History Revision
Booklet 2017-18
Name:__________________
Teacher:________________
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Contents
Page
Paper 1:
●
Germany, 1918 – 1945
o Timeline
o Weimar Republic and the rise of Hitler
o Life in Nazi Germany
●
Conflict and tension, 1918 – 1939
o Treaty of Versailles
o League of Nations
o Road to WW2
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Paper 2:
● Britain: power and the people
o Magna Carta
o The start of Parliament
o The Peasants’ revolt
o Pilgrimage of Grace
o English Civil War
o American Revolution
o The Great Reform Act
o Nineteenth century protest groups
o The emergence of trade unions
o Women’s suffrage
o General strike of 1926
o Multicultural Britain

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45
Elizabethan England, c1568 – 1603
o Elizabeth’s court and parliament
o Life in Elizabethan times
o Troubles at home and abroad
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History GCSE checklist
Germany, 1890 – 1918
Rag 1
Rag 2
Rag 3
Rag 1
Rag 2
Rag 3
Germany , 1890 – 1929
 German unification

Germany under Wilhelm II


Impact of WW1

The Weimar Republic’s golden years, 1924 – 1929: Dawes Plan and
economic recovery, cultural revival, political stability, problems even
during the Golden years
The Weimar Republic’s difficult years, 1919 – 1923: formation of the
WR, Spartacists, ToV, Kapp Putsch, Ruhr invasion and hyperinflation
Rise of Hitler




The early years, 1918 – 1923: Hitler returns to Munich, joins DAP, 25
Point Programme, change of part name, Hitler becomes leader, the
Munich Putsch
Hitler ‘in the wilderness’, 1924 - 1929: his trial and imprisonment, Nazis
change of tactics, lack of success in these years
Great Depression, 1930 – 1933: impact of the Great Depression, Nazi
electoral success, Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor
Hitler’s consolidation of power, 1933 – 1934: Reichstag Fire, Emergency
Powers, March election, Enabling Act, Night of Long Knives
Life in Nazi Germany



How the Nazis kept control: terror, propaganda, benefits, indoctrination,
the church.
Impact of Nazi rule on different groups: workers, the middle class,
women, children, minorities.
Impact of WW2: rationing, effect on women, Holocaust
Conflict and tension, 1918 – 1939
The Peace Treaties




Armistice, Paris Peace Conference and context
Aims of the Big Three
Terms of the Treaty
Impact of the Treaty
 The other treaties
The League of Nations
 Formation of the League, organisation and problems of
membership
Successes and failures in the 1920s

 Failures in the 1930s: Manchuria, Abyssinia
Origins and outbreak of WW2







Rearmament of Germany
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
Anschluss
Sudetenland and the Munich Agreement
Nazi-Soviet Pact and invasion of Poland
Appeasement
Causes of WW2
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Power and the People, c1170 - present
Rag 1
Rag 2
Rag 3
Challenging authority and feudalism
 Magna Carta
 The Provisions of Oxford
 The Peasants’ Revolt
Challenging royal authority
 Pilgrimage of Grace

The English Civil War
 The American Revolution
Reform and reformers



Great Reform Act
Protest groups: the Chartists, the Anti-Corn Law League, the antislavery movement, factory and social reform.
Trade unions in the nineteenth century
Equality and rights



Women’s suffrage movement
The General Strike
Minority rights
Elizabethan England, c1568 - 1603
Rag 1
Elizabeth’s court and parliament


Elizabeth and her court: Elizabeth’s early life, how government
worked
Difficulties Elizabeth would face as Queen, Essex’s rebellion
Life in Elizabethan times


