Year 7 History

Knowledge Organiser Booklet

Name:

Class:

Teacher:

End of Year Target:

End of Year 11 Target:

‘The more you

know of your

history, the

more liberated

you are’.

Maya Angelou

Contenders for the English throne

Harold Godwinson – English Earl of Wessex, chosen to be

King by a council of the chief bishops and English nobles

called the Witan. The most powerful English nobleman.

Claimed Edward wanted him to be King. Harold was

married to Edward’s sister and had helped Edward to

defeat the Welsh.

William Duke of Normandy – very powerful French

nobleman. Had helped Edward deal with a rebellion and

claimed that Edward wanted him to be King. Claimed that

Harold Godwinson had promised to support him as King

after he had helped Harold when he was ship wrecked.

Harald Hardrada – King of Norway and a Viking. Claimed

the throne should have been his because of England’s

previous Viking rulers. Harald was a very good fighter and

was supported by Harold Godwinson’s brother Tostig.

Before 1066

• England was a rich nation and most people worked

as farmers.

• The English were believed to be descendants of

German, Anglo – Saxon migrants.

• A King, helped by a council called the Witan, ruled

England.

• Noblemen called Earls were in charge of English

regions.

• England was a Christian country.

• In 1066 the English King, Edward the Confessor

died without an heir.

Battle of Stamford Bridge:

• The first battle in 1066 was near York between Godwinson and Hardrada. 300 Viking

longboats were used to sail over Hardrada’s army.

• When they arrived in England the Vikings took control over York and most of northern

England.

• Godwinson launched a surprise attack on Hardrada on the 25th September whilst

Hardrada’s men rested near an old bridge at Stamford. Many of the Vikings were

unprepared and did not have their armour on.

• Godwinson’s men had the advantage and Hardrada’s men were trapped on the bridge

which lead to Godwinson winning the battle.

• Both Hardrada and Tostig died in battle. Only 24 Viking longboats were needed to get back

to Norway.

Battle of Hastings:

• When Godwinson was in the north fighting Hardrada, William was sailing over from

France. William arrived in Pevensey in the south of England. This meant Godwinson and

his men had to march 250 miles south to meet William for battle.

• The Battle of Hastings began on the 14th of October with Godwinson setting up his men on

top of Senlac Hill giving him the better position at the start.

• William’s tactics of using arrows to shoot Godwinson’s men did not work at first as

Godwinson’s men formed a shield-wall to protect themselves. William tried to send some

of his knights up the hill to attack but by the time they got to the top the horses had no

energy to charge at Godwinson’s men.

• William created a rumour that he was dead which led to his troops retreating.

Godwinson’s men followed William’s retreating soldiers as they were unexperienced

farmers as Godwinson had lost so many of his experienced fighters at the Battle of

Stamford Bridge.

• William then showed himself which made his men fighters stop their retreat and cut down

Godwinson’s men. Godwinson was killed during the battle and William became the victor.

• William was not the king yet, he still faced problems in England such as: the Viking threat

in the north of England, getting control of the English people (especially the nobles),

learning the traditions of the English king and understanding how wealthy the country

was.

1066 – Leading to the Battle of Hastings

England under the Normans, 1066 - 1154

William’s Problems

• As a new King William needed to make sure

everyone would be loyal to him.

• He needed to know how much his new kingdom

was worth.

• As a foreign King he needed to make sure that

people could see that he was now in control.

Feudal System

• To make people loyal William created a system called

the Feudal system that meant he had control of all the

land and was all-powerful in England.

• The system worked with the king being at the top, then

the nobles/barons, then the knights and the peasants

were at the bottom.

• The king gave land to the nobles/barons and in return

the nobles gave their loyalty to the king, paid taxes and

promised to raise armies for the king when he needed

them.

• The nobles/barons gave some land to the knights and

in return they promised to fight for the nobles when

they needed and pay taxes to the nobles.

• The knights then gave some (very little amounts) of

land to the peasants and in return the peasants worked

for the knights on their land and paid for their land

with food.

• This system made sure William was able to control all

the people in England.

Domesday Book

• One problem William was faced was that he did not know how wealthy England

was and who owned which land.

• So William sent officials all over the country to complete a survey on all land. The

survey included data from over 13,000 villages.

• All the information was put together into 1 book which became known as the

Domesday Book.

• The knowledge William gained from this data helped him to work out how much

each person could afford to be taxed, he would be able to work out how many

people would be able to fight for him and now he knew who owned which land so

he could deal with arguments over land.

• The book however was only written in 1086 which was 1 year before William died

so he did not benefit very much from the information. However, his son and future

descendants used the book and carried on collecting information to help them rule

over England.

Castles

• When William took control over England in 1066 he felt the country would not

accept him as king as he was a foreigner. He needed a way of controlling England

and showing his presence all over England to make sure there were not revolts

against him.

