Paper 2 Section B/D: Restoration England, 1660–1685

June 2021

Q1: How convincing is Interpretation A about the Great Plague?

Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Answer:

For example, the interpretation correctly suggests that in the short term, the Great Plague was most feared and it made people’s lives terrible as many died and those that remained had to cope with the loss of loved ones and food was scarce. But the measures magistrates took such as quarantine were likely to be effective. The Bills of Mortality began to show that the poorest and dirtiest places were where most deaths occurred. In the long term the government learned how to deal with epidemics by taking swift action in 1709 and 1712 to quarantine ships, goods and people travelling for the areas affected. more than one aspect of the interpretation. For example, it is convincing because it says that the Plague made people’s lives terrible and they feared it. Many were shut in their homes and London became silent. Many people had to beg or steal food and money because the Great Plague stopped trade. In most homes between one and three people died. Sometimes the whole family died. The plague destroyed the relationships within families because sick relatives, friends or servants were thrown onto the For example, the Great Plague was terrifying at the time, no wonder people fled if they could afford to. The Court left London and trade between London and the rest of the country was suspended. About 200,000 died (including a quarter of the population of London). Answers may show understanding/support for interpretation, but the case is For example, the Great Plague killed the poor people, but the rich people were able to leave infected cities, like London.

Q2: Explain what was important about Charles II’s relationship with Parliament.

Answer:

the consequences of the stated development (the issues between king and Parliament) in the broader historical context (Restoration England). This is For example, religion was the big issue between Charles and Parliament, Charles wanted to argue for toleration – for Catholics and nonconformists but for the Cavalier Parliament Anglicanism was the dominant religion and had to be protected, even to the extent of excluding King’s brother from the succession. They force the King to back down over the Test Act. Religion also influenced foreign policy as Parliament was unhappy that England was supporting a Catholic country – France and the revelation of Danby’s secret negotiations with the French wrecked any trust there was between Parliament and the King. For example, money was the big issue for Parliament and the Crown. It was the leverage that Parliament had over the King because it paid an annual grant to the King. But they were reluctant to pass unpopular taxes under Lord Clarendon between 1660 and 1667. MPs were unwilling to give Charles money for policies they did not support and in 1672 Charles issued a ‘Stop on the Exchequer’ showing he was bankrupt and humiliated. For example, after the Civil War and the Restoration religion remained a big problem for Charles and Parliament. Parliament passed laws to ensure that England remained Anglican, these became known as the Clarendon Code which reduced the freedom of both Catholics and Nonconformist Protestants, for example, the ‘Conventicle Act’ in 1664 which meant religious meetings other than Anglican ones could not involve more than five people or ‘The Five Mile Act’ in 1665 restricting the movement of Nonconformist clergy. the identified consequences, supporting by factual knowledge and For example, the Parliament fell out with Charles II because they did not agree with his foreign policy. He had an alliance with France which was Catholic and he made the Secret Treaty of Dover in 1670. The MPs were frightened that this would lead to England becoming Catholic. For example, Charles II fell out with Parliament because they did not want his brother, James, to succeed him.

Q3: Write an account of how conflict with the Dutch affected Restoration England.

Answer:

reasoning supported by a range of accurate and detailed factual knowledge and understanding. For example, an explanation of different impacts/ consequences of change in the broader historical context. For example, conflict with the Dutch contributed to Parliament’s dissatisfaction with Charles II. The Dutch were Protestant and Parliament was suspicious after the Declaration of Indulgence (1672) that Charles was too close to the French Catholic King, Louis, who was allowing the English to do most of the fighting against the Dutch who were Protestant. The Dutch were commercial rivals but For example, conflict with the Dutch through the Dutch wars caused the government to run out of money. Early in 1667, Pepys asked the king for £100,000 to be able send the fleet to sea, and as a result King had to negotiate with the Dutch. The Dutch were free to roam in the English Channel and to disrupt the transport of goods to London especially ‘sea coal’ from Newcastle following the destruction of the Great Fire. The English stored their fleet away. simple understanding of consequence(s) with supported with factual For example, the wars with the Dutch showed how the standard of the English Navy had dropped. The King decided to keep the Navy fleet in dock. The sailors were not paid and deserted; the ships were not repaired properly. All this allowed the Dutch to attack in June 1667 on the River Medway and cause a major defeat and embarrassment for the English Navy. For example, in the Dutch wars the English Navy used new tactics like the, ‘line ahead’ and built larger ships. should demonstrate their ability to construct and develop a sustained line of reasoning which is coherent, relevant, substantiated and logically structured.

Q4: ‘The work of Sir Christopher Wren was the main reason for the successful building of

St Paul’s Cathedral.’ How far does a study of St Paul’s Cathedral support this statement? Explain your answer. You should refer to St Paul’s Cathedral and your contextual knowledge. and AQA will be happy to rectify any omissions of acknowledgements. If you have any queries please contact the Copyright Team.

Answer:

To support their answer students could include aspects of the site such as: location, function, structure, design, people connected with the site, how the site reflects culture, values and fashions of the time and how the site links to important events and/or developments of the specified period. understanding of the site. For example, the reason why St Paul’s was successfully rebuilt was because enough important people needed it to be rebuilt. King Charles saw the church as symbolic of the Restoration of the monarchy and it would become a monument to him. The Anglican church wanted an important symbol of their faith in the capital but nothing that looked too Roman Catholic or radically European. The leaders of the City of London needed to have an important church in the centre of the city. Parliament wanted to rebuild the whole of London after the Plague and Fire. Perhaps Sir Christopher Wren’s greatest achievement was to manage all of these interests over the long time the Cathedral took to build, and create such a magnificent result. Answers may suggest that one factor has greater merit. For example, Sir Christopher Wren realised how important the money for the rebuilding was. He wrote in 1669 that until he knew how much money he had then he could not really analyse the design. Fortunately, Parliament voted the Second Rebuilding Act in May 1670, first of all this went to rebuilding 51 parish churches in London. So, money was a continual problem, to the extent that in 1685 he became an MP himself and argued in Parliament to renew the coal tax until October 1700 to pay for the continued building. For example, the role of the King was important because he appointed the architect – Sir Christopher Wren. The King promised a more beautiful city after the Great Fire. He had been in exile in France and seen magnificent French churches, Wren had also spent some time examining European buildings, they both wanted a radical and imaginative design. Charles also owned the land on which St Paul’s was built and he gave his approval to the ‘final’ plan – the warrant design but he also gave Wren the right to make changes as he saw fit. This allowed Wren to make a more radical and inspiring building than the church authorities initially approved. The King saw the rebuilding of St Paul’s as symbolic of the Restoration of the monarchy and the city of London after the consequences by simple reasoning supported with factual knowledge and understanding of the site. For example, Sir Christopher Wren was a genius because he was able to adapt his design as he discovered problems during the building, for example, he realised that the ground would not support a heavy dome so he invented a triple skinned dome which was much lighter. He also had to change the design of the West front because he could not get stone blocks long enough to span the gaps between the columns, so he redesigned the entrance and used pairs For example, Wren was very important because he was a brilliant architect who had been asked to redesign St Paul’s before the fire and had seen churches in Europe. He submitted several designs before the ‘Warrant Design’