A Golden Age?
The poor
 English sailors
Troubles at home and abroad


Religious problems
Mary, Queen of Scots
 Spanish Armada
Historical place



Elizabethan Houses
Bess of Hardwick
Hardwick Hall
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Rag 2
Rag 3
Germany, 1890 - 1945
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Timeline
1890 – 1918:
1871:
1888:
1914:
1918 – 1923:
11th November 1918:
January 1919:
1919:
28th June 1919:
1920:
1921:
1923:
November 1923:
German unification
Willhelm II becomes Kaiser
Outbreak of WW1
Armistice signed
First W.R. elections; Spartacists’ revolt fails
Hitler joins the DAP
Treaty of Versailles signed
Kapp putsch fails
Hitler replaces Drexler as leader of the Nazi Party
Ruhr crisis and hyperinflation
Munich Putsch fails
1924 – 1929 (Stresemann years/Golden years)
1924:
Dawes Plan
1926:
Germany joins League of Nations
1928:
German industrial production back to 1913 levels
1929 – 1934 (rise of Hitler and his consolidation of power):
October 1929:
Wall Street Crash, leading to the Great Depression
1930 – 32:
Nazis start doing well in elections
th
30 January 1933:
Hitler made Chancellor
February 1933:
Reichstag Fire; Hitler given emergency powers
March 1933:
Nazis do well in election; Enabling Act passed
June 1934:
Night of the Long Knives; Hitler made Chancellor
August 1934:
Hindenburg dies; Hitler made Fuhrer
1934 onwards (Nazis in power)
1935:
Nuremburg laws (Jews no longer be German citizens)
November 1938:
Kristallnacht
September 1939:
World War Two starts
January 1941:
Final Solution agreed (extermination of the Jews)
1941:
Hitler invades Russia (= increased hardship in Germany)
1942:
British start bombing German cities
1945:
War ends; Hitler’s suicide
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Germany before WW1
German unification
● In the mid 19th century – there were many small
states in central Europe where German now is
● Prussia wanted to unify all these states together
to make one, powerful country. France resisted
as it did not want a powerful country on its
border.
● Prussia won the Franco-Prussian War (1870 – 71)
and the states were unified to form ‘Germany’ in
1871.
How Germany was run under the Kaisers
Although there were elections, the system was designed
so that in reality the Kaisers had near complete control
if they wanted it.
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Germany under Wilhelm I
● He ruled Germany between 1871 - 1888
● He let his chancellor Otto Von Bismarck make the key decisions. Bismarck introduced a
national coinage, postal service, law system, railway and army.
● OnWilhelm I’s death he was briefly replaced by his son Frederick III, but Frederick only
ruled for 90 days before dying.
Germany under Wilhelm II (1888 – 1918)
Personality
Domestic
● Wanted to dominate Rapid industrialisation:
Germany
–
unlike
• Iron and coal doubled
Wilhelm I
• Leading Europe in
electrical goods
● Unstable in mood
• Population rose rapidly
●
Prone to violent rages
●
Withered hand
●
High profits for factory
owners but wages stayed low
for workers
All historians agree he High taxes
wasn’t able to govern
effectively or command Growing support for the SDP –
the army
81 seats in Reichstag, 1903
Trade union membership rose
– 3.3 million, 1914
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Foreign
Weltpolitik – become a ‘world
power’
“Germany must have her place
in the sun”. Von Bulow.
Arms race - Naval Laws, 1898
and 1912
Aim:
•
•
World power
Inspire patriotism
SPD lost 36 seats, 1907
The impact of WW1
Weimar Germany and the rise of Hitler
The end of WWI
● Germany was in a very poor state: the blockade of Germany had led to a lack of food and supplies.
People were starving. Riots were breaking out. The navy had mutinied (rebelled) against the
Kaiser (king of Germany).
● The Kaiser realised the situation was hopeless and abdicated (quit his job). Germany was left
without a leader and in a mess.
● The biggest political party in Germany was the Social Democrats. Their leader, Friedrich Ebert,
took on the job of running Germany. He tried to improve people’s lives by giving those better
working conditions and freedom of speech.
The Spartacist Revolution January 1919
●
In January 1919, the German communist party (the Spartacists) decided that they wanted to
take over Germany from Ebert. They started a revolution attempt on 6 January. It was not
successful – in a week, Ebert with the help of his Freikorps (ex-WWI soldiers paid to help the
government keep order) had stopped the rebellion and killed many communists. The Spartacist
leaders, Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, were murdered.
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●
It was helpful for Ebert that the Spartacists were no longer a threat. However, he had to rely on
the Freikorps to keep order – that made him look weak to the public, and it was risky as the
Freikorps could turn on him at any point.
The Weimar Constitution
● The Social Democrats won the
January 1919 elections. They
held the first meeting of their
new government in a town called
Weimar – and got the nickname
“The Weimar Government”. Their
first job was to write a new
constitution (set of rules) for
Germany.
● Their new rules included:
everyone over the age of 20 could
vote, people voted for MPs who
would sit in the Reichstag, the
Reichstag would suggest and vote
on new laws, the Chancellor would be head of the Reichstag and would be voted for every 4 years,
there would be a President who would choose the Chancellor and keep control of the army and he
would be voted for every 7 years.
➢
➢
➢
➢
➢
Strengths of the Weimar Constitution
Very fair, particularly the voting
Allowed lots of people to have their say
State governments would ensure local
issues were addressed
Wouldn’t allow one person to take over –
the Chancellor and President balanced each
other
A poor Chancellor or President would only
be around for a limited time
Weaknesses of the Weimar Constitution
➢ Proportional Representation meant that
there were loads of different parties in
the Reichstag – it was difficult to get them
to agree on anything
➢ Article 48 could be abused so that the
President stopped listening to the
Reichstag
➢ State governments could pass laws that
went against what the Reichstag wanted
The Treaty of Versailles – June 1919
● This punished Germany by making them admit guilt for the start of WW1, making them pay £6.6
billion in reparations, reducing their army to 100,000 men, taking away their tanks, submarines
and planes, taking 13% of their land and 12.5% of their population away, taking all their overseas
colonies, demilitarising the Rhineland (border with France) and forbidding them from uniting with
Austria.
● The Germans were outraged. They called the Treaty a “diktat” (dictated peace) and accused the
Weimar Government of “stabbing them in the back” by agreeing to such harsh terms. Some
went as far as to call the new Weimar Politicians the ‘November Criminals’ for signing the
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armistice, which already agreed to some of the terms of the Treaty of Versailles. Due to the
relentless propaganda many Germans were subjected to, many believed the Germans hadn’t been
losing the war and were especially outraged by the punishments the Treaty of Versailles forced
upon them. People began to look to other politicians to rule Germany better than the Social
Democrats.
Other opposition to the Weimar Government
● The German communists continued to create riots around Germany, even after the Spartacist
Revolution failed. Freikorps had to be sent round to fight them and stop them.
● The right wing also hated the Social Democrats. The Freikorps themselves went against Ebert in
1920 when they supported Wolfgang Kapp in his attempt to take over the country (Kapp Putsch).
It was only the workers of Berlin going on strike and refusing to help the Freikorps that stopped
the Putsch.
● Over 350 political assassinations took place between 1919 and 1923 and 200 of those were people
connected to the Weimar Government. The most famous was Walther Rathenau, the Foreign
Minister and a politician who had been involved with the armistice and the Treaty of Versailles.
Matthias Erzberger, the man who signed the armistice was also assassinated. These
assassinations showed how much people disliked their new government and also made people feel
that they were doing a bad job as they weren’t stopping violence on the streets. Many of the
assassins were right-wing murderers who got given short sentences (average four years).
● The Communist Party (KPD), the National People’s Party (DNVP and the National Socialist German
Workers’ Party (NSDAP or Nazis) were political parties who were Anti-republic. This was because
the Communists thought Germany should be a communist country run by workers’ councils not
parliament. The DNVP didn’t believe in democracy and instead preferred a strong government led
by one strong politician or by a Kaiser again. Finally, the NSDAP wanted Germany to be a great
nation with a powerful military and led by a strong government ruled by one man.
.
The
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beginnings of the Nazi Party
● Anton Drexler had a party called the German Workers Party. Hitler joined this in 1920 and soon
had become its leader. He re-named it the National Socialist German Workers Party
(NSDAP/Nazi Party).
● He gave the party a new flag and a new private army to protect it (the SA/Brownshirts).
● The party was small and would meet in beer houses. It began to attract attention because of
Hitler’s powerful speeches, especially his rants against the Treaty of Versailles. The SA would
also beat up opponents, especially the communists.
1923 – The Invasion of the Ruhr, Hyperinflation and the Munich Putsch
● Germany paid her first reparation payment in 1921 but couldn’t afford the 1922 payment.
● France and Belgium decided to invade Germany and take the payment by force. They invaded the
Ruhr, Germany’s main industrial area, to take goods.
● The Germans reacted with passive resistance. They went on strike and refused to make the
goods that the French and Belgians wanted. They sabotaged factories and flooded mines.
● The French and Belgians reacted with violence: shooting some Germans and expelling some others.
● The Weimar Government supported the strikers by printing more money to pay them so that they
could afford to keep striking.
● Too many notes in the economy meant that prices went out of control. November1923 was the
worst month: bread cost 201,000,000,000 marks.
● People had to carry their wages home in wheelbarrows. Prices went up so fast that a day’s wages
would just buy a cup of coffee the next day. The middle classes and the elderly suffered badly
as their savings and pensions were wiped out.
● Hitler chose November 1923 as the moment to attempt his Munich Putsch. He thought people
were so fed up of the Ruhr invasion and hyperinflation, he had the support of war hero
Ludendorff, he had heard the Bavarian government was planning to take over Germany and wanted
to join them, other Communist and Nationalist groups had similar ideas as him and he wanted to
beat them to the punch. The Putsch was easily stopped and he ended up in prison for 9 months and
the Nazi Party was temporarily banned. Although the actual failure of the Putsch was
embarrassing there were many benefits to it. He got very useful publicity from his trial and wrote
Mein Kampf. Most importantly Hitler decided the Nazi Party would have to use legal methods to
gain power.
● Hyperinflation ended in November/December 1923 as Stresemann introduced the Rentenmark.
1924-9 – The Economic Boom of the Stresemann Years
● Gustav Stresemann was Germany’s Chancellor in 1923-4 and her Foreign Secretary after that.
● He helped Germany get back on her feet in two main ways
o Economic measures: the Rentenmark, the Dawes Plan 1924 (800,000,000 mark loan
from the USA), the Young Plan 1929 (reduced Reparations payments to £2.2 billion)…
o International relations: the Locarno Treaties 1925 (Germany and France agreeing their
border), Germany joining the League of Nations 1926, the Kellogg-Briand Pact 1928
(over 60 nations agreeing not to go to war)…
● This increased the amount of money and foreign goods in Germany. People had more money to
spend and the standard of living rose.
● This was an age of cinema, clubs, sex, modern art and architecture, industry, radios, cars. Many
urban people loved it; many rural people deeply disapproved.
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●
On the surface, Germany was doing well. Underneath, there were problems: Germany was
dependent on foreign loans and not making enough of her own money yet to stay afloat.
To what extent did Germany recover between 1924 – 1929?
Economic
Positive
The German economy recovers in this period
due to the Dawes Plan.
By 1928, German factories were producing the
same number of goods as they had been in
1913.
Foreign
Policy
Germany was accepted by many foreign nations
especially once accepted into the League of
Nations.
Culture
With money to spend, people start enjoying
themselves, e.g. Marlene Dietrich films and
night clubs and jazz bands. Women had the
vote and more liberal representation in the
media.
As the economic improved, more Germans
started supporting the Weimar Republic.
During the Golden years, 70% of votes went to
parties who wanted to keep the Weimar
Republic
Politics
Negative
.....the recovery is based entirely on
American loans.
Peasant farmers saw little
improvements.
Small shopkeepers were unhappy with
the growth in department stores
(often Jewish owned)
.....but people like Hitler are angry
that Germany is still following the
terms of Versailles
.....but people in the countryside do not
like the changes in German society.
The Nazis were preparing for the
future (e.g. appointing Goebbels in
charge of propaganda).
1929 – The economic Bust and the Wall Street Crash
● In 1929, the USA’s economy collapsed. They recalled all their loans. Germany’s money stopped
and they spiralled into Depression.
● Unemployment rocketed. It peaked at 6,000,000.
● People lost their homes and had to live on the streets, scavenging on rubbish tips for food.
● The Weimar Government dealt with it poorly – they refused to print more money but raised taxes
and cut wages instead. This increased peoples' suffering.
● Violence began to break out again as people got desperate. The Weimar Government failed to
deal with it.
1929-33 – The increased popularity of the Nazis and Hitler becoming Chancellor
● The Depression played into the hands of the Nazis: people were desperate and wanted a saviour.
● The Weimar Government’s inefficiency made people look for an alternative government. Chancellor
Bruning cut benefits which not only made him popular in the country but also in Reichstag and
quickly lost support of politicians. PresidentHindenburg had to start running Germany using
Article 48 which was unpopular as it contradicted the principles of democracy.
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The Nazis used propaganda very well to advertise themselves as the party to solve all the
problems: posters, meetings, radio broadcasts, cinema news reports, the SA soup kitchens and
homeless shelters, and the “Hitler over Germany” campaign.
● Hitler used his great speaking talents to promote himself as the Saviour of Germany. He came
across as dynamic and a powerful leader.
● The SA also beat up opponents, and helped the police fight the Communists who would naturally
appeal to the workers.
● Nazi votes rose. Election results:
o 1928: 12 seats (before the Wall Street Crash)
o 1930: 107 seats.
o July 1932: 230 seats.
o Nov 1932: 196 seats (The SA’s campaign of violence began to have a negative impact).
Who was voting for the Nazis?
1. Farmers - they were hit hard by the Depression and had to lower their food prices, they
had little support from the Weimar government. They feared the Communists who would
take away their land and supported the Nazis.
2. Women - they cared about family life, good morals and self-discipline. They had disliked
the ‘filth and muck’ their children had been exposed to in the media. They liked that the
Nazis promised to sort this out.
3. Middle Classes - worried about the economic crisis, the chaos on the streets, the
potential Communist takeover. They wanted a strong government and were worried
democracy was just leading to arguments.
4. Upper Classes - concerned about the damage to their businesses. Wanted strong and
clear leadership and missed when Germany was an international power. They liked that
the Nazis would fight communism and promised stability.
● Hitler asked to be Chancellor but Hindenburg (the President) refused. He chose Von Papen, then
Von Schleicher but neither man could get a majority in the Reichstag to make the country run
properly. Also, the Nazis had so many seats they caused a lot of trouble for the Chancellors by
ordering all their ideas be voted down. Hindenburg had to keep ruling with Article 48, some
started to believe Democracy had failed.
● Eventually, Hindenburg had no options left and after a secret meeting with von Papen and
some important businessmen he made Hitler Chancellor on 30 January 1933.They believed
they would be able to control Hitler by ensuring his cabinet was filled with non-Nazi
ministers.
●
1933-4 – Hitler’s consolidation of his power and his rise to become Führer
●
●
●
●
Hitler needed a majority in the Reichstag to get things done. He called another election which
was set to take place in March 1933.
Before the election took place, the Reichstag Fire occurred on 27th February 1933. Hitler blamed
the fire on communists, specifically a communist called van de Lubbe. 3000 Communists were
imprisoned and the Party was banned.
Hitler said the fire showed that Germany was under terrorist attack and on the 28th February he
asked President Hindenburg to give him emergency powers; Hindenburg agreed.
Hitler used the emergency powers to lock up his opponents and ensure the Nazis did well in the
March elections. The Nazis got 288 seats in the election, NOT a majority. They had to join with
the DNVP/ Nationalists to get the majority.
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●
●
●
●
Hitler then used this majority to quickly pass the Enabling Act which allowed him to make laws
without consulting the Reichstag for the next 4 years.
With the power of the Enabling Act, Hitler then:
o Banned opposing parties and put leaders in concentration camps.
o Banned Trade Unions.
o Put Nazis in charge of all state governments.
o Used fear and intimidation to make sure people didn’t challenge the Nazis.
The SA, under their leader Röhm, became a threat due to their numbers and military training and
so Hitler had 400 leaders of the SA shot on The Night of the Long Knives.
When Hindenburg died, Hitler made himself Chancellor and President combined and called his new
role Führer. The army were made to swear an oath of personal loyalty to Hitler.
Life in Nazi Germany
Propaganda – Keeping people supporting the Nazis
● Hitler set up the cult of the Führer, presenting himself as the greatest saviour of Germany. His
image was used very carefully – he was only ever shown serving Germany.
● Goebbels (Hitler’s Propaganda Minister) made sure that people were bombarded with information
to keep them loyal to the Nazis.
● Posters, pictures, art exhibitions and films were all made to show how great the Nazis were.
● Hitler’s speeches were regularly broadcast on the radio to remind people of how much the Nazis
were improving their lives. Cheap radios were sold to people and connected up to loudspeakers so
that everyone could hear.
● The newspapers were banned from printing anything that hadn’t been checked by the Nazis first
(censorship).
● Great rallies were held, such as those at Nuremberg, to show people how organised and powerful
the Party was.
● In 1936, Hitler used the Olympic Games to showcase to the world how efficient, modern and
advanced the German nation was.
Intimidation – Keeping people supporting the Nazis
●
●
●
●
The concentration camps were used to imprison anyone who went against the Nazi state. These
were run by the SS. In the camps, people were expected to work to benefit Germany. They were
often worked to death with very long hours and insufficient rations.
The Gestapo (secret police) would go round checking that people were being loyal to the Nazis.
People who weren’t would often be taken off in the middle of the night for torture or to be taken
to a camp.
Germany was subdivided into tiny blocks of about 30-40 houses. Each block would have a Nazi
living there who would keep an eye on all the families and report to the police and the Gestapo if
they noticed anti-Nazi behaviour.
Children in the Hitler Youth were expected to spy on their parents and neighbours.
1933-9 – How the Nazis changed the lives of young people
● Hitler wanted to indoctrinate young people to become perfect Nazis. He did this in two ways: the
Hitler Youth Movements and through Education.
● The Hitler Youth Movements:
o 4 different groups, 2 for girls, 2 for boys.
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o
o
o
●
●
●
Boys trained to be soldiers: marching, camping, weapons training, fitness training.
Girls trained to be good mothers: domestic training, fitness training.
Both groups trained in utter loyalty to Hitler: listening to Mein Kampf, saluting the
swastika, singing Nazi songs, reporting on “anti-Nazi” activities in their families and
neighbourhoods.
Education:
o New curriculum. Maths questions promoted messages of war and getting rid of
minorities, History focused on the Nazi Party, Geography focused on the “Greater
Germany”, Biology focused on recognising the Aryan race…
o New resources: History books were rewritten without German defeats, Story books
were written warning children of the dangers of the Jews.
o Boys were educated to be soldiers, girls educated to be mothers. They had separate
timetables.
o Lots of PE lessons for everyone to keep everyone fit and healthy for their new roles.
o Teachers had to join the Nazi Teachers’ Association or lose their jobs.
o Jewish pupils were persecuted in lessons. They had to leave German schools in 1938.
Membership of the Hitler Youth became compulsory in 1939. About 7,500,000 children were
members; about 1,000,000 refused.
Some young people chose to join anti-Nazi groups like the Swing Movement and the Edelweiss
Pirates.
1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of women
● Women were expected to be mothers. Many women were forced to leave their jobs.
● Medals were awarded for women who had large numbers of children.
● People were encouraged to get married and have children by being offered marriage loans which
were reduced each time a child was born.
● Women were discouraged from wearing make-up, smoking and dieting.
1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of workers
● The German economy was still suffering badly from the Depression. Hitler set up two 4-year
plans to get the economy back on track. This had several results for ordinary workers.
● Unemployment was tackled by creating massive public works programmes such as the building of
the autobahns. Millions of men were given jobs through this, although they were paid poorly.
● The KDF (Strength through Joy) organisation was set up to organise the leisure time of the
workers, providing them with cheap theatre tickets, cruises, skiing holidays and saving up for VW
Beetles.
● Jewish small businesses were closed down allowing other German small businesses to flourish.
● Farmers were given help in paying off loans but were given quotas for production to meet which
limited their freedom.
● In the run up to WW2, German men began to be conscripted into the army and more and more
factories were set up for arms production. Germany tried to achieve autarky (self-sufficiency) so
that they could keep fighting when other countries stopped trading with them.
1933-9 – How the Nazis changed the Churches
● In 1933, Hitler signed the Concordat with the Pope. The Nazis and the Catholic Church agreed to
keep out of each others’ affairs.
● The Protestant Church was reorganised into the Reich Church and given new Nazi bishops.
Protestant pastors who opposed the Nazis were arrested and taken to concentration camps.
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●
●
The Faith Movement was set up as an alternative to Christianity. It was based on pagan rituals.
Christmas carols and religious studies were phased out of schools. Church schools were closed.
1933-39 – How the Nazis changed the lives of minorities
● The Nazis believed in Aryan superiority. Anyone who didn’t fit in with their idea of a top class
human being had to be removed from society.
● Vagrants and the homeless were taken to camps to be re-educated and taught how to work so
that they could become useful German citizens.
● Homosexuals were sent to concentration camps.
● Blacks and the mentally ill were sterilised so that they couldn’t reproduce or killed.
● Gypsies were sent to concentration camps and later (during WWII) exterminated with the Jews.
– These groups were known as Utenmensch.
● Jews suffered badly in Nazi Germany: boycotts were placed on their shops, they were forbidden
from using public services, they had to be identified by wearing a yellow Star of David and so on.
Key moments of persecution were
o 1935: the Nuremburg Laws. This took away their German citizenship and banned them
from marrying or having sex with Germans
o 1938: Kristall nacht. This was a physical attack on Jewish businesses, homes and
synagogues, causing colossal damage. Many Jews were arrested and taken to
concentration camps. The survivors were given a 1 billion Reichsmark bill to clear up
the mess.
Life in Nazi Germany during WWII (1939-45)
● Rationing was introduced early on. People got used to a monotonous diet, a lack of clothes, little
hot water and soap.
● Propaganda increased, especially when Germany needed greater support for the war such as
during the Russian campaign of 1941-45. Propaganda films were particularly important.
● From 1942, Germans began to experience bombing raids on their major cities from British and
American bombers. Hundreds of thousands of civilians were killed.
● In 1944, all workers had to go into armaments production. Women were back into work; their
children were in day care. People had to work longer and longer hours.
● Jews, gypsies and other minorities began to be deported to Death Camps where they were
exterminated.
Opposition to the Nazis
● Young people opposed the Nazis:
o The Edelweiss Pirates. Working class movement who beat up the Hitler Youth and
helped concentration camp escapees.
o The Swing Youth. Middle class movement who listened to jazz music and went clubbing.
o The White Rose movement. University students who spread anti-Nazi leaflets and
urged Germans not to support WW2.
● The churches opposed the Nazis:
o Protestants set up the Confessional Church which was anti-Nazi
o Protestant pastors such as Dietrich Bonhoeffer and Martin Niemoller spoke out
against the Nazis. Bonhoeffer was also involved in sabotage work
● The army opposed the Nazis:
o In July 1944, Count Von Stauffenberg attempted to assassinate Hitler with a bomb in
a suitcase.
o Army officers became more and more critical of Hitler in 1943 as the war went very
badly
18
19
20
Conflict and tension, 1918 – 1939
21
Timeline
1918 – 1928 (Treaty of Versailles and good years of the League of Nations
January 1918
Woodrow Wilson’s 14 Points
11th November 1918:
Armistice signed
January 1919:
Paris Peace Conference begins
1919:
Hitler joins the DAP
28th June 1919:
Treaty of Versailles signed
January 1920:
First meeting of the League of Nations
1920:
Poland invades Vilna
March 1921
Aaland Island crisis
1922:
August 1922:
The Washington Naval Agreement
October 1922:
Benito Mussolini becomes dictator of Italy after his march on Rome
1923:
July 1923
The Treaty of Lausanne overturn
August 1923:
The Corfu Crisis
1925
October 1925:
The Greek-Bulgarian Dispute
October-December 1925:
The Locarno Treaties
1926:
Germany joins League of Nations
August 1928:
The Kellog-Briand Pact
1929 – 1935 (collapse of the League of Nations):
October 1929:
Wall Street Crash, leading to the Great Depression
September 1931:
The Mukden Incident leading to the Manchurian Crisis
th
30 January 1933:
Hitler made Chancellor
1934:
The Dollfuss Affair (Austrian Nazis assassinated the Austrian Chancellor Dollfuss)
September 1934
The USSR joins the League of Nations
1935:
January:
The Saar plebiscite; the Saar re-joins Germany
March:
Hitler announces his rearmament programme (Lufftwaffe, conscription)
March
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland
June:
The Anglo-German Naval Treaty
October:
The Abyssinia Crisis
December:
The Hoare-Laval Pact is leaked to the press
1935-1939 (Road to World War Two)
1936:
July:
Outbreak of the Spanish Civil War
October:
The Rome-Berlin Azis is agreed
November:
Italy joins the Anti-Comintern Pact, which was already agreed by Germany and Japan
July 1937:
Japan launced a full-scale invasion on China
1938:
March:
Hitler achieves Anschluss
September:
Chamberlain meets Hitler over the Sudeten Crisis; the Munich Conference takes place
October:
German troops invade and occupy the Sudetenland
1939:
May:
Germany and Italy sign the Pact of Steel; a military alliance
August:
The Nazi-Soviet Pact is signed
September:
Hitler invades Poland. Britain and France declare war on Germany
22
Treaty of Versailles
Background
● The Treaty was drawn up at the Paris Peace Conference in January 1919, which was held at the Palace of Versailles
just outside of Paris, France.
●
The purpose of the Conference was to allow the leaders of the victorious powers to meet in order to decide how to
deal with the defeated powers.
●
The Conference lasted for a year, with the Treaty was signed in June 1919.
Problems in Europe:
● When the armistice was signed the Germans already agreed to pay reparations, give Alsace-Lorraine back and
demilitarise the Rhineland limiting the future negotiations.
● Britain and France had made prior agreements to Italy and Japan in exchange for their support.
● The negotiations would include 32 countries, many of whom wanted to agree terms quickly so they could begin
rebuilding their countries.
● Europe had changed dramatically as now the Austro-Hungarian Empire was collapsing and Russian had become
Communist USSR after their revolution in 1917.
Woodrow Wilson’s Fourteen Points, Jan 1918
Alliance systems had caused World War One
1) No secret treaties
2) Free access to sea for all
Arms race had been another big cause of World War
3) Free trade between countries
One. But he had no clear idea on how to disarm. Made
4) Disarmament by all countries
him too idealistic.
5) Colonies to have a say in their own future
6) Russia to be free of German troops
Self-determination (the right to govern own
7) Belgium to be independent
nation) had been another key issue in
8) Alsace-Lorraine to go back to France
causing World War One. However, it was
9) New frontier between Austria and Italy
unpopular in Europe with big powers
wanting control over smaller countries and
10) Self-determination for people of Easter Europe
the British Empire.
11) Serbia to have access to the sea
12) Self-determination for the people in Turkish Empire
Wilson wanted countries’ relations to be based
13) Poland to be independent with access to the sea
on discussion not military action. The LoN
would become very important between the two
14) League of Nations to settle disputes
world wars.
The Leaders:
Georges Clemenceau (Prime Minister of France)-A hard, tough politician with a reputation for being
uncompromising.
David Lloyd George (Prime Minister of Britain) - a realist and very experienced politician.
Woodrow Wilson (President of the USA)
- an idealist and a reformer.
The Aims of the Leaders
Georges Clemenceau (France)
● France had suffered very severely in terms of damage to the country and loss of life
during WWI. They were determined not to allow such devastation to ever happen again.