• To help him solve this problem, William invited his rich and powerful friends over

from France and in return he gave them large areas of land to control. These men

became known as barons.

• The barons built castles to protect themselves and to also show William’s presence

all over the country. At first the castles were made from wood on top of hills and

were known as Motte and Bailey castles. They were quick and easy to build, 1

could be built in 2 weeks.

• Over time the Motte and Bailey castles were replaced with Stone Keep castles

which took longer to build but were stronger and harder to attack. The castles

were built all over England and showed William’s power to all of his subjects.

England under the Plantagenets

Henry II and the murder of Thomas Beckett

• When Henry II became King he was worried about crime levels in England. Crime was increasing

and Henry believed this was linked to the way Courts worked. Henry changed courts so that trial

by ordeal (e.g by fire) ended and he introduced trial by jury.

• Henry also believed that the Church’s own courts were not as harsh as normal courts. People

who worked for the Church and committed crimes were getting away with their crimes. 1 in

every 6 people in England worked for the Church in some way so this was a real issue for Henry.

• To help solve this problem, Henry made his friend, and former Chancellor, Thomas Becket the

Archbishop of Canterbury- the most powerful religious person in England. However, Becket took

his new role seriously and when Henry suggested Becket should change how the Church courts

dealt with crime, Becket refused and said Henry should not get involved in Church matters.

• There were several arguments between the two men in the following years about who should

decide how the Church in England should function. One argument led to Becket fleeing to

France for 7 years.

• When Becket returned to England, he agreed to work with Henry. However, Becket

excommunicated all the bishops who supported Henry. This meant they lost their jobs and

believed they would go to hell when they died due to being excommunicated.

• This angered Henry greatly, who had a short temper. He became so enraged he shouted ‘Who

will rid me of this troublesome priest?’ Four knights heard this and took it upon themselves to

deal with Becket for Henry.

• The knights went to Canterbury Cathedral and called for Becket a ‘traitor to the king and

country’ to reveal himself. He confronted the knights who then attacked and killed Beckett.

• When Henry heard the news, he was horrified. He did not feel he had directly ordered the

knights to kill Becket and began to worry he would be excommunicated (damned to hell) by the

Pope. To apologise for Becket’s murder, Henry walked the streets of Canterbury with no shoes

on. When he arrived at the Canterbury Cathedral his feet with cut and bleeding. He prayed at

Becket’s tomb as monks whipped him.

• He spent the night on the hard, cold cathedral floor where Becket was murdered. The Pope

forgave Henry but this event proved that the Pope and the Church were more powerful than the

king in England.

The Crusades- Richard vs Saladin:

• When Henry II died in 1189 his son, Richard became

King of England.

• Richard became involved on the Crusades.

• The Crusades or Holy Wars were wars fought for

control of Palestine and the City of Jerusalem which

was seen as the Holy Land for Jews, Muslims and

Christians.

• For Muslims there was the Dome of the Rock

mosque, where the Muslim prophet Muhammad

(PBUH) is believed to have ascended to heaven.

• For Christians, the Church of Holy Sepulchre was

built on the site of what is believed to be Christ’s

tomb.

• The Crusades were a series of wars fought between

Christians and Muslims over Jerusalem. One

particular Crusade, known as the Third Crusade was

between Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart,

and Saladin.

• In 1187, Saladin had re-taken Jerusalem from the

Christians. Richard I of England journeyed to

Jerusalem to win back the Holy Land. He managed

to only retake some of Jerusalem in 1191 after 18

months of fighting and siege warfare.

• Whilst Richard was fighting in the Crusades England

was being ruled over by Richard’s brother John.

Richard used large amounts of England’s money to

fund his Crusades which were not very successful.

• When Richard died his younger brother John

became king.

England under the Plantagenets – Limiting the Power of the King

King John and the Magna Carta

• John I was the son of Henry II and the younger brother of Richard I.

When Richard died in 1199 John became king of England. England

had very little money due to Richard spending so much on the

Crusades.

• John was a weak ruler and had nicknames like ‘Softsword and

‘Lackland’ due to his poor fighting skills.

• John made many mistakes as king such as charging the barons too

much tax (known as scutage) to fund his wars with France which

John was losing. Important areas like Normandy were lost to the

French. This land had belonged to England since William the

Conqueror became king of England in 1066.

• John also argued with the Pope. The Pope closing down all churches

in England for 7 years. This angered and worried all people in

England as they were afraid without the church they would not be

able to go to heaven when they died.

• The barons were annoyed by John’s actions and threatened to go to

war with John if he did not agree to change his behaviour. John

agreed and signed a document known as the Magna Carta (Latin for

Great Charter).

• The Magna Carta reduced the king’s power. It stated that the king

could not increase taxes without discussion and gaining permission

from the barons first. The king was not allowed to get involved in

church matters and there was to be a Great Council of 25 barons to

make sure the king stuck to the promises he made in the Magna

Carta.

