Parliament by reminding the king’s supporters of the Divine Right of Kings and provide a justification for the actions of Charles. Charles now, like Jesus, has a crown of thorns and his earthly crown lies on the floor. enquiry point and the broader context of the thematic. This may evaluate utility For example, this source is useful because it shows support for King Charles I. Even though he is dead and only recently been killed, many people still believe that he did the right thing, and was acting for God and it was not right to For example, people believed that King Charles I was appointed by God and he had a divine right to rule. Answers may show understanding/support for the source, but the case is made by assertion/basic inference For example, Charles thought he was close to God.

Q2: Explain the significance of the Provisions of Oxford and the Parliament of 1265.

Answer:

explaining the relationship between aspects of significance, for example over For example, it was significant because the Provisions of Oxford and the 1265 Parliament are part of a challenge to the power of the King and the increasing voice of the people. It can be seen earlier in 1215 when the King’s was challenged and continues after 1258 with the English Revolution. But the lesson was not lost on Henry III’s son, Edward I, who summoned the ‘Model Parliament’ in 1295 when he needed the support of the rich merchants for For example, it was also significant because in 1265 de Montfort worried that he was losing control of the country after the Second Barons War. He called a Great Council to which he invited the burgesses who represented the growing merchant class. This is the first time that commoners were invited to a ‘Parliament’. This continues the idea of extending representation to those that government decisions affect. For example, it was also significant because the united front of the barons after the Provisions of Oxford was broken by the Provisions of Westminster in 1259 which reformed local government. It also helped the less powerful in society but the barons resented it as it gave power to their tenants. Henry III exploited the divisions amongst the nobles caused by Westminster to reject both For example, the Provisions of Oxford in 1258 were significant because the barons now had more power than the King, he needed the approval of the council of barons. For example, it was significant because the King had to share power with the

Q3: Explain two ways in which the Peasants’ Revolt and the American Revolution were

similar.

Answer:

For example, both events are similar because they had some longer-term influences. The Peasants’ Revolt scared the ruling classes into freeing many villeins. Seventy years later all villeins were free and could work for wages wherever they wanted. The ideas of the Peasants’ Revolt inspired the 17th century Levellers and 19th century Socialists. The American colonists got their independence from Britain and freed thirteen colonies. They set up their own system of government, and constitution and a Congress or Parliament. The American fight for democracy inspired the French and the French Revolution. For example, in both cases the people were violent. The Americans went to war against the British, finally beating them at the battle of Yorktown in 1781, and the peasants attacked the poll tax collector, John Bampton, in 1381, and they killed the Archbishop of Canterbury and foreign merchants in the city of For example, they are similar because they are about taxes. The Peasants’ revolt was against the Poll tax. By 1380 every person over 15 had to pay four groats per year to the King which was a massive increase on the one groat they had previously paid. Similarly, the British colonists resented having to pay taxes to fund the British army. for example, one of the identified similarities. For example, the Peasants and the American colonists were concerned about their standard of living and being asked to pay for things when they did not have a say. For example, both the Peasants’ Revolt and American Revolution involved ordinary, common people. should demonstrate their ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.

Q4: Has government been the main factor in improving people’s rights in Britain?

Explain your answer with reference to government and other factors. Use a range of examples from across your study of Power and the people: c1170 to the present day. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team.

Answer:

For example, it could be argued that war or the threat of violence has always brought about changes in the rights of people such as in the Brixton Riots in 1981 which led to changes in the rights of minority black people in Britain. Or the Suffragette violence that scared government in the 19th and 20th centuries and eventually led to women getting the vote. Fear of violence, such as happened in France in 1789, lay behind the democratic concessions of the Great Reform Act, 1832. However, these actions were all inspired by ideas such as equality, democracy, and representation. Suffragettes wanted equal rights for women, and Cromwell wanted the King to respect the rights of the people and Parliament. So, people’s rights have increased because ideas of equality and democracy have inspired people to fight for their rights. Answers may suggest that one factor has greater merit. related, for example, to the identified consequences. For example, government can make things happen. They created Scarman Enquiry and then Report after the Brixton riots in 1981. It produced changes for minority rights by suggesting that racially prejudiced behaviour was an offence and that the Sus Law should end. Also, there was created a Police Complaints Authority which improved relations between the police and the minority black community in London. Governments can pass laws to increase the number of people who can vote such as in 1867 and 1884. It was government that produced the Abolition of Slavery Act in 1833. The role of the individual has a big part to play in the development of the increase in people’s rights. Cromwell was a key figure in helping Parliament to fight for the rights of the people of England to have their grievances heard in Parliament and not to be taxed without being consulted. The determination and imagination of women like Millicent Fawcett and Emmeline Pankhurst showed what could be done to bring about more democracy. Although they believed in different methods they brought attention to the cause of extending the franchise to women. For example, ideas are important such as representation and democracy which inspired the Chartists to campaign for the six points of the Charter. Religion is a powerful part of the Parliamentary side who fought against King Charles I in the English Civil War. But there is always Government which can pass laws like the 1832 Great Reform Act, to increase the number of people who can vote. For example, the government passed laws which gave more people the right to Students may provide a basic explanation of a different factor, such as warfare sometimes as in the English Revolution Parliament had to fight the King in order to increase their rights.