●
●
They wanted Germany to pay for all of the damages from the war.
●
They wanted Germany to lose all of the land they had gained and more.
●
They wanted the German armed forces to be destroyed completely
The purpose behind all of these demands was to ensure that Germany was crippled so that
it could not attack France again.
David Lloyd George (Britain)
● Britain had suffered during WWI, but not to the same extent as France. Lloyd George was
aware that there would have to be compromises.
●
He thought that Germany should be punished justly (not too harshly)
23
●
His main aim was to stop Germany from having a navy as he wanted Britain to ‘rule the seas’ so that they
could maintain their empire.
Woodrow Wilson (USA)
● The USA had not suffered much during the war as they had joined late and there
was no fighting in their own country.
●
At the Treaty of Versailles Wilson proposed the Fourteen Points, which he believed
would end the war fairly and prevent another war in the future.
●
His two main ideas at the Conference were self-determination (independence/the
right to choose their own future) for the countries of eastern Europe and the League of
Nations.
The Terms of the Treaty (GARGLE)
Guilt - clause 231, Germany accepted blame ‘for
causing all the loss and damage’ of the war.
Armed forces - army: 100,000
- Conscription banned
- No submarines
- No aeroplanes
- 6 battleships
- Rhineland de-militarised
Reparations - £6,600
million – in instalments,
until 1984
Germany lost land :
- Alsace-Lorraine
The impact of
the Treaty of
Versailles on the
borders of Europe.
- Posen farm lands
- Saar Coal Fields
League of Nations - not allowed to join until proven
a peace-loving nation
Extra points - forbade Anschluss (union of Austria
with Germany)
Lithuania
- Estonia,
independent
Latvia and
states.
The Allies’ Reactions to
the Treaty
Leader
B
r
i
t
a
i
n
●
●
Public
DLG was pleased to gain colonies and
retain naval supremacy over Germany
DLG was also worried that it was too
harsh saying: ‘we will have to fight
another war in 25 years’ time, and at
three times the cost!’
●
●
●
24
Fed propaganda against the Germans for
years and wanted revenge
Suffered food shortages and 1 mill deaths
1918 elections meant politicians promised
revenge
F
r
a
n
c
e
●
U
S
A
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
GC was furious Germany was allowed to
keep an army at all
Wanted Rhineland altogether
Wanted Germany dismantled
Wanted more reparations
Was voted out at next elections - French
people had thought he’d failed
●
Devastated and believed the treaty was
too harsh and would lead to another war
Happy that the LoN was created and
E.Europe would be largely allowed selfdetermination
WW had campaigned hard to convince the
American people to join the LoN but died
in 192r from a stroke, leaving the US
turning to isolationism
●
●
●
●
●
Many villages and towns had been destroyed
and 1.5 mill people had died, been invaded
twice and the public wanted revenge
Happy with Saar coal-fields, Alsace-Lorraine,
reparations, Rhineland and colonies etc.
But also thought it could have been harsher
Felt ToV was unfair on Germany and worried
that Br and Fr were more powerful than
before
Favoured isolationism and didn’t want to get
involved in Europe again
Republican Party criticised Wilson and the
Senate (US govt) voted against the ToV didn’t join the LoN
German reaction to the Treaty (U BRAT)
● Unfair – Germany thought it was unfair that they were not represented at the Treaty so they had to
accept a harsh Treaty without any choice or even a comment. It was also an insult that they were not
allowed to join the League of Nations.
● Blame – Germany thought that the war guilt should be shared.
●
Reparations – Germany was crippled by the reparations, the country was already practically economically
destroyed after the war and people could not even afford to buy food.
●
Armed forces - With such small armed forces Germany would be unable to defend themselves if they
●
were attacked and German pride in the army was also hurt.
Territory – Loss of so much German territory was a blow to their pride. The loss of industrial areas
such as the Saar (coalfields) also damaged the economy.
The other Treaties
Treaty
Dealt Mostly With
Main Points
St. Germain,
1919
Austria
Separate Austria from Hungary
Stp Austria from joining with Germany
Take away land e.g. Bosnia
Limit army
Create new countries from its lands
Trianon, 1920
Hungary
Take away some land
Denied access to sea
Reduced army
Neuilly, 1919
Bulgaria
Take away lan (e.g. Syria)
Denied access to the Black Sea
Reduced army
Sevres, 1920
Turkey
Land taken away (e.g. Syria)
Lost control of the Black sea
Replaced Sevres reducing amount of land lost and cancelled
Lausanne,
25
1923
reparation payments
The impact of the treaties on eastern Europe
Czechoslovakia
● As well as the Treaty of Versailles, other smaller treaties were also agreed at the Paris Peace
Conference which dealt with the establishment and expansion of countries in Eastern Europe.
●
The most important country that was created was Czechoslovakia. The Allies hoped that it would
provide a country which would be economically and politically stable in Eastern Europe.
●
In reality, it was not very stable, as it contained many different national groups, and as a result there
were many ethnic tensions. (see graph)
Poland
● Poland had been an important country in the 1600s but had been divided up by Russia, Germany and
Austria.
●
The Allies wanted to re-create Poland so that it could act as a watchdog on Germany and also for a
barrier against communist Russia.
●
Poland, however, had no natural frontiers such as rivers or mountains, which made it vulnerable to
attack.
●
As a result from the very outset there was fighting between Poland and Russia.
●
Poland had also been given access to the sea, through the ‘Polish corridor’ which covered a German city
called Danzig. This was bitterly resented by the Germans.
Yugoslavia
● Yugoslavia was an example of Wilson’s idea of self-determination in action.
●
It combined lots of small nationalities together into one country (e.g. Serbians, Bosnians and Croatians)
and was meant to make the area more stable.
Was it fair?
Yes
No
●
●
●
●
●
The war had been so devastating that it was
only right that the losing countries should pay
for the damage done.
Germany made Russia sign the Treaty of
Brest-Litovsk, which had taken away more
than 25% of their farmland and population.
Germany invaded France through Belgium, not
the other way round.
Germany had attacked France in 1870, then
again at the start of WW1 in 1914.
The peacemakers had to act quickly.
●
●
●
●
●
●
●
26
12.5% of Germans lived outside Germany and
feared persecution.
Lloyd George predicted in 25 years time.
Complex causes of WW1 e.g. the arms race
was fought between both Germany and
Britain.
It was estimated to take Germany until the
1980s to pay the reparations back - actually
was 2010.
Germany were not allowed in on the peace
discussions and had to accept the terms
regardless. The Treaty was a Diktat (forced
peace).
Germany was left vulnerable.
The Weimar Republic was set up and the
Treaty did not help the new democracy.
To what extent did the ‘Big Three’ achieve their aims?
Aims
Geo Punish and
rge
revenge
Evidence it was achieved
Evidence it wasn’t achieved
•
•
•
War-guilt clause
Cle
me
nce
Wanted Germany to be destroyed
Clemenceau was voted out of
office for not delivering
Protection
au,
Fra
nce
Compensation
•
•
•
Army and navy weakened
•
•
Wanted no army at all
•
•
£6.6 billion
•
Cost of war for France = 200
Saar for 15 years
billion Francs
Rhineland demilitarised
No Anschluss
•
•
Wo
Self-
odr
determination
•
Wanted a independent Rhineland
Small countries under Austro-
Hungarian Empire given independence
•
Loss of 1.5 mill lives
Wanted Saar for good
German Empire given as mandates
to LoN = Britain and France
ow
Wil
League of
son, Nations
US
•
League of Nations created – 42
•
America didn’t join and USSR and
countries joined, 1920
Germany banned for many years
•
•
A
Stop future
wars
Dav Revenge and
id
compensation
Llo
yd
Geo
rge
Naval
supremacy
League of Nations
ToV so harsh Germany would seek
revenge – another war
•
•
•
War guilt
•
Reparations
would seek revenge – another war
Lloyd George worries Germany
Germany allowed only 6
battleships
,
Bri
Trade with
•
tain Germany
Germany economy crippled –
couldn’t trade with anyone
•
Keynes said reparations would
ruin all of Europe
Reduce risk of
•
another war
Lloyd George predicted another
war in 25 years time of double the cost
27
The League of Nations
Background
● Set up in 1920 by the Treaty of Versailles.
●
Originally the idea of Woodrow Wilson who wanted the League to be like a world parliament.
●
Based in Geneva, Switzerland.
●
42 countries joined at the start. By the 1930s this had risen to 60.
●
May 1920, the US Senate voted against Versailles, thus the country did not join the League.
●
The USSR was not allowed to join the League as Br and Fr didn’t trust the Communist government.
●
Germany was not allowed to join as a punishment for causing WWI.
●
The leading members were Britain and France, helped by Italy and Japan.
Aims (SIDE)
● Stop war (collective security)
● Improve live and jobs
● Disarmament
● Enforce the Treaty of Versailles (encourage trade, economic and social agencies, health care, end
slavery).
The powers of The League
1. Covenant (Articles 10-17, members promised to keep the peace).
2. Condemnation (the League could tell a country it was doing wrong).
3. Arbitration (the League could offer to decide between two countries).
4. Sanctions (stopping trade).
Structure
1. Assembly (the main meeting of the League – all members met once a year). Its main problem was that
decisions had to be unanimous (agreed by everyone), which was very difficult to achieve.
2. Council (a small group of the more important nations – Britain, France, Italy and Japan plus some other
countries – met 4–5 times a year).
3. Agencies (committees of the League):
● Court of International Justice (for small disputes).
● Health Committee (to improve world health).
● International Labour Organisation (to try to get fair wages).
● Slavery Committee (to end slavery).
● Refugee Committee (to return people to their homes after wars or disasters).
4.
Secretariat (was supposed to organise the League, but failed).
Strengths
●
●
Weaknesses
It was written into all of the peace
treaties at the end of the First World
War, so all the nations involved had
signed an agreement that recognised
the organisation
It had a vast membership
●
28
Many important countries did not, or would not,
join the League. The USA, for example, never
joined and the USSR was not allowed to join.
This undermined the League as a ‘global’
organisation and meant that if a country faced
economic sanctions it could still trade with some
●
As there were so many members,
economic sanctions and moral
condemnation were daunting
punishments for many countries
●
●
●
of the most powerful and richest countries
The League had no army, which meant that it
could not force people to obey it
The structure was very complicated. It confused
people and slowed action
Decisions had to be unanimous, which meant that
decision-making was slow
The successes and failures of the League in the 1920s
Date
Failure
Success
1920
Vilna: Vilna was the new capital city of Lithuania
but the majority of its population was Polish. A
Polish army took control of the city and
Lithuania asked the League for help. Poland
refused the League’s instruction to remove its
army. France saw Poland as an ally against
Germany so refused to help and Britain refused
to be the only country to send troops. Poland
got away with taking Vilna and the League failed
in its first dispute
1921-25
Upper Silesia: was on the border between Poland
Germany at the end of WW1 and both Germans
and Polish lived there. In 1921 a Plebiscite was
organised to decide who would own Upper Silesia.
Britain and France sent troops to police the vote.
Germany received most of the rural areas and
Poland the industrial zones.
1921
The Aland Islands: both Sweden and Finland
claimed the Aland Islands, which were between
the two countries. The League investigated each
country’s claim. The decided that the islands
should go to Finland but Finland was not allowed
to build forts and the Swedish Population on the
island would be protected. Both agreed.
1923
Corfu: the Italian general Telini was killed on
the boundaries of Greece and Albania.
Mussolini, the dictator of Italy, blamed the
Greek government and demanded the murdered
should be executed and the Greeks should pay
compensation. But the Greeks did not know who
the murdered Telini and so Mussolini had Corfu
invaded and fifteen people were killed. Greece
appealed to the League and the League
condemned Mussolini’s act but agreed Greece
should pay compensation which would be kept
with the League until a full investigation was
completed. Mussolini used his influence in the
League to get the compensation straight away.
29
He removed his troops from Corfu. Greece felt
this was unfair and showed how large and
powerful countries could get what they want.
1925
Bulgaria: when Greek soldiers were killed on the
Bulgarian border, Greece invaded Bulgaria.
Bulgaria asked the League for help, which
condemned the Greeks and ordered removal of
troops and the payment of compensation.
Greece thought this was hypocritical as
Mussolini had gotten away with similar actions
in Corfu. Greece as a smaller less powerful
country couldn’t risk disobeying the League and
Gr and Fr.
1920s
the
Commisi
ons
The Commissions for Refugees:
● 427,000 prisoners of war were returned home after WW1
● The League helped find homes for the 1.5 million people had fled Russia after the 1917
revolution
● After Turkey clashed with Greece the League helped set up camps for the 600,000 Greeks
fleeing from Turkey between 1919 and 1923
● BUT failed to help the Jews fleeing from Germany from 1933 onwards
The Slavery Commission:
● Freed 200,000 slaves from Sierra Leone
● The League attacked slave traders in Africa and Burma and freed 200,000 slaves.
International Labour Organisation:
● in 1930 helped Greece organise a social insurance for workers when ill
● in 1928 77 countries agreed to set a minimum wage
● in Tanganyika in Africa, slave labour was causing the death of 50% of railway workers and
the League’s intervention brought this down to 2%
● BUT failed to stop countries from employing children under the age of 14 years
● BUT failed to convince countries that workers’ holidays should be paid and workers should
work no more than 8 hours a day
Health and drugs
● International campaign to kill mosquitos which spread diseases like malaria and yellow fever
● Helped Russia educate its people on the spread of typhus
● Sent doctors to help refugees in Turkey
● Would go on to become the World Health Organisation (WHO) which still exists today
● Blacklisted four large companies that were involved in selling illegal drugs
● BUT some historians think the members of the League made so much money from the
selling of opium that they weren’t really committed to stopping it
International agreements outside the League
The Dawes Plan – This was designed by America to prevent conflict through lending money to Germany so that
they could pay reparations. This helped the League with their aims of enforcing the Treaty of Versailles and
stopping wars.
The Locarno Treaties – Germany agreed to accept the borders laid out in the Treaty of Versailles, that the
Rhineland would remain a demilitarised zone and that any future disputes between France and Germany would
be settled by the League. This again helped the League with their aim of enforcing the Treaty of Versailles.
30
Kellogg-Briand Pact – This agreement was signed in 1928 by 63 countries who agreed to try and stop any
future conflict through peaceful means. This helped the League with their aim of stopping wars. It was
particularly significant that America signed the Pact as they were not members of the League.
The Rapallo Treaty, 1922 - When Russia was forced to leave WW1 and surrendered to Germany, they were
made to sign the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk, which had taken away lots of land and set high reparations. In 1922
the two countries met in Italy and agreed that Germany would return the money and land that Russia had lost
and would cooperate with one another in the future.
These agreements were made outside the League because the countries they involved weren’t members of the
League of Nations.
On the whole, the League failed at stopping wars (Corfu) and disarmament (Kellogg-Briand), as well as
enforcing the Treaty of Versailles (Poland). These failures were mainly due to the fact that the League
had no way of effectively imposing sanctions due to its lack of an army and the fact that the one
country that could support the League with the necessary economic and military power, the USA, was
not a member. Britain and France were too weak following WWI to really be able to support the League.
The Wall St. Crash and the Great Depression
● Hitler and Mussolini were not afraid to use violence to get what they wanted. They were not interested
in collective security and they weren’t afraid of moral condemnation.
● To fight such aggressive dictators, the League would need a strong army. Without its own army it had
to rely on the army of its members but countries did not want the expense of a war especially during
the Depression.
● So there only sanction the League could then impose was economic sanctions. However, with the
economic crisis, the member countries were unwilling to stop trading with one another, as this would
cause even more unemployment.
● Furthermore, the great Depression could be linked to the crisis that developed during the 1930s and it
also left the League paralysed to deal with them.
Failures of the 1930s
Manchuria
• The Nationalist government of China led by Chiang Kai-shek was weak, corrupt and busy fighting the
Communists.
• Due to the Great Depression, Japan wanted to build an empire to secure supplies of raw materials.
• The Japanese government was controlled by the army
• China ruled Manchuria, but the Japanese army ran the railway there, and ruled in Korea.
• Sept 1931: There was some vandalism on the Manchurian railway; Japan claimed the Chinese had sabotaged
the railway.
• Japan invaded Manchuria and set up the 'independent' state of Manchukuo under the former Emperor of
China, Henry P'ui.
• China appealed to the League.
• Dec 1931: the League appointed a commission led by Lord Lytton
from Britain to investigate.
• April 1932 Lytton goes to Manchuria.
• Oct 1932: Lytton's report published - stated that Japan was the
aggressor and should leave.
• 24 Feb 1933: The Assembly voted that Japan should leave
Manchuria, Japan walked out of the meeting.
• Japan stayed in Manchuria.
31
• The League could not agree economic sanctions or an arms sales ban.
• In 1933 Japan resigned from the League, and invaded/ conquered Jehol (next to Manchuria).
• In 1937 Japan invaded the rest of China.
A SPECTACULAR failure:
The League was discredited
Manchuria showed:
•
It was slow (the Lytton Report took almost a year)
•
A country could get its own way if it ignored the League ‘Collective security' was useless against big
countries - especially during the Great Depression.
•
Even the great powers within the League (Japan was on the Council) were happy to ignore it.
Abyssinia
●
Independent African nation, rich in raw materials.
●
October 1935 Italy invaded.
●
The Abyssinian Emperor Haile Selassie asked the
League of Nations for help.
●
The League did not want a clash with Mussolini.
Britain and France wanted him to be their ally against
Hitler.
●
The Hoare-Laval Pact (a secret agreement to give
the rich areas of Abyssinia to Italy) was drawn up.
●
As result of the Pact and the subsequent failure of
the League, weaker countries realised they could not depend on the League for Help.
●
Hitler invaded the Rhineland.
●
It showed that the League could not make collective security work.
●
In October 1936 Hitler and Mussolini made the Rome-Berlin Axis Agreement: another world war was
looming
Why did the League fail?
It WAS DUMB!
●
Weak – the League’s ‘powers’ were virtually useless. Sanctions did not work (Failed to stop the sale of
arms to Italy during the Abyssinian crisis). It had no army.
●
America – the strongest nation in the world never joined. Britain and France were not strong enough to
impose peace on their own.
●
Structure – the League was muddled, so it took ages to do anything. Members couldn’t agree – but
decisions had to be unanimous. This paralysed the League. It was very slow to act (Manchuria).
●
Depression – the world-wide Depression made countries try to get more land and power. They were
worried about themselves, not about world peace.
●
Unsuccessful – the more the League failed, the less people trusted it. (Manchuria led to the invasion of
the Rhineland). In the end, everybody just ignored it.
●
Members – the League’s main members let it down. Italy (Abyssinian Crisis) and Japan (Manchurian
Crisis) betrayed the League. France and Britain did nothing to help it.
32
●
Big bullies – in the 1920s, the League had dealt with weak countries. In the 1930s, powerful countries
like Germany, Italy and Japan attacked weaker countries. They were too strong for the League to stop
them.
33
Road to War and Appeasement
Hitler’s Aims
1. Abolish the Treaty of Versailles – Hitler, like many Germans, believed that the Treaty was extremely
unfair and unjust. He called the German leaders who had signed it the ‘November Criminals’. By the time
Hitler came to power the Germans had already stopped making reparations payments, but he hated
other aspects of the Treaty that were still in place.
2. Expand German territory – Hitler wanted to get back the German territory that had been lost in WWI.
His main priorities were to unite with Austria (Anschluss) and the areas of Czechoslovakia which
contained German speaking peoples. Hitler also hoped to expand into Eastern Europe – this policy was
known as Lebensraum (living space).
3. Defeat Communism – Hitler hated communism and hoped to expand the German Empire by taking land
from the USSR. He blamed the Bolsheviks (communists) for the defeat of Germany in WWI and
believes they wanted to take over the country.
The Road to War – Hitler’s Foreign Policy in the early 1930s
The Dollfuss Affair, 1934
Anschluss with Austria was forbidden in the Treaty of Versailles but it was one of Hitler’s foreign policy aims.
Aware of this the Austrian Chancellor, Dollfuss banned the Nazi Party in Austria. In 1934 Hitler responded by
telling Nazis in Austria to create havoc in the country. Dollfuss was murdered. But Hitler could go no further
because Mussolini moved his troops on the Austrian border preventing the Nazis from invading Austria.
The Saar Plebiscite, 1935
A plebiscite is a vote on a single issue. The Saar (area rich in coal) according to the Treaty of Versailles it was
to be ruled by the League of Nations for 15 years. Accordingly, in 1935 a plebiscite was held asking if the area
wished to return to German control. This was entirely legal within the terms of Versailles and also gave Hitler a
morale boost.
The Anglo-German Naval Agreement, 1935
Some British people felt the Treaty had been too harsh. In 1935, Britain signed an agreement with Germany
saying that the German navy was allowed to be 35% the size of the British one. Britain also allowed Germany to
build 45% the number of British submarines, Britain hadn’t consulted France before signing this.
The Stresa Front, 1935
An agreement between Britain, France and Italy that they would guarantee the terms of the Locarno Treaty,
protect Austrian independence, work together to stop Hitler breaking any more terms of the ToV
Rearmament, 1936
As soon as he came to power Hitler began to rearm. In 1936 he introduced conscription. This clearly broke the
terms of the Treaty of Versailles which stated that the army could not exceed 100,000 men. He also held a
staged a massive military rally in 1935.
Hitler used rearmament and conscription as a means of lowering unemployment. Britain and France did not react
as they felt that the Treaty had been too harsh on Germany. Britain even went as far as signing a naval
agreement with Germany which allowed the German navy to be increased by up to 35% the size of the British
navy.
Who were Hitler’s potential allies?
34
Potential
ally
Britain
Why did Hitler like them?
●
●
Italy
●
●
How did they respond
Admired British monarchy and
traditional valued
Suggested a non-aggression
pact in 1936
●
Had been inspired by
Mussolini’s ‘march on Rome’
Both were fascist dictators
●
●
●
●
Spain
●
●
●
●
Japan
●
General Franco was leading the
nationalist Fascists against the
democratic Republic in the
Spanish Civil War
The democratic Republicans
were supported by Communist
USSR and therefore were
Hitler’s enemies
Both Mussolini and Hitler sent
troops and weapons to help
Franco
Hitler also just wanted to test
out his new weapons and planes
and show off to the world
●
Japan fought against the USSR
and therefore could be a key
ally to the Nazis
●
●
●
●
●
Some British politicians wanted to cooperate
in order to avoid or at least postpone a war
Had no desire to set up an official alliance
Had already signed the Locarno Treaty which
agreed to support both Fr and Ger if either
were to attack the other.
To begin with Mussolini ad prevented Germany
from invading Austria after the Dollfuss
Affair in 1934
in 1936 signed the Rome-Berlin Axis agreeing
to work more closely
Franco was delighted to have these two strong
allies
He defeated the Republicans in 1939 with the
help and support of the Nazis
And indeed the world was horrified when
watching the Luftwaffe could do. Many
Spanish civilians were killed as Nazi planes
bombed cities like Guernica.
In 1936 Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact
agreeing to work together against Communism
The new alliance was called the Axis Alliance.
These countries later went on to fight against
the allies in WWII.
Japan thought Germany’s support would
threaten China and Russia
The Road to War – Hitler’s Foreign Policy in the late 1930s
Remilitarisation of the Rhineland, 1936
In March 1936, Hitler moved troops into the Rhineland. This was clearly against the terms of the Treaty of
Versailles, which stated that the area was to be demilitarised in order to protect France from invasion.
Germany had formerly agreed to this in the Locarno Treaties of 1925.
Following the League of Nation’s failure to act in Abyssinia, however, Hitler decided to risk invading the
Rhineland as he did not believe Britain and France would respond. He order his troops to turn back if they
faced any form of resistance at all as he knew he was not strong enough to fight a war at this point. Hitler was
correct, France was still to weak after WWI to retaliate and Britain allowed this to happen as they believed
the Treaty of Versailles had been too harsh on Germany.
35
Anschluss with Austria, 1938
Hitler had attempted Anschluss (union with Austria) in 1934, but
Mussolini had stopped him. Following the Anti-Comintern Pact,
however, Italy did not interfere when Germany tried again in 1938.
Hitler encouraged Nazis in Austria to stir up trouble for the
government. He then told the Austrian Chancellor Schuschnigg that
only Anschluss could solve the problems. Schuschnigg asked Britain
and France for help but they refused, as they did not consider this an
invasion but the unification of Germany speaking peoples.
This British cartoon from 1938 shows
Hitler as a poacher, stealing Austria.
Mussolini is shown as a bad game-keeper.
‘I never heard a shot, Adolf’’, he is
saying.
A plebiscite was held to decide what should happen. Hitler was not
prepared to risk losing so he sent troops to Austria; the result was
then 99.75% in favour. Hitler was now beginning to successfully
expand in line with his policy of lebensraum.
The Sudentenland, 1938
After Anchluss Hitler’s next target was an area of Czechoslovakia
called the Sudetenland which was mainly populated by Germany speaking people.
First, Hitler encouraged the Sudeten Nazis to demand union with Germany. Then, Hitler made plans to invade
Czechoslovakia. The Czech leader, Edward Beneš, requested Britain and France’s help. Hitler assured them
that he would not invade the whole of the country, he only wanted the Sudetenland.
The Munich Agreement
Neville Chamberlain appeased Hitler.
Sudetenland.
At Munich, on 29 September 1938, Britain and France gave Hitler the
Czechoslovakia, 1939
After the successful conquest of the Sudetenland, Hitler then took the whole of Czechoslovakia. He hated the
country as it had been established through the Treaty of Versailles; also taking over the land would help his
policy of lebensraum.
In March 1939 the German troops invade. The Czechs made no resistance, without the essential forts,
industries and railways of the Sudetenland they were defenceless. This was clearly an invasion and not simple
the unification of German peoples.
Britain and France realised that Poland was likely to be Hitler’s next target and told him that if he attacked
they would declare war. After so many years of appeasement, however, Hitler did not believe them.
Reasons for appeasement
●
Hitler was standing up to communism.
●
The USA would not help stand up to Hitler,
Britain and France was worried that they
could not succeed without them.
●
Many people thought the Treaty of Versailles
was unfair on Germany.
Verdicts on appeasement
Historians have said that appeasement:
● Let Hitler grow stronger.
● Gave Britain time to re-arm.
● Humiliated Britain – no country in central
Europe ever trusted Britain again, this created
tension throughout Europe.
● Abandoned millions of people to the Nazis.
36
●
Britain and France were suffering from
●
economic problems and could not afford
●
another war. They had large debts and high
unemployment.
●
The armed forces were not ready for war.
●
Both Britain and France vividly remembered
●
the horrific experiences of the First World
●
War. They wished to avoid another war at any
Caused the war, by encouraging Hitler to think
he could do anything.
Gave Britain the morale high ground – when war
came, Britons knew they had done everything
possible to keep the peace.
Would never have stopped Hitler, who was
determined to go to war.
Was a fine attempt to prevent the deaths of
millions of people in a war.
cost.
●
Britain could not be certain that they would
gain support from their empire
Joseph Stalin, 1878-1953:was the leader of Russia from 1929 until his death in 1953. During this time, he
changed the country from an agricultural to an industrial economy, but treated anyone who opposed or
questioned him with brutality. It is estimated that 10 million people were murdered by Stalin’s regime.
The Nazi Soviet Pact
In summer 1939, Hitler began to unfold his plan to take over Poland.
union with Germany. Then, Hitler threatened war.
First, the Germans in Danzig demanded
Chamberlain promised the Poles that Britain would support them if Germany attacked Poland.
In August 1939, Hitler made a secret treaty with Russia. He thought this would stop Britain & France helping
Poland.
In August 1939, Hitler sent Ribbentrop, a senior Nazi, to Russia. He offered a Nazi-Soviet alliance – Russia
and Germany would not go to war, but would divide Poland between them.
Stalin knew Hitler was lying, but he did not trust the British either – the Munich Agreement had convinced him
that Britain and France would never dare to go to war with Hitler.
Stalin had two choices:
If he made an alliance with Britain, he would end up fighting a war with Hitler over Poland.
If he made an alliance with Germany, he would get half of Poland, and time to prepare for the coming war with
Germany.
He chose the latter. On 23 August 1939, he signed the Pact with Hitler.
Invasion of Poland, 1939
On 1 September 1939, Hitler invaded Poland. On 3 September 1939, Chamberlain declared war on Germany.
37
Why did World War Two break out?
the failure of
the League of
Nations