• Even though John signed the Magna Carta he said that he had been

bullied into signing it and he broke his promises. This led to John

and the barons fighting against each other in a civil war known as

the First Barons’ War. Eventually John died and his 9 year old son,

Henry III became king who agreed to the rules of the Magna Carta.

Henry III and Simon de Montfort- Beginning of Parliament:

• At the start of Henry III’s reign, due to his young age, a Great Council of

Barons ruled England. However, as he grew older, Henry began to go

against the wishes of the barons.

• The barons became angered that Henry no longer took their advice. Like his

father, Henry was fighting wars with France and was losing. He increased

the Barons taxes. Henry also quarrelled with the Pope, which worried

people.

• By 1258, the barons had had enough and made Henry sign the Provisions of

Oxford. This was similar to the Magna Carta but reduced the king’s power

even more. Now Henry could not make any decisions without the Great

Council’s agreement, the Great Council would choose the king’s main

advisors and a Parliament made up of 15 members from the Great Council

as well as 12 other barons would meet at least 3 times a year.

• Despite Henry agreeing to the Provisions of Oxford, in 1264 he got an army

together to fight against the barons. This civil war was known as the Second

Barons’ War. The barons were led by the Earl of Leicester, Simon de

Montfort and the king’s army was led by Henry’s son, Prince Edward.

• On 14th May 1264 both sides fought against each other at the Battle of

Lewes. The barons won and managed to capture Henry and Edward. This

meant England no longer had a king ruling over them.

• In 1264, Simon de Montfort called a meeting of the Great Council. This was

a very special meeting as this was the first time ordinary people (rich

townsmen and knights) were invited. Historians believe that this was the

beginning of modern day Parliament.

• However, when Edward escaped he launched an attack on the barons and

fought against the barons at the Battle of Evesham. De Montfort was killed

during the battle and in 1272; Edward became king when his father died.

• To ensure the barons did not go against him, Edward created a Parliament

that contained not only barons and important people from the church but

ordinary people as well. When Edward needed taxes from Parliament to

pay for his wars in Scotland and Wales he negotiated with Parliament rather

than raising it without discussing it with the barons like his father and

grandfather had.

Later Plantagenets

The Black Death

• In 1348 the Black Death entered England. It killed at least

1/3 of England’s population. Some villages were abandoned

because of falling population. In some places crops rotted in

fields due to a lack of peasants who could gather the

Harvest.

• The Black Death started in Asia and was carried by infected

rats and people on ships that were transporting goods like

spices and cloth to Europe.

• People did not understand what germs were or how

diseases really spread. They came up with their own ideas

about the causes of the Black Death.

• There were 2 types of plague. Bubonic plague led to people

having big pus filled boils known as buboes forming on the

neck, armpits and groin. It lasted a week and 7/10 people

who got this type of plague died.

• The pneumonic plague affected the lungs with victims

coughing up blood spreading germs as they sneezed.

Victims would die in a week of getting the disease.

Medieval beliefs about the Black Death

• People believed it was a punishment from God as people

were too sinful.

• Others thought that the disease spread by bad air or

miasma and used spices and sweet smells to try to stop the

disease from spreading.

• Another idea, was that Jews were poisoning the water and

so they killed Jews to try to stop the spread of disease.

• The houses of people who had the disease were marked so

others would not enter. This helped to stop the spread of

the disease.

Richard II and the Peasants’ Revolt

• After the Black Death the number of peasants fell and those who survived could

ask for more money for their work. Also, land became less expensive and some

richer peasants were able to buy their own land.

• This undermined the feudal system so in 1351, the king passed a new law

known as the Statue of Labourers. This said peasants must not be paid more

than they got before the Black Death and that they could not move for the best

paying jobs. Peasant had to work for their lord. This unfairness angered the

peasants.

• A priests, John Ball, preached that the peasants were being abused by the

Church which had lots of land and still taxed the peasants using a Church tax

called the tithe.

• In 1381 Richard II, the king of England, increased the Poll Tax to pay for his wars

in France. Everyone in the country over the age of 15, rich and poor, had to pay

the king 12 pence. This was seen as unfair as the peasants could not afford it.

• Tax collectors were attacked all over Essex. A large group of over 60,000

peasants decided to march to London to discuss their issues with the king,

starting the Peasants’ Revolt.

• During their march to London the peasants burned important documents and

buildings containing tax records. Some peasants even killed the Archbishop of

Canterbury.

• Wat Tyler was chosen as the Peasants’ leader and met with the King on the 15th

June 1381. Tyler demanded all the church land be given to peasants and make

everyone in England, except the king, equal. The king agreed but told the Wat to

make sure the peasants left London. During this meeting however, Wat Tyler

was killed. The king rode up to the remaining 25,000 peasants and managed to

calm the situation down. The peasants returned home.

• However, Richard II did not keep his promises. The king and the barons felt they

needed to punish the peasants for their behaviour during the revolt. Wat Tyler

and John Ball’s heads were put on pikes and displayed on London Bridge as a

warning to anyone who would go against the king.