the Depression


Appeasement

the Nazi-Soviet
Pact



the Treaty of
Versailles




The Abyssinian Crisis highlighted many weaknesses of the League of Nations.
The League of Nations had no army so they could take no action and therefore
actions taken by Hitler and Mussolini couldn’t be dealt with effectively.
The League of Nations could not afford to put effective economic sanctions on
countries during the thirties.
Britain and France weren’t committed to the League of Nations.
Desperate countries were too preoccupied with their own problems to support the
League of Nations, so there was less international cooperation.
Desperate people during the Great Depression turned to dictators like Hitler
Mussolini.
Opportunities to stop Hitler were missed, such as when he remilitarised the
Rhineland.
The Nazi-Soviet Pact was an important step in allowing Hitler to invade Poland.
Once Germany allied with Russia they no longer had to face war on two fronts.
The Munich Agreement alienated Stalin who turned to Hitler and signed the NaziSoviet Pact.
The Treaty had taken away land from Russia to create Poland. Russia wanted this
land back and so signed the Nazi-Soviet Pact.
Britain felt Hitler should be allowed to overturn the Treaty so didn’t intervene to
prevent events such as Anschluss.
The ToV created new states such as Czechoslovakia and Poland, where many
Germans were living. Hitler was determined to reunite these people in Greater
Germany.
In Mein Kampf Hitler said that the only way to make Germany strong again was to
fight to overturn the ToV and take Lebensraum.
38
Britain: power and the people
39
Timeline
Challenging authority and feudalism (Middle Ages)
1215:
Magna Carta
1215-16:
First Barons’ War
1258:
Provisions of Oxford
1259:
Provisions of Westminster
1264-1267:
Second Barons’ War, during which Simon de Montfort called the first Parliament in 1265
1348-9:
Black Death
1381:
Peasants’ Revolt
Challenging royal authority (Tudors, Stuarts and Georgians)
1534:
Start of the reformation
1536:
Pilgrimage of Grace
1642 – 1649:
English Civil War
1649:
Execution of Charles I
1649 – 1660:
Interregnum (period between kings), in which Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector
1660:
Restoration of the monarchy under Charles II
1689:
Bill of Rights confirms Parliament’s superiority over monarchy
1773:
Boston Tea Party
1775- 1783:
American War of Independence (also called the American Revolution)
1776:
American Declaration of Independence
1781:
Battle of Yorktown
Reform and reformers (Nineteenth century)
1799-1800:
Combination Acts ban trade unions
1819:
Peterloo
1824:
Trade unions legalised
1832:
Great Reform Act
1807:
Abolition of slave trade
1833:
Abolition of slavery; first Factory Act; Tolpuddle Martyrs
1834:
GCNTU formed
1838:
Anti-Corn Law League and Chartist movements both start
1846:
Repeal of the Corn Laws
1847:
Ten Hour Act
1850:
Factory Act
1850s and 60s:
Emergence of New Model Unions, and the Trade Unions Congress (TUC) set up in 1867
1880s:
Emergence of “new unionism”
1888:
Match Girls’ strike
1889:
London Dockers’ strike
Equality and rights (Twentieth century)
1897:
Suffragists set up NUWSS
1903:
Suffragettes set up WSPU
1911:
Suffragettes get more violent
1914:
WW1 starts; women suspend their campaign
1917:
Representation of the People Act give votes to middle class women over 30
1926:
General Strike
1928:
All women given the vote
1948:
British Nationality Act, leads to immigration from the British Empire
1970:
Equal Pay Act
1981:
Brixton Race riots
40
Magna Carta
Why were the barons unhappy with King John?
 He lost their land in France. John had a poor record in battles, and they gave him nicknames like
‘Lackland’ and ‘Softsword’.
 To pay for the wars (which he wasn’t winning!), John raised a tax called the scutage.
 John argued with the Pope over the appointment of Stephen Langton as Archbishop of Canterbury (the
highest position in the English church). In consequence the Pope had John excommunicated (banned
from the church).
 John managed to lose the crown jewels in an area of marshland called the Wash. Although this didn’t
affect the barons as much as raising taxes, it did make people question his competence.
NB John had some successes as a king. He won battles against the Scots and Welsh. He worked hard to ensure
ordinary people had the right to trial by jury. However sources from the time are biased against him, as they
were made by barons (who hated him because of taxes) and monks (who hated him for getting
excommunicated).
What was Magna Carta?
 In 1215, the barons put together an army under John Fitzwalter to challenge John.
 Realising he faced defeat if he tried to fight, John agreed to sign a document called the Magna Carta
(great charter) at Runnymede near the River Thames. The Magna Carta included 63 provisions (rules for
kings to follow), such as:
 Kings could no longer steal barons’ lands when they died; instead, the land would go to the
baron’s heir provided he made a payment of £100 to the king
 Kings could no longer charge scutage without consent from the barons
 The king and barons would appoint 25 barons to monitor the king
 The English Church could make its own appointments without interference from the king
 Merchants would be free to travel the country without paying tolls (taxes)
 Freemen (peasants) were entitled to a fair trial
 Most of these provisions were there to help the barons, but some provisions were put in to help
ordinary people (such as fair trials), so that ordinary people would take the barons’ side rather than the
kings.
Why was Magna Carta significant?
 In the short term:
 Magna Carta gave more rights to some peasants (freemen) but not to the villeins
 Magna Carta led to the First Barons’ War (1215-1216) when John started ignoring the Magna
Carta. During the War, in 1215 the barons successfully sieged (attacked) the king’s forces in
Rochester Castle. In 1216, the barons invited Prince Louis of France to take over the country.
Louis had almost got control of England when John died. The barons decided to abandon Louis
and put John’s 9 yr old son, Henry, on the throne. They would be able to control a child and make
him follow Magna Carta.
In the long term:
 Magna Carta benefited more people as time went on, as more villeins became freemen and so
became covered by the Charter.
 It established the idea that even kings must follow the rules – future kinds would have to sign
versions of it, e.g. Henry III.
 It inspired later generations, such as the colonists in North America and the men who wrote the
Indian constitution
 It was the first step towards democracy
The start of Parliament
Simon de Montfort
41



His family had arrived in Britain with William the Conqueror in 1066 but kings had taken land from them
ever since
Simon wished to get close to the king in order to advance his family’s interests. To start with he got on
well with Henry – he became the king’s steward and married the king’s sister.
However later they fell out and Simon de Montfort became the key figure in setting up the first
Parliament.
Why were the barons unhappy with King Henry III?
 Henry was very loyal to the Pope and agreed to fund the Pope’s war in Scilly, even though this would be
expensive and mean higher taxes in Britain.
 Henry appointed Italians to positions in the English church, meaning fewer positions for Englishmen.
 His advisor was Peter de Roches who advised him to promote Frenchmen to parliament.
 Henry tried to regain land in France during the Gascony campaigns. Henry led the first campaign in
1230 himself, which was unsuccessful. Then he sent Simon de Montfort instead. When Simon de
Montfort was more successful, Henry III was not very grateful and accused Simon of using excessive
violence against the French and replaced him with his son.
What were the Provisions of Oxford?
 In 1258 the barons wrote the Provisions of Oxford, a set of rules for the King to follow. These
included:
 the king needed to listen to the advice of a Great Council
 Castles could only be held by Englishmen
 Each county would have a sheriff and taxes would be decided locally
The provisions were replaced in 1259 with the Provisions of Westminster. These were similar to the
Provisions of Oxford but had some additional provisions giving new rights to tenants renting barons’ land.
Why were the Provisions of Oxford/Westminster significant?
 In the short term:
 Some barons were happy with the Provisions as they reduced the power of the king and they
could stop funding the wars in Scilly.
 Some barons were unhappy because they thought De Montfort had too much power, and that it
gave ordinary people too much power, and some of the younger barons felt left out of the Great
Council.
 The Provisions of Oxford/Westminster led to the 1265 Parliament, the first Parliament in
English history. Immediately after the Provisions were signed Simon de Montfort was
effectively running the country. He wished to unite people behind him. So in 1265 he called a
meeting of the Great Council but, instead of just barons, he also invited burgesses (townsmen)
and knights from every country. As a wider group of people attended the meeting, this is
considered the first parliament.
 The Provisions of Oxford/Westminster led to the Second Barons’ War (1264-1267). During
the war Henry III tried to regain control of the country and sent his son Edward to fight in key
battles. In the Battle of Evesham (1265), de Montfort was killed and his genitals were cut off
and the pieces sent around the country as a warning to others.
 It seemed the barons preferred the old system with a king in charge and where the barons have
influence and money, but no one baron becomes too powerful.
In the long term:
 Over time the importance of Parliament grew and the power of kings reduced.
 Edward I would call a Parliament in 1295, learning the mistakes of his grandfather and father
who had not consulted people enough. He invited commoners (ordinary people) like de Montfort
had.
 In 1642, Parliament went to war against Charles I in the English Civil War. Later on, Parliament
became the basis of English democracy.
The Peasants’ Revolt (1381)
42
What were the causes of the Peasants’ Revolt?
 The Black Death killed about 50% of the peasants. After the Black Death, barons found they did not
have enough peasants to farm their land. Peasants started demanding higher wages, threatening to work
for another lord (who would also be short of workers) if their lord did not increase wages. Tensions
grew between lords and peasants.
 A law was passed called the Statute of Labourers, which stated that peasants could not receive higher
wages than they got before the Black Death. Peasants strongly resented this.
 The Sumptuary Laws regulated what clothing and food the peasants were allowed as many barons felt
they had become too uppity!
 The Game Laws – limiting what hunting peasants were allowed to do - were strengthened and
punishments toughened.
 Meanwhile Britain’s Hundred Years’ War with France was going badly. In 1377 a French fleet of over
120 ships attacked and burned the town of Rye in Sussex
 To pay for the war, the king introduced three poll taxes. Poll taxes are unfair, as poor people are
expected to pay the same amount as rich people. The third Poll Tax, of 1381, levied a flat rate of 1s 4d
(two weeks’ wages for a labourer) per person.
 Priests started to preach about how the Church had been exploiting the peasants. The key people doing
this were John Wycliff and John Ball. They argued that the Church should not be charging pardons
for sins and that the Church should not have so much property when others were starving.
 Key individuals were important too as both Edward III and Richard III were young and inexperienced
kings who relied heavily on their adviser John of Gaunt. Gaunt was the man who encouraged the king to
raise Poll Taxes.
What happened during the Peasants’ Revolt?
 A tax collector tried to collect taxes in Essex. Peasants refused to pay and threaten violence. He leaves
and they hid in the forest. Rebels joined forces, beheaded new tax collectors who arrived and burned
houses.
 Watt Tyler became the peasants’ leader. John Ball was freed from prison.
 Rebels travelled to London and set up camp outside. King Richard II sailed to meet them. He was booed
away.
 Rebels entered the city and committed violent acts. The King arranged to meet the rebels and leaders
at Mile End.
 Tyler and the King meet. The king agreed to pardon all peasants involved in the uprising and free villeins
(unfree peasants). Some rebels went home and some continued the violence.
 Richard II met remaining rebels at Smithfield. Tyler increased his demands, asking that Church lands
be given to the people. The King agreed but then Tyler was killed by one of the king’s men.
 The peasants went home and the revolt was over.
What was the significance of the Peasants’ Revolt?
 In the short term:
 On the one hand, Parliament stopped trying to control the peasants’ wages and the poll tax was
dropped.
 On the other hand, leading rebels were killed – Wat Tyler was killed at Smithfield, then John
Ball was hung shortly afterwards. Also, other taxes were introduced instead.
In the long term:
 Ideas about the rights of ordinary people spread. In the hundred years after the Revolt, the
number of villeins reduced until 1450 when almost all peasants were freemen.
 It was seen as the first working-class revolt and it was believed to have stuck-fear into the
ruling classes.
 This was the first revolt by ordinary people and it inspired later generations. When Margaret
Thatcher tried to introduce a poll tax in the 1980s, protesters marched along the same route
used by peasants 600 years earlier.
43
The Pilgrimage of Grace (1536)
What were the causes of the Pilgrimage of Grace?
 The reformation. Henry VIII had ‘split from Rome’. He had changed Britain from being a Catholic
country to a Protestant country. He was now head of the church in England, instead of the Pope. Many
people with Catholic views disliked these changes.
 The dissolution of the monasteries. Henry VIII closed down monasteries, so he could sell off their
land and make money. Some people did not like this, for religious reasons and because monasteries had
often played a key role in local life (for example giving money to the poor).
 Hatred of the king’s advisors. People believed that the king was being badly advised, especially by
Thomas Cromwell. Rumours circulated that Cromwell was going to remove all churches and leave just one
every 5 miles.
 Unfair taxes. Peasants were expected to pay a tax on how many cattle and sheep they owned as well as
gressam (tenancy fee).
 Demand for more regional control. In the North, lords were frustrated at continually having to take
instructions from the king and his court in the south. They wanted more control of their own region.
What happened during the Pilgrimage of Grace?
 Peasants in the North start on a march to London, led by Robert Aske. Marchers carried banners
showing five wounds of Christ, which emphasised the fact they were protesting against religious
changes. Rebels under Lords Hussey captured key Northern locations like York and Pontefract Castle.
 The king sent the Duke of Norfolk to negotiate with the rebels. He promised to send their demands to
the king. They demanded a return to the Catholic church, restoration of the monasteries, and that
parliament should meet in York rather than London. Norfolk promised pardons and the rebels went
home.
 Aske spent Christmas with the king but, whilst they were meeting, the king was also strengthening his
army in the North. When they realised this the peasants attacked the king’s castles
 Norfolk marched north and the rebels were defeated; 74 hanged.
What was the significance of the Pilgrimage of Grace?
 In the short term:
 With the rebels defeated, Henry dissolved larger monasteries in 1539. This meant he had more
money, which he spent on the Royal Navy, building more ships like the Mary Rose.
 Henry consolidated power in the north with the Council of the North. No more rebellions took
place during Henry’s reign. The 200 executions that took place after the pilgrimage warned off
others.
In the long term:
 Britain remained a Protestant country. Future Catholic monarchs Mary and James II did not
manage to reverse the reformation. The 1701 Act of Settlement stated that, from then on,
only Protestants could become king.
The English Civil War (1642-1649)
NB The Civil War is sometimes called the ‘English Revolution’.
44
What were the causes of the Civil War?




Religion causes. The king, Charles I, was an Arminian (moderate Protestant). Many MPs were puritans
(extreme Protestants). When the king and Archbishop Laud said that churches must play music and put
up candles, puritan objected. They also did not like it when Charles married a foreign Catholic,
Henrietta Maria.
Political causes. Frustrated that MPs kept arguing with him, Charles I send Parliament home for eleven
years and ran the country without their advice. This angered MPs, who were used to having influence.
Economic causes. Without Parliament’s permission, Charles I was not allowed to collect most taxes. And
he could not get their permission, as he had sent them home. The one tax Charles could collect without
Parliament’s permission was ‘Ship Tax’, so he raised this massively. People resented this tax as they
thought it was unfair.
Trigger. Presbyterians in Scotland went to war with Charles when he tried to make them use an
Arminian prayer book. Needing much more money to fight the Scots, he had to call back Parliament to
raise new taxes. When they argued with him, he tried to have five MPs arrested. This triggered the
Civil War.
What happened during the Civil War (1642- 1649)?
Parliament
Parliamentarians
Roundheads







The King
Royalists
Cavaliers
War starts with a draw at the Battle of Edgehill (1642).
At the Battle of Marston Moor (1644), Oliver Cromwell defeats the king’s nephew Prince Rupert
Cromwell formed the ‘New model Army’, recruiting men based on ability not background.
Charles is imprisoned.
In 1648 Thomas Pride surrounds Parliament and does not allow MPs who support negotiating with
Charles in; those let in become the “rump Parliament”.
A special Commission was setup to try the king for treason. Of the 135 commissioners, only 68 turned
up. But they found the king guilty.
Charles was executed in January 1649.
What was the significance of the Civil War?
 In the short term:
 After the execution of the king, Britain was run by Oliver Cromwell who called himself the Lord
Protector. He introduced puritan laws, such as banning Christmas, theatres and gambling. On his
death, his son Richard briefly led the country but then Parliament invited Charles I’s son, also
called Charles to become king. He was crowned as Charles II in 1660 (the “restoration”, because
the monarchy was restored).
 During these years radical groups came up with exciting new political ideas. The levellers called
for religious freedom. The diggers said that land should be owned by the community as a whole,
not by individuals.
In the long term:
 Even after the restoration, the power of kings was never what it had been. Parliament had
invited Charles II to become king, showing that power had shifted from kings to parliament. The
Bill of Rights of 1689 established the supremacy of Parliament over the monarchy (that is, it set
out that Parliament was more important than kings).
The American Revolution
NB Another name for this is the American War of Independence.
Background
45

The Thirteen Colonies in North America were a key part of the British Empire. Over about 150 years,
British people had been moving to the colonies to start a new life.
What were the causes of the Civil War?
 Social causes. Over time, the people living in America found their ties with Britain fading. They had
children, who grew up in the colonies and had never even been to Britain. They were beginning to think
of themselves as American, not British.
 Economic causes. Britain was charging the people in the colonies high taxes. They particularly resented
the Stamp Tax, a tax on paper. During the Boston Tea Party, the colonists threw tea arriving from
Britain into the ocean as a protest against tea taxes.
 Political causes. The Thirteen Colonies did not get to send anyone to sit in the Parliament in England, so
they had no opportunity to argue against tax increases. During the American War of Independence, the
Americans motto was ‘no taxation without representation’. In other words, they did not believe they
should have to pay taxes which were set by a Parliament in England which did not represent them.
What happened during the American Revolution (1775- 1783)?
 The Americans met in Congress 1775 and made George Washington the leader. In 1776, Congress issued
the ‘Declaration of Independence’. Magna Carta was an inspiration for the Declaration.
 During the war, Britain had a large army and navy whereas the colonists had very few fighting forces.
So they used guerrilla warfare (quick, surprise attacks) rather than relying on big pitch battles which
they would surely lose.
 Crucially Britain’s enemies in Europe – particularly France – supported the Americans.
 One crucial pitched battle which did take place was the Battle of Yorktown in 1781. The Americans won
this due to mistakes by the British general, Cornwallis, who allowed the British army to get stuck on a
peninsula cut off from its supply lines.
 Eventually the British army surrendered and a new country was formed in place of the Thirteen colonies
– the ‘United States of America’.
What was the significance of the American Revolution?
 Significance for North America. After the American Revolution, many of those who were unhappy
about what had happened moved north to Canada, which was still controlled by the British. The USA
went on to become the most powerful country in the world.
 Significance for Britain. The British thought that loss of the colonies was going to be a disaster, as
they had been a major trading partner. In fact, Britain recovered quickly, working with new trade
partners in Europe and Asia. After a few decades of bad relations, Britain and the USA started trading
again.
 Significance for Europe. In France, people were inspired by what the Americans had done. This was
one of the reasons for the outbreak of the French Revolution in 1789 and the spread of democratic
ideas which followed.
The Great Reform Act of 1832
What were the causes of the Great Reform Act?
 The Industrial Revolution (economic cause). The Industrial Revolution was creating a new world of
industrial towns and new groups of people: factory owners (known as the middle class) and factory
workers (known as the working class). Neither factory owners nor factory workers had a say in the
political system.
 An out-of-date political system (political cause). Landowners in the countryside controlled
Parliament. Only people who owned property or land could become MPs or vote. There was no secret
ballot, which meant landowners could check tenants had voted for their preferred candidate. In pocket
boroughs, the local landowner could choose who became MP (it was in their pocket). Rotten boroughs
were areas which had MPs even though hardly anyone lived there. Old Sarum sent two MPs to Parliament
46


even though no one lived there anymore! Yet Birmingham was one of the fastest industrial towns and it
had no MPs.
Radical protest (political/leadership cause). Radicals were people who demanded political change. In
1819 60,000 people met at St Peter’s Fields in Manchester to listen to Henry ‘orator’ Hunt give a
speech. The authorities panicked, charged onto the field on horseback and 15 people were killed. The
incident soon came to be known as Peterloo. By 1832, important radical organisations were emerging like
the Birmingham Political Union.
Fear of revolution. The Prime Minister, Lord Grey, was terrified that, if he did not give into radical
demands then there would be a revolution. The French Revolution had recently occurred in 1789, causing
much bloodshed.
What did the Great Reform Act change?
 The great Reform Act allowed industrial towns like Birmingham to send MPs to Parliament for the first
time. It also got rid of many rotten and pocket boroughs.

It reduced the amount of property or land you needed in order to have the right to vote, so that
middle class men could now vote. However working class men and women still could not vote. It did not
introduce a secret ballot.
What was the significance of the Great Reform Act?
 In the short term:
 Positively, middle class men could now vote and industrial cities had MPs.
 Negatively, working class men were not given the right to vote. So radicals formed a new group
called the Chartists, who demanded the government introduce the six points of their ‘charter’
(which included points such as votes for all men and a secret ballot). The Chartists were led by
Fergus O’Connor, an inspiring speaker. Chartism gained most support when the economy was
doing badly and the working classes were struggling to put food on the table, for which reason
one historian has called it a ‘knife and fork movement’. The Chartists disagreed about methods:
some wished to use force (‘physical-force Chartists’) and some wished to use the power or
argument (‘moral-force Chartists’). In the end they presented three petitions to Parliament, but
each was rejected. The final petition was presented in 1848. Without the support of the middle
classes (who had been given the vote in 1832), the Chartists simply did not have enough support.

In the long term:
 The Great Reform Act showed that it was possible to give more people the right to vote and,
over time, it was inevitable that the right to vote was extended even further. The Second
Reform Act of 1867 gave the vote to working class men in the cities, and the Third Reform Act
of 1884 gave the vote to labourers in the countryside. In the twentieth century, all men and
women got the right to vote
47
Nineteenth-century protest groups
48
Emergence of the trade union movement
What role did unions play in during the early stages of the Industrial Revolution?
 Government is worried. Governments during the Industrial Revolution were wary about unions, worrying
that their demands for higher wages might hold back industry or even develop into demands for more
wide-ranging political changes. For this reason trade unions were banned by the Combination Acts of
1799 and 1800. However the ban was ended in 1824.
 Grand National Consolidated Trades Union (GNCTU). The GNCTU was formed in 1834 as a ‘union of
unions’, bringing them altogether to make for one, more powerful voice. At one stage the GNCTU
claimed to have 500,000 members, although the reality is probably 16,000 paid-up members. However it
quickly disintegrated amid bickering amongst its leaders. Its strength was mostly limited to London and
skilled workers anyway.
 The Tolpuddle Martyrs. Also in 1834, six agricultural labourers in the village of Tolpuddle, Dorset
swore an oath of allegiance when they joined a union. The government, worried about the spread of
unions, had them arrested under an obscure law which banned certain types of oaths. They were
transported to Australia as a punishment. This appeared to be a massive over-reaction by the
government and it caused huge outage; 800,000 people signed a petition against it. The men were finally
pardoned in 1837.
What were the “new model unions”?
 In the 1850s and 1860s a new type of union began to emerge, the so-called ‘model unions’. These were
seen as much more respectable than the unions which had gone before, in part because they were
largely made up of skilled workers. The Amalgamated Society of Engineers is just one example. Its
subscription was one shilling a week and by 1870 it had 35,000 members. One reason the model unions
were seen as respectable was they did not threaten to strike, which was still illegal.
 In 1867 the Trade Union Congress (TUC) was set up, where all the difference unions could meet to
discuss key issues.
What was “new unionism?”
 In the 1880s a new kind of union began to emerge – unions of non-skilled workers. Workers like this had
not really been organised before. From 1870 most people had a primary education, so more workers
were literate and they were better able to look after their own interests. A distinct, working class
culture was emerging in the cities, New unions were part of this mix. Even in rural areas, unskilled
labourers had a union set up led by Joseph Arch.
 The Match Girls’ strike of 1888. Women working for Brant and May in East London were earning 5
shillings a week for working 70 hours. The work was dangerous and unpleasant. ‘Phossy jaw’ was a
common disease that the workers got from contact with the phosphorus that made the matches. After
an article highlighted bad treatment of the match girls, employers asked them to sign a document
saying that they were, in fact, well-treated. Many refused and went on strike. Their leader, Annie
Besant, organised a union and took 50 of them to meet MPs. Employers backed down.
 The dock strikes of 1889. London was the biggest dock in the world and many men worked there on a
casual basis, which meant they turned up in the morning and only got work in their was a ship in which
needed loading or unloading. There were about 12,000 of these workers, but only around 5,000 jobs a
day. They were paid on 4d an hour. So they organises a strike, demanding 6d an hour. The whole port
ground to a halt. Other workers in London started sympathy strikes. After a month employers gave in to
the workers’ demands.
Votes for women
Why did women start demanding the vote?
 Votes for men. During the nineteenth century more and more men had been given the right to vote. By
1900, two thirds of men had the right to vote. Women thought that giving them the vote should be the
logical next stage. A
49



Unequal rights. Women were not treated equally in the nineteenth century. The idea of separate
spheres limited their role to that of homemakers and mothers. They were expected to marry early to
focus on their role as ‘Angels in the House’. They could not get degrees which made it difficult for them
to enter the professions. If they got the vote, they could start getting politicians to change laws in
their favour.
Ideas. Not everyone accepted the idea of separate spheres, or believed that women were necessarily
inferior to men. As early as 1792, Mary Wollstonecraft wrote A Vindication of the Rights of Woman
which argued for equal rights based on the fact that women would be able to achieve anything men
could.
Leadership. The campaign for women’s right to vote also came about due to the leadership of certain
key individuals. Amongst the suffragists, these included Millicent Fawcett. Amongst the suffragettes,
these included the Pankhurst sisters, Emmeline and Christabel.
How did they campaign?
Suffragists






Suffragettes
Set up first
Organisation: National Union of
Women Suffrage Societies
(NUWSS -established 1897)
Leader: Millicent Fawcett
Methods: peaceful – propaganda
and meeting with politicians trying
to persuade them
Successful? They were really good
at propaganda. They had their own
newspaper – Votes for Women. By
1914 they had 100,000 members
and offices in 500 cities and towns
Failure? Because they did not use
violence, they were easy to ignore






The impact



Set up second
Organisation: Women’s Social and Political Union
(established 1903)
Leader: Emmeline and Christabel Pankhurst
Methods: violence – chaining themselves to railings,
throwing stones at 10 Downing Street, getting arrested
Successful? Though they were a smaller organisation than
the suffragists, their violence made them impossible to
ignore
Failure? As Parliament refused to pass a law giving women
the right to vote, they got increasingly frustrated and
between 1911 and 1914 they were using much more
violence. This actually put MPs off supporting them, as the
MPs did not want to be seen to give in to violence (in case
others like the Irish who wanted independence were
encouraged to also use violent methods to try and get
their way).
of World War One
World War One broke out in 1914
The suffragists and the suffragettes suspended their campaigns, recognising that winning the war was
now more important than anything
Women started doing vital work, replacing the men who were joining the army. By the end of the war,
0.5 million women had taken up work in offices and 0.8 million women were working factories, sometimes
working with dangerous explosives making weapons for the war
The Representation of the People Act 1917
 Parliament was very grateful for women’s efforts in the war and this finally persuaded MPs to give
women the vote.
 The Representation of the People Act 1917 gave all men the right to vote and middle class women over
the age of thirty.
What was the significance of the women’s suffrage movement?
 In the short term, some women were given the vote by the Representation of the People Act of 1917.
Though this only gave the vote to middle class women aged over 30, the vote was given to all women on
the same terms as men in 1928.
50