• There were some success- the Poll Tax was stopped. Over the next 50 years the

peasants slowly started to get greater freedom and again began to move to

better paid work.

Richard III (1483 – 1485) Richard was an unpopular king. He also had a physical deformity that added to his negative image. He was the last Yorkist Monarch.

Battle of Bosworth It took place on 22nd August 1485. The battle was fought between Henry Tudor (House of Lancaster) and Richard III (House of York). Henry won the battle and became King of England, ending the Wars of the Roses.

Henry VII (Henry Tudor) 1485 - 1509 Became King of England after defeating Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth. The support of many other barons was an important factor in Henry’s victory at the Battle of Bosworth.

Princes in the Tower Richard was suspected to have killed his nephews, Prince Edward aged 12, the next in line to be king, and his younger brother, Prince Richard, aged 9. In the summer of 1483, they were seen playing in the gardens of the Tower of London and were never seen again adding to Richard’s unpopularity.

Richard’s Mistakes Richard and Norfolk’s outdated military tactics were no match for the innovative skills adopted by Oxford. This led to Richard’s men losing the higher ground. Richard chose to personally charge against Henry and nearly succeeded but his threat to Henry made Stanley join in on Henry’s side. When Richard tried to kill Henry himself it led to his death leaving his men without a leader- many fled. No Great Magnate (powerful noble) had fully declared for Richard- no guarantee of support

Henry’s Support His promise to marry Elizabeth of York won support from powerful people in England who wanted the wars over. Henry’s mother, Margaret Beaufort, was in a strong position to influence her opinions as she was married to the powerful noble Lord Stanley. Stanley was a very powerful noble man with 3,000 men under his command. Charles VIII of France lent Henry 60,000 francs and gave him 1,800 mercenaries led by Philibert de Chandee.

Interpretations There are many different interpretations of Richard III. In Shakespeare’s interpretation, Richard is portrayed as an evil man. However, his play was released under the reign on Elizabeth I. Elizabeth’s grandfather was Henry Tudor and so Shakespeare would have been careful not to show his enemy in a positive light. Recently, in a BBC show, Richard III was portrayed as young and handsome man. Horrible Histories show, Richard as a misunderstood character.

Richard’s Unpopularity During his reign, Richard gave power of the north to his nephew rather than giving power to strong northern noblemen- Northumberland and Westmorland Richard had Lord Stanley’s son (Lord Strange) as hostage to ensure he was loyal but it just angered Lord Stanley. Alienated people of England of the nobility due to usurpations, many blamed him for the disappearance of the two princes.

Solving the Problems of his reign

• In 1486 he married Elizabeth of York. This united the

Lancaster House and the York House and started the

Tudor dynasty.

• To solve his money problems, he forced the rich to

give him money. The money was not repaid.

• He threatened to go to war with France unless they

paid him £150,000. The French King gave him the

money.

• He got his eldest son to marry the Spanish princess

to avoid war with Spain. He got his daughter

married to the King of Scotland to make sure

Scotland did not invade England.

• He banned private armies. Any baron who was

found to have a private army was fined.

Richard III and Henry Tudor

HENRY VIII AND THE REFORMATION.

Henry VIII became king when his father died in 1509. Henry

desperately wanted a son. He was married to Catherine of Aragon

who gave birth to six children but did not produce a son. Only one

daughter, Princes Mary survived.

By 1527, Henry thought Catherine was too old to have a son and he

had also fallen in love with another woman called Anne Boleyn. He

wanted to divorce Catherine.

When the Pope refused to allow Henry to divorce Catherine, Henry

made himself the Head of the Church of England instead of the Pope.

In 1533 he granted himself a divorce from Catherine.

Henry married his second wife, Anne Boleyn, in 1533. She was already

pregnant but gave birth to a girl called Princes Elizabeth.

Henry accused Anne of having an affair and had her executed. He

married for a third time to Jane Seymour. Jane gave birth to a son,

Prince Edward

Dissolution of the Monasteries

• Some of the monks in England did not support Henry as the new Head

of the Church of England.

• Henry needed money. Between 1536 and 1540 Henry closed down all

the monasteries and all of the land was sold.

• The monasteries were very wealthy and Henry earned a lot of money.

The Pope was furious. Not only had Henry closed down all the catholic

monasteries but he had also stolen all of their treasures.

The Reformation = move away from Roman Catholic Christianity

towards Protestant Christianity.

A number of new developments encouraged people to question the

traditional, Roman Catholic, view of the world.

1. The development of the printing press allowed more books to

be made quickly and allowed more people to read. New ideas

could spread more quickly than in the days when books were

copied out by hand.

2. The Renaissance movement in Arts and Science encouraged

people to question what was written in ancient books and to

challenge old ideas

3. New scientific discoveries were made which challenged the

ideas of the Catholic Church, for example, Copernicus was able

to prove that the earth went around the sun.