In the long term, as the women’s suffrage movement had anticipated, now that MPs had to get
women’s votes they started passing laws to help them. The Abortion Act of 1967 legalised abortion, so
giving them more control of their own bodies. The Divorce Act of 1969 made it easier to get a divorce,
freeing many women from unhappy marriages. An Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970 which banned
employers from paying women less than men in the same job. Margaret Thatcher became the first
female Prime Minister in 1989.
The General Strike of 1926
What were the causes of the strike?
 Political causes – the growing power of unions. Unions had grown in power and influence. In the 1850s,
the model unions had emerged representing skilled workers. The Trades Union Congress (TUC) had been
formed in 1868, bringing together the unions to provide one central, powerful voice. In the 1880s ‘new
unionism’ emerged, with unions representing unskilled workers. New unionism was prepared to be more
aggressive than the model unions had been.
 Economic causes – problems in the coal industry. After 1918, the future was not looking good for
Britain’s mining industry, as there was a fall in demand for British coal. This was because foreign mines
had more efficient machinery, so could produce it more cheaply. British mine owners needed to
dramatically reduce costs. This meant closing down inefficient mines and sacking workers.
 The trigger. In 1925 the price of coal fell significantly. Prime Minister Stanley Baldwin knew the other
unions would support the miners in a general strike. To put off a strike, Baldwin announced he would
temporarily subsidise (top-up) miners’ wages. In April 1926 the subsidy ran out. On 1 May – May Day –
the general strike began.
What happened during the strike?
 With workers refusing to work, the government asked for volunteers to do the jobs instead. Many
people volunteered, and took on jobs such as driving buses.
 The strike started peacefully. There were football matches between strikers and police. Step by step
the TUC called out more workers until seven million were involved in the strike.
 Gradually things turned more violent. Clashes broke out between strikers and police in many cities.
Striking miners derailed the Flying Scotsman. Police charged strikers with batons to break up picket
lines.
 The TUC began to lose its nerve. Secretly, the TUC began negotiating with mine owners and the
government, asking about terms for a return to work. Despite no concessions being made, the TUC
ordered a return to work on 13 May. The miners were left to fight on alone. Eventually the miners had
to return to work and accept cuts proposed by mine owners.
What happened to the unions in the rest of the 20 century?
 In the short term, the failure of the strike held back the trade union movement. Leaders of the strike
were blacklisted and found it difficult to get jobs. The Trade Disputes Act of 1927 reduced union’s
rights. Half a million people left the unions in 1927 alone.
 In the medium term, the unions recovered and became more powerful. After WW2, politicians wanted
to avoid confrontations so they worked closely with the unions and gave into their demands. By the
1970s unions were a major force in British life. When the coal miners went on strike, the government
gave into their demands; some people thought they had gained too much influence.
 In the long term, Margaret Thatcher set out to destroy trade union power in the 1980s. When the
coal miners went on strike again in the 1980s, she refused to give into their demands. After many
months and some nasty confrontations with police, in the end the miners backed down without getting
what they wanted. During the strikes, Thatcher had passed laws to make it harder for such strikes to
occur again in the future. The Trades Union Act 1984 made strikes more difficult to organise, as it
meant that 80% of union members must agree for strikes to be called. Union power has never recovered
since the time of Thatcher.
th
51
Multicultural Britain
Why did immigrants come to Britain after WW2?
 Recognising that there were serious skills shortages in Britain, the Labour government after the war
passed the British Nationality Act 1948, which gave any of the 800 million people who lived in the
British Commonwealth the right to move to Britain. Many people from the Commonwealth chose to move
to Britain in the 1950s, particularly from the Caribbean and the Indian sub-continent.
 In the 1960s and 1970s, more immigrants arrived in Britain fleeing persecution (poor treatment) in
their own countries. Asians arrived from Kenya in 1968. Later Asians arrived from Uganda, fleeing the
mad and evil dictator there, Idi Amin.
 As a member of the European Union, Britain signed the Maastricht Treaty in 1992 which allowed
‘freedom of movement’ in Europe. Many Eastern Europeans moved to Britain to work and benefit from
the higher British wages.
How were they treated?
 Getting along. Many people welcomed immigrants, seeing how vital they were for the economy and how
British life was enriched by new cultures, religions and viewpoints. Leicester rapidly became almost a
model city for multi-racial integration, with 30,000 new jobs were created in the city.
 Tensions. In the 1950s, “Teddy Boys” attacked Caribbean immigrants who they believed to be “stealing”
“their” women. In 1968 Conservative politician Enoch Powell gave his famous “rivers of blood” speech in
Birmingham, in which he argued that Britain would be brought to its knees by further immigration. In
the 1980s, the National Front – a Fascist, racist political party – briefly gained some support. In the
2000s, a similar party called the British National Party also started doing well. A key reason why ‘leave’
won the referendum to leave the European Union in 2016 was that people wanted to end freedom of
movement from the European Union.
 Government reforms. Positively, governments passed laws to ban discrimination based on race, such as
the Race Relations Act of 1965, 1968 and 1976. Negatively, governments also responded to demands to
cut new immigration into the country, with Acts passed to reduce immigration in 1962 and 1968. Britain
is currently negotiating to leave the EU as a means of bringing down immigration.
What were the Brixton riots?
 On 11 April 1981, rioting broke out in Brixton, London. By late evening over 1,000 police were sent from
around London to Brixton and order was restored. During the rioting nearly 300 police were hurt and
around 150 buildings were burned, damaged or looted.
 Why did rioting break out? The main reason was that, under the so-called ‘sus law’, police had the power
to ‘stop and search’ people they suspected of planning to commit a crime. The black community felt that
the police were using these powers against them more than other groups. Another cause was probably
the fact that Britain was in a deep economic recession at the time, with few jobs available, and this was
affecting the black community more than most. The immediate trigger for the riots was (incorrect)
rumours about police mistreatment of a black man arrested the previous night, Michael Bailey.
 How did the government respond? Lord Scarman was asked to write a report on the events in Brixton.
The Scarman report found that there was institutional racism in the police force (that is, racism was
common and not just limited to a few individuals). Following Scarman’s recommendations, racially
prejudiced behaviour was made an offence, the ‘sus law’ was ended and the Police Complaints Authority
was established.
52
Factors table – this is to help you with the 16 marker
War and
violence
Religion
Early on
In the middle
At the end
Conclusion (address
change over time)
Go to point Peasants’ Revolt –
peasants kill tax collectors and
then violent in London; puts
pressure on king to make
concessions
Go to point Civil War – when
Parliament feels Charles is
overstepping his power, they
start the Civil War and
execute him
Alternative point When John
ignores the Magna Carta, leads to
the First Barons’ War. When
Henry ignores the Provisions of
Oxford (Westminster), leads to
the Second Barons’ War.
Go to point Peasants’ Revolt –
peasants inspired by preacher
John Ball, who pointed out that
there had been no inequality in
the Garden of Eden
Alternative point American
War of Independence, in
which the colonists go to war
because of taxation without
representation.
Go to point Suffragettes
use violence to try and
achieve change, though
between 1911 – 1914 MPs do
not want to be seen to give
in to violence.
Gets less important over
time, as emerging
democratic principles
means people can
negotiate rather than
fight for new rights.
Alternative point John forced to
sign Magna Carta as barons
frustrated he had fallen out with
People
Chance
Go to point - the intelligence,
temperament and political skills
of kings. If John had been more
able, he may not have angered the
barons resulting in Magna Carta
Alternative point If Henry III
had not fallen out with Simon de
Montfort, the Provisions of
Oxford (Westminster) might
have been avoided.
Alternative point
Confrontations with police
during the Brixton riots
Go to point Civil War – belief
Charles wished to return the
country to Catholicism was a
cause of the Civil War
Go to point The AntiSlavery movement was led
by evangelical Christians like
Wilberforce
Alternative point Pilgrimage
of Grace – the protesters
wanted return to
Catholicism/restoration of
monasteries.
Alternative point – none!
Important until the
twentieth century when
Britain is more secular
(i.e. less religious).
Neither the women’s,
worker’s or minority
rights movements of the
20th century based their
arguments on religious
grounds.
Go to point If Catherine of
Aragon had given Henry VIII
a son, he may not have wished
for a divorce and Britain may
have stayed Catholic. This
would have meant no
Pilgrimage of Grace and, later
on, perhaps even no Civil War.
Go to point Women may not
have got the vote if WW1
had not broken out when it
did, as it allowed them to
show patriotism through
work in the factories.
Chance became less of a
factor over time as
royals lost power and the
talent or otherwise of
individual monarchs
became less important.
Go to point Civil War –
Charles religious changes and
ship money were key causes.
Alternative point Brixton
riots may have been avoided
if false rumours had not
spread about police
treatment of Michael Bailey
Go to point Minority rights
– resentment of ‘sus law’ was
a cause of the Brixton riots.
Alternative point John’s inability
to keep good relations with the
Pope were a cause of Magna Carta
Alternative point Excessive
taxation by the British
government were a cause of
the Boston Tea Party and then
the War of Independence.
Alternative point
Government force-feeding
women in prison after the
Cat and Mouse Act enraged
many women.
Go to point Most writing was
done by monks, as few other
people were literate. They used
writing to voice their displeasure
when John fell out with the Pope
Go to point Pilgrimage of
Grace – emphasised their
religious aims through use of a
standard showing the five
wounds of Christ
Go to point Chartists had
the 6 point Charter.
Alternative point Ideas put
forward by John Ball and Wat
Tyler
Alternative point Cromwell’s
‘warts and all’ portrait – to
show that unlike kings he knew
he was an ordinary man
Royal
and
governm
ent
actions
Go to point Peasants’ Revolt –
introduction of a Poll Tax and
failures during the Hundred
Years’ War were key causes.
Communi
cation
Alternative point – none!
53
Alternative point The
NUWSS had its journal
‘Votes for women’ and 500
branches by 1914 to get out
the message
Resentment royal or
government actions
diminished over time as
Britain became more
democratic. By the 20th
century majority groups
had rights and it was
more the minorities who
resented government
actions and laws
Communication became
more important as
literacy increased and
new forms of
communication emerged
over time – surrogates
used cinema, for example
The
economy
Ideas
like
equality,
democra
cy or
represen
tation
Key
individual
s
Early on
In the middle
At the end
Go to point Magna Carta – barons
did not like scutage
Go to point Civil War – many
people resented imposition of
ship money,
Go to point Chartism was
known as a ‘knife and fork
movement’ as it gained
support in times of economic
hardship.
Go to point Peasants’ Revolt –
Wat Tyler and John Ball
Go to point Civil War – Oliver
Cromwell led the New Model
answer and then became Lord
Protector
Go to point Women’s
suffrage movement –
Millicent Fawcett, Pankhurst
sisters
Alternative point American
colonists were led
inspirationally by George
Washington and the founding
fathers.
Alternative point Arthur
Scargill’s role in the 1980s
strikes, though he has been
criticised for playing his
hand badly.
Conclusion
(address change
over time)
This was always an
important factor but
what changed over time
Alternative point Peasants’
was who protested their
Revolt – peasants did not like Poll
Alternative point Monasteries
economic treatment; in
Tax
had supported the poor
the Middle Ages, barons
financially , so their
Alternative point Brixton
did not like scutage and
dissolution was a reason for
riots occurred at a time of
peasants did not like poll
the Pilgrimage of Grace
recession, which hit black
tax; during the
people more than other
Industrial Revolution,
groups.
factory workers did not
like factory conditions;
in the 20th century,
minorities suffered the
most during the 1980s
recession.
Go to point Magna Carta
Go to point Civil War –
Go to point
- Democracy – democratic ideas like right to trial
– guaranteed the right
parliamentarians fighting
Women’s
by jury evident from Magna Carta onwards but
to a trial by jury for
for parliamentary
suffrage
became more important over time as the idea that
freemen.
sovereignty rather than
movement
power should be based on land/property was
Divine Right. Ideas of the
believed that
replaced by idea of equal rights for all.
Alternative point Simon
levellers and diggers.
all adults
- Equality – ideas about equal treatment always
de Montfort included
should have
present (right to a fair trial in Magna Carta) but
rights of freemen in the
Alternative point American
the vote in a
grew in importance as those who were considered
Provisions of Oxford.
colonists – “no taxation
democracy
worthy of equal rights was widened to include all
Provisions of
without representation.”
men, then women and minority groups
Westminster also
Alternative
- Representation – in the Middle ideas this idea
included extra rights for
point
was less important as under the feudal system the
tenants,
Minorities
local lord represented his region, but ideas that
fought for
individuals should be represented in the political
equality of
system grew thereafter, as seen in the American
treatment –
Revolution and campaigns to extend the right to
e.g. ending
vote in Britain
the ‘sus laws’
Alternative point Simon de
Montfort’s role in setting up the
first parliament, to which he
invited the commoners.
54
Over time, individuals
became less important
than organisations (e.g.
Wat Tyler was important
in the Middle Ages but
by the 20th century it
was organisations like
the NUWSS and TUC
which mattered.
Elizabethan England, c1558 - 1603
55
Key dates
The years of compromise and the religious settlement
1558
1562
1566
1567
1569
1570
1581
1572
1574
1576
1577
1579
Elizabeth ascends to the throne
Elizabeth nearly dies of smallpox
Loses temper with Parliament for bringing up marriage issue
Thomas Horne’s book about how beggars were con men published
Northern rebellion
Papal Bull
Ridolfi Plot
Compulsory licensing of actors introduced
Statute of Apparel; first College of Douai priests arrive in England
Act for setting the poor in work
Drake’s circumnavigation of the world begins
Eastland Company set up with trading monopoly in Scandinavia/Baltic
The years of a more confrontation
1580
1581
1583
1584
1585
1586
1587
1588
1590
1592
1593
1594
1595
1598
1600
1601
1603
First Jesuits arrive in England, including Edmund Campion; Robert Brown sets up
a separatists puritan church in Norwich
Levant Company set up with trading monopoly in Turkey; Campion executed; new
law made attending a Catholic mass treasonous
Throckmorton Plot
Elizabeth gives Raleigh permission to colonise new world
Keeping a Catholic priests in your home became an act of treason; Treaty of
Nonsuch with rebels in Spanish Netherlands
Babington Plot followed by Mary Queen of Scots trial
Execution of Mary; singeing of King of Spain’s beard
Spanish Armada
Death of spymaster, Walsingham
Separatist puritan church set up in London
Catholics banned from travelling more than 5 miles from home
Four years of bad harvests begin
Essex joins Privy Council
Essex and Elizabeth argue about how to deal with Catholic Irish; death of Cecil
Levant Company set up with trading monopoly in India
Essex’s rebellion; poor law introduced
Elizabeth dies
56
Part I - Elizabeth's court and Parliament
Tudor monarchs
 
Elizabeth’s background
 Her parents. Elizabeth was born in 1533. Her father was Henry VIII and her mother was Anne Boleyn.
Henry VIII had split from Rome in order to divorce Catherine of Aragon and marry Anne Boleyn, hoping
that Anne would give him a son. So the birth of Elizabeth – a girl - was a great disappointment to Henry
VIII. Anne Boleyn was executed when Elizabeth was just two years old.
 Childhood and the rest of Henry VIII’s reign. Elizabeth grew up a lonely child but she was well
educated. She was being prepared for life in the Royal Court, or perhaps marriage to an important
foreign prince.
 Edward’s reign. When Henry VIII died in 1547, Edward, aged just nine, became king. Elizabeth went to
live with her father’s sixth wife, Katherine Parr.
 Mary’s reign. Many of Mary’s Protestant enemies wanted Elizabeth to replace her sister on the throne.
Mary viewed he younger sister with suspicion and she had Elizabeth imprisoned in the Tower in 1554.
Yet Elizabeth saw the many mistakes of her sister...and learnt from them.
57
How government worked in the Elizabethan age


 The Privy Council ran the
country day-to-day. Its members
were Elizabeth's main advisors.
Technically Elizabeth could choose
who was on the council but in
reality she had to appoint the most
powerful landowners to avoid them
rebelling. If the Privy Council
agreed on a particular issue, it was
hard for Elizabeth to ignore its
wishes. Luckily, privy councillors
were rarely united. The Privy
Council was led by the Secretary
of State.
 Parliament was made up of
the House of Lords (lords, bishops and other members of the nobility) and the House of Commons
('common' people, though most if its members were the quite wealthy gentry). It was much less
powerful than the modern Parliament but it did have influence over tax and was responsible for passing
laws. The queen decided when to call Parliament and how much of their advice she should listen to.
Lord Lieutenants were appointed by the queen to run particular areas of the country. This settled local
disputes, collected taxes and raised a local militia (army) to fight for the queen if needed. Usually the
most powerful local noble got this role. Many served as privy councillors at the same time.
Justices of the Peace (JPs, sometimes called magistrates) were the next level down below the lord
lieutenants in local government. They were selected from the local gentry and their main role was to
ensure that the laws passed by parliament were properly enforced. JPs could send criminals to prison.
On taking office, JPs swore to treat everyone who they dealt with equally, whether they were rich or
poor.
What was the Royal Court?

 It is important to understand
the
difference
between
the
government and the Royal Court. The
Royal Court was made up of the
people who travelled with the queen,
from the highest lord down to humble
servants. Of course, key members of
the government like members of the
Privy Council would also be part of the
Court.
 The Royal Court moved from
place to place, and was run by Lord Chamberlain. It was made up of the entire household of the queen,
from nobles to servants. The people in the Court were ‘courtiers’ and they competed to gain influence
with the Queen.
Elizabeth inherited royal palaces. Her favourite was Richmond, 9 miles outside London, whilst the key
residence was Whitehall Palace. There was also St James’ Palace, Hampton Court and Greenwich.
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However Elizabeth spent little time at her own residences, instead spending most of her time on the
Royal Progress (see below).
How did Elizabeth keep control?
 Patronage. This means awarding people with positions to get their loyalty. Elizabeth used patronage
skilfully. She put powerful men on the Privy Council to gain their trust and to reward loyalty. In each
county, she appointed the most landowner as Lord Lieutenant to get their loyalty. She also did what she
could to influence Parliament. As Queen, she was able to appoint the Speaker who decided which
Members of Parliament got to speak. In some areas of the country she could influence who became MPs
in the first place. Elizabeth was careful never to give anyone too much power – if she did, they might
become a threat to her.
 Relying on trusted and skilled advisors. Elizabeth listened to the advice of key men like Robert Cecil
and her spymaster Francis Walsingham, who were good decision-makers and who she knew to be loyal.
Even then, though, she was careful to make sure no one advisor was allowed to become too powerful.
 Divide and rule. This is where a leader keeps their advisors arguing amongst themselves, which means
they are less likely to unite together to challenge the leader. It also stops any individual advisor
becoming too powerful. Elizabeth was very skilful at divide and rule, making sure that no one could ever
take her support for granted. Even her favourites Robert Dudley and Francis Walsingham were forced
out of Court at various points.
 Royal Progresses. This is when the Royal Court travelled from country house to country house. It
gained Elizabeth loyalty by building relations with local lords who were honoured to have the royal
household stay with them. It also saved money (meaning less need for taxes), as whilst the court was in
progress the lord who hosted the Queen – rather than Elizabeth herself - would be paying for the
expenses of the court. Finally, by going across the country Elizabeth gained popular support by allowing
even ordinary people to get a sense for the pomp and majesty of royalty.
 Performance. The Royal Court held lavish banquets, elaborates masques, musical performances, plays
and tournaments. These all acted as subtle propaganda, glorifying Elizabeth’s image.
 Controlling Parliament. The Queen had the power to dissolve Parliament if MPs were going against her
wishes, and the threat of this could bring MPs into line. She also got to appoint the Speaker, who set
Parliament’s agenda. Finally the Queen was able to manipulate elections to control who became an MP.
Key ministers
 William Cecil (1520-98) served as Secretary of State twice and as a MP and was Elizabeth’s most
trusted advisor; it was said that, at times, the queen would listen to no one but Cecil. He encouraged
Elizabeth to take control of Catholic Ireland and to fight other Catholic rivals in England and abroad.
Cecil played a key role in developing the Poor Laws and the new religious policies.
 Francis Walsingham (c1532-90) served as Secretary of State and was one of the queen’s closest
advisors from 1573 until his death. Known as Elizabeth’s ‘spymaster’, Walsingham was said to have eyes
and ears everywhere. He helped establish England as a powerful force at sea and took the lead in
dealing with England’s biggest rivals: Spain, France and the Netherlands. He played a key role in the
execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, and a rival for Elizabeth’s throne in the 1580s.
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Problems Elizabeth faced as leader
Succession


Elizabeth would need to
marry and give birth to a son
to ease the worries of
Englishmen. In the past
there had been wars when
people were not sure who
would become ruler after a
monarch’s death.
In 1562, Elizabeth
contracted smallpox and
nearly died. This drew
attention to how uncertain
the future was. Parliament
and others were keen for
Elizabeth to marry and have
a child as soon as possible.
Religion



Taxation

The government needed
money and one of the few
ways to get it was through
taxes. Unfortunately at a
time of great poverty taxes
would be very unpopular with
the people of England, so
raising taxes would be very
dangerous for a new
monarch.
Elizabeth’s father had broken from
the Catholic church in order to obtain
a divorce. After Henry’s death,
Edward continued to establish the
Protestant faith. When Mary came to
the throne she tried to undo what
had gone before to re-establish
Catholicism. Elizabeth was a
Protestant but was also practical. She
did not want to make her enemies
angry immediately.
Elizabeth allowed Catholics to follow
their faith privately, but many
Catholics remained unhappy, with
some believing she had no right to be
queen as they did not recognise
Henry’s second marriage to Anne
Boleyn (Elizabeth’s mother)
The growing popularity of Puritanism,
an extreme version of Protestantism,
was seen as a threat.
Mary, Queen of Scots


Foreign policy


Elizabeth had to deal with powerful
countries who wanted influence over
England. France and Spain, which
were both Catholic and had the
support of the Pope, saw Protestant
England as a target.
A major area of disagreement was
the Netherlands. The mainly
Protestant population was in conflict
with the Catholic Spanish who ruled
most of the area. Elizabeth would
eventually need to decide how to deal
with these European concerns but
initially her priority was keeping
England secure.
One big problem Elizabeth
faced was who would
succeed her. Her heir when
she came to the throne was
her cousin Mary, Queen of
Scots. For many, the
prospect of the Scottish
Queen Mary, a Catholic who
had once been married to
the king of France, was to
be avoided at all costs
In 1568, Mary Queen of
Scots was exiled from
Scotland to England and
became a real threat to
Elizabeth’s rule. Catholics
now had an alternative
queen to fight for.
Ireland


Like her predecessors,
Elizabeth considered
herself to be Queen of
Ireland. Unfortunately many
of the Irish disagreed.
In 1559, there was a major
revolt in Northern Ireland,
the first of several during
her reign. She spent
thousands of pounds and
sent many of her best
soldiers to try and limit
Irish rebellion but nothing
seemed to work in the long
term.
Womanhood


Few though Elizabeth was up to the task, as women were feared to be weak and not intellectually or temperamentally
suited to reign. Queen’s were meant to be kind, religious and maternal. They were not supposed to rule.
With a female monarch, the careful balance of groups at court might be upset and many doubted the ability of a
woman to control her male subjects. It was also doubtful as to whether Elizabeth could keep the country safe and
further its interest abroad, as she was not able to lead her army in to battle as a king might do.
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The problems of marriage
 In Elizabeth’s time, marriage, particularly for royalty, was less about love and more about making
political deals between families and nations.
 Elizabeth became queen aged 25. By the standards of the time, this was old to still be unmarried.
Everybody assumed that marriage would be high on Elizabeth’s list of priorities when she became queen.
 Elizabeth hesitated and for years and kept people guessing about her intentions. Her Privy Council
became annoyed, repeatedly pressing her to marry, have children and thereby solve the issue of who
would be her successor. Parliament also tried to pressure her to marry. She gave vague answers and
then famously lost her temper with Parliament in 1566 for daring to raise the issue. After this,
Parliament was not allowed to discuss her marriage ever again.
 The advantage of marrying a powerful foreigner would have been the alliance it would create. Her most
significant foreign suitor was Possible foreign suitors included:
 King Philip of Spain, the husband of her deceased, half-sister Mary. On the one hand, marrying
Philip would have meant an alliance with a powerful country. On the other hand, Philip would have
tried to exert influence in England and this marriage would probably have resulted in Catholic
children.
 Francis, Duke of Alençon, was a younger brother of the King of France. Although he was much
younger than Elizabeth, physically deformed and a Catholic, he seemed a serious prospect and
the two were fond of each other. Elizabeth affectionately called him her ‘frog’. The Privy
Council were divided on the match. However, after the St Bartholomew’s Day Massacre in
France (1572), in which thousands of Protestants were murdered, the French were very
unpopular in England. Propaganda pamphlets were published against the Queen marrying Alençon.
So the Queen called off the negotiations
The advantage of marrying a powerful English lord would have been gaining his family’s support and
thereby increasing Elizabeth’s power. Possible English suitors included Robert Dudley, the Earl of Leicester,
who was her childhood friend and favourite. However his wife was found dead at the bottom of the stairs. An
inquest found that her death had been accidental, but it did look suspicious. Afterwards Elizabeth did not feel
she could marry Dudley, as it would lead to rumours that she had been involved in a murder.
Succession
 As long as Elizabeth had no children there would be questions about who should succeed her.
 As long as she was alive, Mary Queen of Scots had a good claim to the throne as Henry VIII’s
oldest sisters' descendant. But she was a Catholic and was therefore unpopular with
Protestants.
 Henry VIII had said that, if all his children died, the throne should go to the Suffolk family. At
first Elizabeth looked kindly on the Suffolk sisters, Lady Catherine and Lady Mary. Yet she fell
out with them after Catherine married without her permission.
 By the 1590s the problem resolved itself, as these potential heirs died out. The obvious successor was
now James Stuart, Scottish king and Mary Queen of Scots’ son.
Essex’s rebellion (1601)
 Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex became a favourite in the 1590s – he joined the Privy Council in 1595.
However he had a serious rivalry with Robert Cecil
 In 1598 Essex argued at Privy Council meeting about how to deal with potential Irish rebels (Elizabeth
struck him and he nearly drew his sword); he was put under house arrest
 Nonetheless he was appointed Lord Lieutenant of Ireland and sent there to deal with rebels
 In Ireland he was defeated and he disobeyed Elizabeth’s specific instructions by agreeing a truce with
the rebels
 He returned to England and was stripped of his position
 In 1601, he took 4 Privy Council members prisoner and with 200 followers marched on London planning to
replace Cecil.
 Cecil labelled him a traitor and when Essex got home found his followers had abandoned him and had
released the prisoners.
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
Essex was executed later that year.
The strength of Elizabeth’s authority by the end of her reign
 Parliament getting more assertive and competent – by the end of her reign, ½ of MPs had been to
university
 Trusted councillors and contemporaries died: Dudley in 1588, Walsingham in 1590 and Hatton in 1591
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Part 2 - Life in Elizabethan times
The Great Chain of Being
 Elizabethan society was based on ‘the Great chain of Being’. In the great chain, God is at the top
followed by his angels and other residents of heaven. Human beings are beneath, followed by animals
and plants.
 Elizabethans broke the chain further down by having subdivisions (smaller categories) of humans. The
monarchy was at the top, followed by the nobility, the gentry and then the peasants. It was almost
impossible to move between the Human Divisions.
The nobility
 Who were they? The nobility was made up of the most respected members of society, second only to
the queen herself.
 Titles. The highest noble title was duke; other titles included earl and baron. Usually members of this
group were born into it and inherited their title from their father, although on rare occasions the queen
would grant new noble titles.
 Income. Most nobles had large amounts of land, which was passed down from father to son. Their
income came from the farmers who worked this land and paid them rent. The average income of nobles
was £6,000 per year. It is estimated that 14 percent of all the country’s income went to just over 1
percent of the nobility.
 Roles in government. The heads of the noble families got to sit in the House of Lords. Leading nobles
might expect to be put on the Privy Council. The leading noble in each country expected to be made Lord
Lieutenant for the county.
The gentry
 Who were they? The gentry also had titles, though not such high-ranking ones as the nobility.
 Titles. Some were given the title of knight and others had the title ‘esquire’ (making them a
‘gentleman’).
 Income. The gentry also owned land and received money from the farmers who paid them rent; they
also made money from trade. Generally speaking the gentry owned less land than nobles, and so had less
money. The income of a member of this group could vary between £10 and £200 per year.
 Roles in government. Members of the gentry often tried to become MPs, meaning they got a seat in
the House of Commons. They often served as Justice of the Peace (JPs) for their community.

“The rise of the gentry”. As the country was more stable and secure after the unpredictable years
of Elizabeth’s predecessors, people were able to settle and make money. Rising food prices had led to
increased profits for the landowners and they could also gain financially through trade. The gentry grew
in size and wealth as a result.
The Golden Age
 Fashion. Growing wealth meant more people could afford the latest fashions. A key element of both
men’s and women’s fashion was the elaborate ruff which was worn around the neck. Wealthy Elizabethan
women often paired fine clothes with whitened faces. This was intended to show that they did not have
to work outside and get a tanned face. Some of the very richest, including Elizabeth, resented members
of the gentry wearing such elaborate clothes. New Sumptuary Laws - called the Statutes of Apparel were passed in 1574. These set rules about what clothes people of different social status could work.
 Architecture and the ‘Great Rebuilding’. As people including the gentry were doing well financially, new
extravagant country houses were being built. Strong government had an impact on design - residences
no longer had to include defensive features, such as moats and drawbridges, and decorative gardens
were planted. The leading architect was Robert Smythson, who designed houses like Longleat House in
Wiltshire and Hardwick Hall in Derbyshire. Elizabethan houses were very different from previous
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


gothic styles, with the latest and most fashionable designs being heavily influenced by Italian
renaissance architecture from places such as Florence.
Literature. The most widely read book in Elizabeth’s reign was John Foxe’s Book of Martyrs, published
in 1563. Foxe was a Protestant and the book criticised Elizabeth’s Catholic predecessor, Mary. Mary’s
reputation as ‘Bloody Mary’ owes much to Foxe. Poetry was also popular, especially poems about Ancient
Greece and Rome. The government controlled what books were printing by licensing the printing trade.
Art. Portraits became popular and included a lot of symbolism: for example, Elizabeth was painted with
her hand on a globe to show her power. The ‘miniature portrait’ you could fit in your pocket became
popular. Artists such as Nicholas Hilliard became highly successful painting famous miniature portraits
of the Queen and other leading personalities. The ‘Cult of Glorianna’ was developed in order to make
Elizabeth an object of worship for her people.
Science and Technology. During Elizabeth’s reign there were significant breakthroughs in navigation
and astronomy and a growing understanding of how magnetism worked. One of the biggest technological
advances of the period was more effective printing presses, which produced books and pamphlets more
quickly. This allowed propaganda to flourish and ideas to spread much faster.
Theatre during the Golden Age
 Before Elizabeth. When Elizabeth became Queen there were no theatres. So-called mystery and
miracle plays, based on Bible stories and the lives of saints, were performed on temporary platforms in
open spaces by travelling groups of actors; they were often crooks and were seen as a threat to law and
order.
 1572 licensing law. A new law was introduced which required all actors to get a license. The law was
brought in because the government did not trust actors, but it had an unexpected effect. It
encouraged the actor companies to organise themselves and 4 years later the first London theatre
opened.
 Design. The design of theatres was influenced by the earlier informal performances of plays in inn
yards and marketplaces. The theatres were made up of an uncovered circular pit with surrounding
covered galleries. Behind the stage was a hectic area called the ‘tiring house’, where the actors would
dress in their costumes and collect their props.
 Actors. Some actors such as Thomas Pope and Richard Burbage achieved fame and wealth. Indeed,
Burbage eventually formed his own company of actors and became the owner of The Globe Theatre.
 Audiences. Theatres were enormously popular with cheap tickets making them affordable to everyone.
Audiences came from across a wide cross-section of society, ranging from poor craftsmen to wealthy
nobles. The cheapest tickets (costing one penny) would gain entrance to the pit/yard. Here, the
audience- known as groundlings- would stand in noisy and smelly conditions exposed to the weather. The
groundlings behaved badly, often throwing food at the bad characters on the stage. It was more
expensive, at two or three pennies, to watch from the three-tiered galleries, which would seat up to
2000 spectators.
 Playwrights. The most famous of Elizabethan playwrights was William Shakespeare. Tragedies such as
Hamlet, histories such as Henry VI, and comedies such as Love's labour Lost, were enormously
successful.
 Themes. Some plays contained subtle political messages that were designed to promote Elizabeth. The
Elizabethans belief in ‘The Great Chain of Being’ is evident in many plays, which emphasized order and
hierarchy. The triumph of good over evil was another common theme.
 The theatre and control. The powerful soon recognised the potential of theatres for social control. By
the end of Elizabeth’s reign, London was a busy, overcrowded city of about 200,000 people; by keeping
the people entertained, they would be kept out of trouble. Also, plays could be used as a form of
propaganda.
Was there really a Golden Age?
 It could be argued that the ‘Golden Age’ was a myth and that England was the same brutal place it had
been before Elizabeth came to the throne:
 Blood sports like dog fighting and bear baiting remained popular
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