4. Printing allowed more people to read the Bible. Scholars like

Erasmus and Martin Luther read original Greek and Hebrew

copies of the Bible and questioned the religious ideas of the

Catholic Church.

5. The Protestant Christian faith began to spread in Europe from

1517 onwards, particularly in northern Germany. New

protestant ideas began to influence religious and political

thinkers in England. Henry VIII wanted to keep many of the

practices of the Catholic Church but did become more open to

Protestant ideas, as he got older. He ensured that his son’s

tutors were protestant.

HENRY VIII’S CHILDREN – ENGLAND UNDER THE TUDORS.

Edward VI (1547 – 1553)

• When Henry VIII died he left behind three children.

Edward who was 9, Elizabeth who was 13 and Mary who

was 30.

• Edward was the only male and he became king in 1547

despite the fact that he was the youngest.

• Even though Henry was Catholic, Edward was a Protestant

and believed the Catholic Church made people worship

God in the wrong way.

• He made many changes to the Church so God would be

worshipped in a plain and simple manner. Church services

were to also change from the Latin Language to English.

Queen Mary (1553 – 1558)

• Mary became queen in 1553 when Edward died. She

married King Philip of Spain but the Spanish were

unpopular in England.

• Mary officially made England a Catholic country again

made many changes.

• The Pope was placed back in control of religion again,

Churches were redecorated, married priests were made to

leave their wives and prayer books were changed back to

Latin.

Many Protestants were unhappy with the changes. Mary

responded by burning around 300 people who refused to

change religion.

Elizabeth (1558 – 1603)

• Became Queen in 1558 after the death of Queen Mary.

• Inherited many problems when she became Queen including religion, poverty and

foreign policy.

• In 1559 Elizabeth passed laws which put her in charge of the Church of England.

She ordered everyone to attend Church services and if Catholics refused to attend

then she would simply fine them.

• She made changes to try and keep both Catholics and Protestants happy but she

failed at doing this.

King Philip II of Spain, who had been married to Queen Mary, now wanted to

marry Elizabeth. This caused a problem as the Spanish were unpopular in England.

In addition, Elizabeth was a Protestant and Philip was a Catholic.

Armada – War with Spain 1588

• Elizabeth had executed Mary, Queen of Scots and English sailors were raiding

Spanish ships, stealing gold. Because of this, Philip II decided to invade England.

• In July 1588, 131 warships left Spain. As the ships got closer to England, they were

spotted by the English who then lit beacons as signals along with English coast.

• From 20 to 27 July, the English fleet attacked the Armada as it sailed up the English

Channel. The Armada sailed in a crescent formation, however, making it difficult to

attack, and the English fleet did little damage.

• The Armada stopped at Calais, France. The English sent burning ships into the

harbour towards the Spanish ships. The Armada panicked and went out to sea.

• The English ships attack the Spanish fleet at Gravelines near the Netherlands. The

Spanish ships were not able to pick up the soldiers waiting in the Netherlands.

• The Armada sailed north around Scotland. On the way south, the Armada hit very

bad weather. Many ships were wrecked on the Scottish and Irish coasts. Less than

half the Armada returned to Spain.

James 1 (1603 – 1625)

James I: background.

• James I of England had been King James VI of Scotland since 1567. James became the king of England in 1603 after Elizabeth I died. He was the first person

to be king of both nations

• James was a Stuart, and his mother was Mary, Queen of Scots, who was Queen Elizabeth’s cousin.

• James has been called the ‘wisest fool in Christendom’ due to some of the decisions he made and the actions he took as king of England. However, his

early reign in Scotland had been successful.

Problems with Parliament

• Queen Elizabeth had left the county in debt of around £300,000. James increased the debt and borrowed more money. He also raised taxes, angering MPs

in Parliament. He also angered Parliament by selling peerages (titles, such as lords/dukes/earls, which had land attached to them) for £1000. Although this

gave James money in the short term, in the long term this was a huge mistake as land was what gave the king power.

• James has a difficult relationship with Parliament. He started out by choosing some ministers the Parliament did not like.

The Gunpowder Plot

• The Gunpowder Plot was set to happen on the 5th November 1605 but the plot was found out on the 4th of November 1605 when the king’s men discovered

Guy (Guido) Fawkes under the Houses of Parliament with 36 barrels of gunpowder.

• Fawkes was tortured until he confessed to plotting against King James I. Fawkes also gave the names of the other plotters too which included Robert

Catesby.

• The plotters were executed by being hanged, drawn and quartered to send a message to other Catholics who were thinking of harming the King.

• The plotters were Catholic and felt that James was treating Catholics badly by trying to restrict their rights. Their plan was to blow up the Houses of

Parliament when King James and his son, who was the heir, opened the meeting of Parliament on the 5th November 1605. The plotters then hoped to place

James’ daughter on the throne, as she was only very young and could be raised as a Catholic.

• There has been some issues with understanding who was responsible for the plot as it has been suggested that King James’ most trusted advisor- Robert

Cecil, framed the plotters to give James an excuse to punish the Catholics.

• One of the plotters, Francis Tresham, wrote a letter to his brother-in-law, Lord Monteagle, warning him not to go to Parliament. The letter was anonymous

and sent on 27th October 1605. The letter was then shown to Robert Cecil but he did not immediately warn the king or search the grounds around

Parliament which seems suspicious.

• Also, the cellar the plotters rented to store the gunpowder under the Houses of Parliament was rented to them by John Whynniard who was Cecil’s friend.

Gunpowder at the time was stored in the Tower of London and was guarded by the King’s men meaning it would have been very difficult to smuggle 1

barrel of gunpowder out of the tower let alone the 36 barrels the plotter managed to get their hands on.

Charles I and the English Revolution

Causes of the English Civil Wars – the English Revolution

Religion England was a Protestant country and had been since Elizabeth I’s reign. Some members of Parliament were Puritans (a strict form of Protestantism) and were unhappy when Charles married Henrietta Maria, a French Catholic Princess. The country was worried that the children of the King and Queen would be raised Catholic meaning the next monarch after Charles would change the country’s religion to Catholicism.

Archbishop Laud who was a powerful religious leader in England who had made changes to the English Church upsetting Puritans. He angered Scottish people when tried to introduce a new prayer book in Scotland. The Scots then fought against the English and invaded northern parts of England. Charles had to pay the Scots money to leave England; this made him look weak.

Economic Parliament felt that it was unfair for Charles to ask for more taxes to fund his wars in Spain and France when he was losing.

In addition, Charles was abusing a tax called Ship Money, a tax that anyone who lived near the sea had to pay to ensure the safety of the coast. Charles began to collect the tax away from the coast, inland.

Charles also upset some wealthy people when he forced them to make “loans” to him. Charles had a reputation for lavish spending, in particular on his collection of art.

Power Charles I argued with Parliament over their rights to limit his power. Charles was a king who believed in the Divine Right of Kings, meaning he believed God had made him king and therefore he was God’s representative on Earth. This led to problems with Parliament as Charles felt he did not need their permission or advice about the running of the country, as he was all-powerful.

The final straw occurred when Charles ordered his men to go into the Houses of Parliament and arrest 5 MPs but failed. Parliament felt Charles was overstepping his position but Charles felt as king he could do as he wished and people should not question him.

Events of the English Civil Wars – the English Revolution

1642 Charles I raised his banner at Nottingham Castle starting the Civil War. Parliament were in control of London. Supporters of Charles and were known as Cavaliers and supporters of Parliament were known as Roundheads. The nobility tended to support Charles whereas Parliaments supporters were merchants and religious Protestants. There were many small skirmishes but the only major battle this year was Edgehill where no army gained the upper hand. As a result of Edgehill Parliament decided it needed a more professional army.

1645 By 1645, Oliver Cromwell had created the much disciplined New Model Army for Parliament. The New Model Army defeated the Kings forces at the Battle of Naseby in Northamptonshire. King Charles managed to escape from the battlefield.

1646 In May, Charles surrendered to the Scots who passed Charles over to the Parliamentarians. Parliament tried to persuade Charles to agree to controls on his government. He refused and

1647 - 8 Charles managed to escape and persuaded the Scottish forces to support him. Parliament’s army defeated the Scots at the Battle of Preston and Charles was taken prisoner again.

1649 After a short trial for treason, at which Charles refused to plead (guilty or not guilty) Charles I was executed by beheading in front of a big crowd in London.

Charles I was king of England and Scotland from 1625 until 1649.

Cromwell and the Restoration

Lord Protector Cromwell and the Republic:

• After Charles was killed, his son fled to France. Parliament passed laws, which abolished the monarchy in England so they would no longer have a King or Queen ruling over them. This made England a Republic.

• Oliver Cromwell became the Lord Protector of England and ruled over England with the support of his New Model Army and Parliament.

• Cromwell made some positive and negative changes during his time as Lord Protector.

Some positives were:

• Cromwell made the court systems fairer that meant rich people could not bribe the court to get out of doing a punishment when they committed a crime.

• Cromwell was viewed as a ‘man of the people’ as he had started out as a farmer and then became the Lord Protector of England.

• Cromwell gave more power to parliament when he first became Lord Protector. During this time parliament had more power than it ever had before.

• Cromwell created Britain’s first full time permanent army. The 30,000 soldiers in Cromwell’s army made England safer and the French both feared and respected Cromwell for creating this professional army.

Some negatives were:

• Cromwell was a very strict Puritan and tried to enforce Puritan laws within England. He banned dancing, the theatre and Christmas. He punished those who did not go to Church on Sundays.

• Cromwell’s actions in Ireland led to innocent women and children being killed. The Catholics in Ireland supported Charles’ son Charles and wanted him to be king of England. To stop this Cromwell took troops to Ireland to deal with the threat. The town of Drogheda refused to surrender and Cromwell ordered no one there should be left alive. Over the next 10 years many Irish were either killed, sold into slavery or died of starvation. Nearly all the land owned by Catholics in Ireland was given to English or Scottish Protestants.

• In 1653 Cromwell entered Parliament with 30 soldiers and threw out MPs who disagreed with him. This was seen as very similar the actions of King Charles I. Towards the end of Cromwell’s time as Lord Protector he allowed parliament to advise him less and less. Some called Cromwell a dictator.

The Restoration:

• When Cromwell died in 1658, his son Richard Cromwell became the next Lord Protector. However, Richard did not have the support of the army and had no leadership experience. By 1659 Richard had given up his position as Lord Protector.

• Parliament asked Charles I’s son, Charles to come back to England and become King Charles II of England. Charles II’s return was greeted with great enthusiasm by the people.

• Before his return, Charles II signed the Declaration of Breda where he promised to pardon (forgive) the majority of the people who had fought against his father during the English Revolution. As tax had been an important cause of the English Revolution, Charles II agreed to be given a yearly allowance from Parliament to run the country.

• Charles II was nicknamed the ‘Merry Monarch’ due to his lavish parties and because he was seen as more jolly in comparison to the previous ruler - Oliver Cromwell.

Key Individuals

Richard Arkwright

Invented a new spinning machine that could make thick thread faster than any other machine. He opened Britain’s first steam powered factory in Cromford, Derbyshire.

James Watt Invented a new style of steam engine that was more reliable and needed less coal to operate.

Humphrey Davy

Invented the safety lamp for miners. This lamp had the flame enclosed so gases in the mine could not come into contact with the flame and cause explosions. This saved many lives of miners.

George Stephenson

Built the first railway from Stockton to Darlington in 1821, then a passenger line from Manchester to Liverpool. Also built the Rocket – the most powerful steam train to have been built by that point.

James Brindley

Built Britain’s first ever canal. This made transporting coal and goods much quicker and much cheaper. By 1830 4000 miles of canal had been built.

Michael Faraday

Discovered how to generate electricity and built the first ever electric generator in 1831 meaning things could now be powered by electricity .

John Snow Discovered that cholera is not in the air but is in contaminated dirty water.

Key terms

Industrialisation The process of a country building up its industry, usually in the form of factories and railways

Revolution A change in the way of doing things.

Agriculture Farming, growing crops or cattle/sheep farming.

Industrial Revolution When Britain changed from an agricultural based economy to an industrial one. Factories, cities and railways were built across the country.

Urbanisation The process of moving from the countryside to towns and cities.

Slums Poor housing in the new cities.

Cholera Water borne disease that killed many people in the Industrial Revolution until John Snow discovered what caused Cholera.

Domestic System Workers worked in their own homes. What they produced was good quality but low in quantity.

Factory system Workers worked in factories with machines. This was mass production but not always better quality.

Privy Toilet

Date Event Detail

1750 Industrial Revolution begins

During the industrial revolution more and more people worked in factories in appalling conditions. Children as young as four would be working in factories and mines, accidents were common and they had to work long hours.

1833 Factory Act Stated that: -no children under 9 could work in factories. -9-13 year old could only work 48 hours a work, 13-18 could only work 69 hours a week - children under 13 had to attend school for two hours a day -four inspectors were appointed to check the act was enforced

1834 Poor Law Amendment Act

Some workers were not happy with the Act as it meant they could not earn as much money as before. This law meant that if workers did not earn enough they could end up in the workhouses.

1842 Mines Act No women or children under 10 were allowed to work underground. No children under 15 could be in charge of the winding machine.

Industrial Revolution

French Revolution Causes and Events of the French Revolution

Date Event Details

1765-1783

American Revolution

France had helped America it its war against Britain. This

had cost the French a lot of money and spread ideas that

people should have more freedom.

1788-89

Famine Led to shortage of food and high prices.

August 1788

Calling of the Estates General

The country was bankrupt and no other country would lend

it money. The King decides to call the Estates General which

means people from each Estate will get to have a say in

what to do to help the country.

May to June 1789

Meeting of the Estates General

The Estates General meet but King Louis does not want to

make big changes that would have helped the Third Estate.

The members of the Third Estate leave the meeting and

create their own government which they called the

National Assembly.

20th June 1789

National Assembly

The members of the new government, the National

Assembly, meet and promise they will not stop until they

are given more rights and freedom by the King. The King

agrees to listen but secretly calls in troops to deal with the

problem.

14th July 1789

Storming of the Bastille

Food prices were rising because of the bad harvest. This

made peasants angry and they wanted more change to help

with this problem. A crowd of 8000 people broke into a

weapons storage building and then marched to the Bastille

which was a prison and contained gunpowder. Peasants and

workers around the country attacked the rich and powerful.

26th August 1789

Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen

The National Assembly, are joined by the nobles who

together get rid of the Estates System, making people

equal. The Declaration of the Rights of Man and Citizen is

created which is a document that gives ALL people equal

rights and freedom

Consequences of the French Revolution

Date Event

21st January 1793

Louis XVI was guillotined after being found guilty of high

treason.

16th October 1793

Marie Antoinette was executed.

April 1792 War broke out with Austria and other countries (Spain,

Britain and Prussia) were all angry that France had killed its

King.

1793-1794 The Terror occurred when Robespierre came to power. By

the end of the terror nearly 17,000 people had been killed.

Keyword Definition

Absolute monarch A ruler who believes they have all the power

Third Estate Group in society who had no power but had to

pay three taxes (Gabelle, Taille and Tithe)

Estates General Representatives from each Estate attend a

meeting to discuss problems in the country.

National Assembly New government setup by the Third Estate.

Key Individuals Details

Louis XVI King of France from 1774-93. He was an absolute monarch and was criticised for his decisions as a ruler.

Marie Antoinette Married to Louis XVI, she was an Austrian Princess who spent too much on gambling and building her palace, Petit Trinon.

Robespierre Encouraged the execution, mostly by guillotine, of more than 17,000 enemies of the Revolution

KING

1st Estate-

130,000

2nd Estate- 400,000

3rd Estate- 25 million (20 million were peasants

The Estates system- how French society was structured

Clergymen (Church)

Nobles Everyone else (teachers, lawyers, merchants and peasants)

Problems facing workers before WW1

Problem Details

Size Made up 4% of the population, but the

number of workers was growing as

young male peasants left the countryside

to become workers in the new industrial

factories being built in the cities in

cramped conditions.

Wages Wages were low and working conditions

were very bad leading too many work

related deaths and accidents.

Living conditions

Sometimes 30 workers living in one

dormitory or small rooms housing

several families. There were situations

where 2 workers would share the same

bed, one would sleep as the other

worked the day shift then they would

swap when the night shift began.

Problems facing peasants before WW1

Problem Details

Size Peasants made up 84% of the

population with 4 out of every 5 people

being a peasant.

Food Their main food was grain and cabbage

soup. Fish was common but they rarely

had meat. In 1891 400,000 people died

due to crop failure (famine) and cholera

which hit the countryside.

Living conditions

The average life expectancy was 40

years old. Their main problem was

land. Until 1861, the majority

of peasants had been serfs (slaves)

owned by their masters. In 1861, they

had been freed but became in debt.

Russian Revolution Causes and events of the Russian Revolution in March 1917

Date Event Details

1904 Russo-

Japanese

war

Russia and Japan fought for control of a port called Port Arthur. At first there

was support for the Tsar but Russia began to lose against the Japanese. This

humiliated Russia as they were losing to such a small country.

1905 1905

Revolution

400,000 workers and peasants marched to the Winter Palace (where the Tsar

lived) and tried to discuss their problems with him caused by war and long term

issues. The Tsar ordered the army to kill the protestors. Accounts estimate 100s-

1000s of people were killed depending on the source.

1905-

1906

1905

Revolution-

aftermath

During the riots which followed the 1905 Revolution the Okhrana and Cossacks

were used to violently put down the protests. Nicholas’ use of violence earned

him the name ‘Nicholas the Bloody’.

1914 Russia enter

WW1

When war broke out, there was much support for the Tsar. By the end of 1914 1

million Russian soldiers were dead. By March 1917 8 million Russian soldiers had

died.

August

–Sept

1914

Russians

defeated

Russians were heavily defeated by the Germans at Tannenburg and the

Masurian Lakes. 1/3 of the soldiers did not have a rifle and during the winter

soldiers suffered due to not having the correct boots to withstand the cold.

15th of

Septem

ber

1915

Tsar joins the

warfront

The Tsar decided he wanted to take personal control of the army on the front

line. He left his wife, Tsarina Alexandra, in charge of the country. The Tsarina

refused to work with the Duma (parliament). She fired ministers and replaced

them with Rasputin’s friends who did not know what they were doing. They

were unable to effectively organise food, fuel and other supplies for the cities

and trainloads of food was often left to rot on the tracks. Prices went sky high,

bread queues formed but often there was no bread.

7

March

1917

Workers

strike

40,000 workers went on strike for higher wages. In the days that followed

thousands of workers, men and women joined the protestors demanding food,

fuel, better conditions and a new government.

12th

March

1917

Soldiers

refuse the

Tsar

When the Tsar ordered the soldiers to use force to put down the

demonstrations on the 12th March they refused to fire on the crowds in

Petrograd. Instead the soldiers joined the workers and showed their support by

tying red ribbons to the weapons and shot their officers. They marched with the

strikers, women and other workers to demand the Tsar’s abdication.