There was great social inequality (a big gap between rich and poor)
Much of the ‘scientific; experimentation was questionable. Fake sciences like alchemy (turning
metals into gold) and astrology (using the planets to predict human events) were popular.
Why was there an increase in poverty?
 Henry VII. Elizabeth’s grandfather, Henry VII, wanted to limit the threat of uprising among his nobles
so he limited their right to have their own retinues (armies). This left many soldiers without work.
 The reformation. Between 1536 and 1540, Henry closed all of the Catholic monasteries in England and
many people who had worked for the Church were evicted. Before the Reformation, monks and nuns had
played a vital role in looking after the sick and the poor giving them charity caring for them.
 Debased Coins. In order to save money, Henry VIII had debased coins; this means that he mixed in
less valuable metals with the gold and silver allowing coins to be produced much more cheaply. The
problem was that foreign traders came to expect more coins for their goods. This led to inflation
(higher prices).
 Poor Harvests. England was hit by bad harvests between 1594 and 1598, which led to food shortages,
higher prices and some people died of starvation.
 Land enclosure. This was when landowners began to keep sheep on their land rather than renting it out
to farmers to grow crops. It meant less work in the fields and less wheat. Farm workers headed to the
towns and cities to find work but there were not enough jobs to go around.
 Rising population. During Elizabeth’s reign the population of England grew from 2.8 million to 4 million.
Limited places to live gave power to landlords who unfairly increased rents.
 Flu epidemic. A terrible outbreak of flu in 1556 had killed around 200,000, including many of the
workers who were involved in producing food.
Attitudes toward the poor.
 “Great Chain of being”. In the views of the time, it was natural that the poor were poor. This reduced
people’s sympathy for them. However, according to religious principles the rich were meant to support
the poor so they did sometimes provide charity to the “deserving poor”.
 The undeserving poor. These were the poor who people thought deserved no sympathy, assuming they
were poor because they were too lazy to work. Most able-bodied adults were considered ‘undeserving
poor’. In 1567, Thomas Harman, published a book that drew attention to some of the scams and tricks
used by these ‘conmen’.
 The deserving poor. At the start of Elizabeth’s reign, only people like the poor or disabled were
thought to be the ‘deserving poor’. However as Elizabeth’s reign went on, and poverty got worse, people
began to recognise that even some able-bodied adults could not be blamed for their poverty. The
response to this change in attitude was that more wealthy people provided charity. Archbishop Whitgift
established almshouses (which provided food and accommodation) in Croydon in south London.
How did the government deal with the poor?
 Before Elizabeth. As far back as 1495, beggars were being punished in the stocks and sent back to
their hometowns if they had gone to another area. From 1531 beggars were publicly whipped and this
continued into Elizabeth’s reign. The 1576 ‘Act for setting the poor on work’ placed the responsibility
for finding work for the poor in the hands of local authorities while the national policy still focused on
punishment.
 A local approach. As a result of the 1576 law, different towns took different approaches to dealing
with poverty. In 1570, Norwich conducted a survey which found that 80% of the population lived in
poverty. They separated the poor into two categories: ‘idle poor’ and ‘unfortunate poor.’ The ‘idle poor’
were given work such as knitting or sewing while the ‘unfortunate poor’ were given food and other forms
of care and support. Meanwhile, nearby in Ipswich a licensing system for beggars was introduced.
 The 1601 Poor Law. The new Poor Law was introduced near the end of Elizabeth’s reign for a number
of reasons: because the extent of poverty was growing; because there was a greater recognition that
many of the poor could not be blamed for their own poverty; and because local-level schemes like those
in Norwich and Ipswich seemed to be working. The law said that a local tax of the wealthy should be
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
used to pay for the care and support of the poor. The healthy poor were to be given work. But this was
not a total change in direction: those who were deemed able to work, but who did not, were still whipped
or placed in a House of Correction.
Did the new law work? Initially, the Poor Law seemed to work but it was inconsistently used and many
areas did not fulfil the requirements. Over the following few years’ instances of begging did seem to
decrease but this may have been as much due to the threat of the House of Correction as the increased
help available. As it made each local area responsible for its own poor, there were arguments over
which area paupers belonged to. Without a clear home, some paupers were simply sent from one local
area to another.
An age of discovery
 The Elizabethan period was a time of great exploration. The main reason for the increase in exploration
was new technology. Ships were of higher quality, with new lateen (triangular). Improved defences and
weapons made sailing through hostile waters much safer. Advances in navigation were important: the
astrolabe allowed sailors to judge how far north or south they were, and compasses improved.
Drake and Hawkins
 Drake and his cousin, John Hawkins, made one of the first voyages to Africa to capture people as slaves
to sell in the ‘New World’ of America. They sold the slaves at a Spanish port (San Juan de Ulua in the
Gulf of Mexico) and made lots of money, but were betrayed. Spanish warships attacked them and
destroyed many ships. Drake and Hawkins escaped but wanted revenge on the Spanish. Drake became a
privateer, attacking enemy ships (mostly Spanish) and taking their cargo. This made him (and Elizabeth)
a fortune.
 Between 1577 and 1580 Drake circumnavigated (travelled round) the world...though there had not been
there intention when they set off!
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Raleigh’s New World
 In 1584, Elizabeth gave Sir Walter Raleigh permission to explore, colonise and rule any land that was
not already ruled by a Christian. In return, he had to give the Queen One fifth of all the gold and silver
found there. The aim was to increase England’s influence and gain the country more wealth.
 Raleigh, who was a respected, famous explorer and adventurer, did not set sail for North America
himself but rather sent others to form the first English colony in what is now the United States. A
colony was established at Roanoke but did not last. A second was established in 1587 and seemed set to
succeed. However, when the colony’s leader, John White, returned after a trip to England, the other
colonists had disappeared. The only clue was the word ‘CROATION’ carved into a tree, the name of a
local tribe. No trace of the colonists was ever found.
 It would not be until the reign of James I, Elizabeth’s successor, that a colony was successfully
established in North America.
How did the voyages of discovery benefit England?
 Wealth. In the age of exploration England benefited from new trade. Before Elizabeth’s reign, the
majority of English trade was with other European countries but people began to look further afield for
trade opportunities:
 Sailors like John Hawkins made his fortune and added to the country’s wealth by trading in
African slaves.
 Hawkins and Drake stole goods from the Spanish as privateers
 New trading companies were set up and given monopolies (that is, not one else was able to trade
in the region): the Muscovy Company was created in 1555 to trade with the Moscow region, the
Eastland Company (1579) to trade with Scandinavia and the Baltic, the Levant Company (1581) to
trade with Turkey and the Middle East; and the East India Company (1600) to trade with India.
However, other countries like Spain and Portugal also made huge amounts of money at this time by
trading in spices and taking gold from South America. Despite this, England did build the foundations of
the great trading empire it later became, with many of the trading companies established under
Elizabeth becoming very important in the following century.
 Power. English naval power was a growing force under Elizabeth. It was clear that England could hold its
own in any sea battle and was able to exert its influence over many weaker countries. This was seen
during the Spanish Armada (see below).
 Territory. England failed in its first attempt to build a colony in America – and other countries beat
England in the race to colonise South America. However, English explorers and settlers persevered and
over the next few centuries England began to build up more and more territory overseas.
Part 3 - Trouble at home and abroad




Religion before Elizabeth. In medieval times, almost all of Europe was of the Catholic religion. But
then Martin Luther nailed a list of 95 complaints about the Catholicism to the door of his church. Soon,
people who agreed with Luther’s criticisms started calling themselves Protestants (because they were
‘protesting’). Soon Europe was divided between the Catholics and the Protestants.
Henry VIII. He started his reign as a Catholic and the Pope even described him as the ‘defender of
the faith’. However when the Pope would not allow him to divorce Catherine of Aragon, he ‘split from
Rome’, setting up a Protestant church in England - the Church of England - with him as the Head.
Although the new church was technically Protestant, churches largely remained the same to look at
because Henry VIII was not much interested in the religious arguments.
Edward VI. In Edward’s brief reign, his advisors tried to strip out the Catholic elements of the Church
of England and make it truly Protestant.
Mary I. She was a strict Catholic and tried to turn the country back to Catholicism, leading to serious
clashes with Protestants.
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The religious settlement
 Elizabeth was a Protestant but the religious settlement was a compromise in which she tried to keep
Catholics happy by keeping some Catholic elements to the Church of England
 The idea was that both Protestants could go to the church services. Punishments for not going along
with the religious settlement were not too severe. Under the Act of Uniformity, failure to attend CofE
Sunday service led to a fine of only one shilling
 At start many Catholics welcomed the religious settlement and it looked liked the religious disputes of
the past were gone
 However over the decades the threats from English and foreign Catholics grew.
To please Protestants
To please Catholics
...most of all, it was a Protestant church
Elizabeth rejected transubstantiation (the Catholic belief that,
during Mass, the bread and wine literally turns into the body and
blood of Christ)
The Bible was translated into English
Churches were relatively plain and simple
Priests to wear traditional Catholicstyle surplices (clothes)
Elizabeth was called ‘Supreme Governor
of the Church’ instead of ‘Head of the
Church’
The new Prayer Book was not too
protestant
Threats from foreign Catholics
 Papal Bull of 1570. Pope Pius V issues a papal bull excommunicating Elizabeth and calling on all
Catholics to end their rule. This meant a difficult decision for English Catholics: would they be loyal to
their Queen or the Pope?
 College of Douai. An English Catholic called William Allen set up this college in the Spanish Netherlands
to train priests who would then travel to England to convert the English back to Catholicism. The first
of these priests started arriving in 1574
 Jesuits. The Society of Jesuits had been set up in 1540 to bring people back to Catholic religion.
Jesuits started arriving in England from 1580. One Jesuit called Edmund Campion arrived in 1580 and,
disguised as a jewel merchant, began to preach to people. Campion was arrested on 14 July in Berkshire
and taken to the Tower of London. He was held for four months and tortured several times on the rack.
He was found guilty of treason on 20 November 1581 and in December was dragged through London
before being hung, drawn and quartered.
Threats from Catholics in England
 The Northern Rebellion/Northern Rising (1569). The Duke of Norfolk a powerful duke; although
brought up Protestant, he was from a powerful Catholic family. Norfolk wished to marry Mary Queen of
Scots. Elizabeth did not permit the marriage and brought Norfolk to court, but he left without
permission. Northern Lords – Westmoreland and Northumberland - interpreted this as signal for
rebellion, raised troops and took Durham Cathedral. At first the Queen struggles to raise an army, but
when the Earl of Sussex did so the rebels disbanded. Rebel leaders fled to Scotland; Northumberland
later captured and sent to Tower.
 The Ridolfi Plot (1571). Norfolk was in the Tower for 10 months before being put under house arrest.
This is when he met the Florentine Catholic banker Ridolfi, who believed English Catholics would need
help to put Mary Queen of Scots on the throne. Ridolfi and Norfolk were planning a joint attack by a
force from the Netherlands and a second Northern rebellion. Elizabeth’s had a vast spy network – plot
two men’s letters decoded when the cipher was found at Norfolk’s home. Norfolk was executed in 1572.
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Throckmorton Plot (1583). His plan to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary Queen of Scots on throne.
The assassination would be followed by invasion by Duke of Guise. The plot discovered, Throckmorton
executed
Babington Plot (1586). Anthony Babington’s plotted to murder Elizabeth and replace her with Mary
Queen of Scots. Correspondence between him and Mary suggested she knew about the plot. Her
servants handed it in to Elizabeth's spies. This led to Mary's execution.
How did Elizabeth change her religious policies in the 1580s?
 Plots after the papal bull showed Elizabeth that she could no longer rely on the loyalty of all her
Catholic subjects. A new approach was needed to ensure that potential troublemakers were found and
Catholics did not rebel.
 New laws were introduced to try and disrupt Catholic activities and show that challenges to the queen’s
rule would not be tolerated. Having allowed private Catholicism for 23 years of her reign, a law passed
in 1581 made it treason to attend a Catholic mass. Greater fines were introduced for those who failed
to attend church services. These recusancy fines rose to around £20, a significant sum, even for the
wealthier members of society.
 A second act was passed in 1585 making it treason to have a Catholic priest in your home. Priests were
executed and noble Catholic families faced the loss of their lands and wealth if their loyalty to the
queen was placed in doubt. A 1593 law said that Catholic could not travel more than five miles from
their homes.
Puritans
 Who were they? The Puritans were extreme Protestants who hated Catholicism; they were
disappointed with the ‘religious settlement’ as they had hoped Elizabeth would get rid of all Catholic
elements from the Church of England. There major issue was with the vestments which priests were
required to wear, which they saw as Catholic. However most bishops stopped arguing when they realised
it would not be tolerated and they risked losing their jobs.
 Powerful friends. The Archbishop of Canterbury, Edmund Grindal, was sympathetic until the Queen
sacked him. Amongst the Queen’s advisors, Dudley and Walsingham were both sympathetic to the
puritans. Finally, many MPs were puritans.
 Presbyterians. These were puritans who refused to give up the fight. In 1580, Robert Browne set up a
separatist church (i.e. not part of the Church of England) in Norwich, which would be properly puritan,
before he was arrested. Another separatist church was set up in London in 1592, until the ringleaders
were hanged.
 How did Elizabeth deal with the puritans? Elizabeth became firmer in the way she dealt with puritans
in the 1580s. Her new Archbishop of Canterbury, John Whitgift, introduced new rules such as banning
unlicensed preaching, and by fining and imprisoning puritans who refused to conform to the rules. With
the deaths of Dudley in 1588 and Walsingham in 1590, puritans lost its powerful backers in court.
Mary, Queen of Scots
 Background. Mary Queen of Scots is one of the most well-connected women in Europe. She was
Elizabeth’s cousin and arguably had a claim on the English throne. She had been Queen of Scotland
since she was eight days old, although she was brought up in Scotland. In her teens she was briefly also
Queen consort in France (wife of the French king), before her husband died. She then returned to
Scotland, where she found her Catholicism created a divide between her and her protestant subjects.
She re-married but it was an unhappy marriage. When her husband died, she was suspected of being
involved in his murder. She was forced to abdicate and flee to England, hoping for support from her
cousin Elizabeth.
 Arrival in England. Elizabeth organised a trial in York to establish whether Mary was guilty of the
murder of her second husband. The trial was inconclusive, which meant Elizabeth could leave
Protestants in charge of Scotland, keep Mary in custody but not appear to be siding against her
(treating a queen badly might give people ideas!).
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House arrest. Mary lives under house arrest – never with less than 16 servants. But many Catholics
wished to see her on the throne. In 1569 Elizabeth refuses to let Norfolk marry her, which led to the
Northern rebellion which aimed to put Mary on the throne. The Ridolfi Plot followed. Many people,
especially puritan in Parliament, urged Elizabeth to execute Mary to end the Catholic threat.
The Babington Plot. Anthony Babington planned to murder Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne. He
sent secret coded messages to Mary. She replied agreeing to the plot. But her servants were secret
working for Elizabeth's chief spy, Francis Walsingham.
Mary’s trial. In October 1586 Mary was put on trial for treason before a court of 36 noblemen
including Sir Francis Walsingham and William Cecil. She argued that, as a foreign queen, she could not
be guilty of treason. She also objected to not being able to see the evidence against her. She was found
guilty on the 25 October. Yet Elizabeth was still reluctant to have her cousin executed, worried about
how Catholics in England and around Europe would react. Reluctantly she signed the death penalty on 1
February 1587.
Execution. She was executed at Fotheringhay Castle on 8 February, though not in public.
Did this solve Elizabeth’s problems? On the one hand, there was no longer an obvious alternative
monarch for Catholics to rally behind. On the other hand, some Catholics soon thought of Mary as a
great martyr and a symbol of their cause.
The importance of the navy
 The importance of the navy. As an island, Britain’s navy was its first line of defence. The navy had
grown during Henry VIII’s time but it grew still further under Elizabeth I, who made John Hawkins
responsible for improving the navy. However King Philip II of Spain was also building up their navy.
 Naval tactics. These included using privateers to attack Spanish ships. Sir Francis Drake, Hawkins and
others took control of many Spanish ships and raided ports, most notably Cadiz in 1587 when Drake
destroyed dozens of Spanish ships in what became known as ‘singeing the King of Spain’s beard’.
Another tactic was the use of fireships. An old or captured ship would be set on fire and sent into the
middle of a fleet or harbours causing chaos, terror and huge amounts of damage. A final tactic was; line
of battle’. Ships would create a single line, arranged end to end, and then fire together at the enemy
ships.
 New technology. Navies were becoming more sophisticated. A new type of triangular sail known as a
lateen allowed for much faster travel and new ships focused on both speed and manoeuvrability. Cannons
had become more powerful, meaning ships could be attacked without having to board them. Navigation
was also improving, with better compasses.
Reasons for the Spanish Armada
 Religious reasons. Ever since the start of the reformation, Europe had been divided between Catholic
and Protestant countries. The Pope and powerful Catholic countries – like Spain – hoped Protestant
countries would return to the ‘true’ faith. When Queen Mary had been on the throne it looked like
Britain might once again be Catholic. However when Elizabeth II took the throne he ruled England as a
protestant. The Papal Bull of 1570 had challenged Catholics to see Elizabeth of the English throne,
 Matrimonial reasons (matrimonial = to do with marriage). Philip II was the Catholic King of Spain, a
very wealthy country due to treasures Spanish explorers bought back from South America. Philip II had
been married to Elizabeth’s predecessor as queen of England, Mary. If they had children, the eldest son
could have ruled both countries as a Catholic. Yet Mary died childless. When Elizabeth became queen,
Philip II quickly proposed to her. Elizabeth did not refuse, but just kept him waiting
 Problems in the Netherlands. As well as being king of Spain, Philip also ruled the Netherlands. In
August 1556, there was a Protestant uprising in several Dutch cities. This put Elizabeth in a tricky
situation. Elizabeth did not want the Netherlands – on England’s doorstep just over the English Channel
– to be ruled by a powerful, Catholic enemy. However, if Elizabeth was too hostile to Philip she would
provoke a war with Spain which Britain could ill afford. To start with the so-called ‘peace party’ on the
Privy Council agreed unofficially help the rebels but not to send troops to fight alongside them. They
hoped this would ensure the rebels won but avoid starting a war with Spain. Yet as the Spanish seemed
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to be gaining advantage over the rebels, England felt forced to come out more clearly on the rebel’s
side. In 1585, the Treaty of Nonsuch was signed between England and the Dutch rebels.
Tensions at sea. There was growing tension between England and Spain for control of the seas. Whilst
Spain had become rich trading gold and slaves with South America, England had its eyes on other parts
of the world such as North America and India. Another issue was English privateers, and the ‘singeing
the King of Spain’s beard’ in 1587.
The Spanish Armada (1588)
 The Armada set sail from Spain with 151 ships and 7,000 men. The plan was to pick up more men from
the Spanish Netherlands and then invade England.
 When it arrived in the English Channel it was spotted almost immediately, and England was warned.
 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.
 On 27 July, the Armada anchored in open seas off Calais. The English sent in fireships, so the Armada
cut their anchors to escape.
 On 28 July, the English attacked the Spanish fleet at the Battle of Gravelines. The English ships were
easier to manoeuvre in the heavy waters of the North Sea. This decisive battle prevented the Spanish
from landing in England.
 Philip's 'invincible' Spanish fleet fled north, chased by the English fleet. It had to return home by
sailing round the north of Scotland and the west coast of Ireland, where many ships were sunk by
storms.
 On 8 August, after the main danger was over, Elizabeth went to speak to the English troops at Tilbury.
She said, I have but the body of a weak and feeble woman, but I have the heart and stomach of a king
Why did the Spanish Armada fail?
 English ships. The English explorer and naval commander Hawkins had spent years making improvements
to the design of English ships. They were now lighter, faster and more manoeuvrable than those in the
Spanish fleet which consisted of large, slow galleons. The English had cannons called culverns, which
could be fired accurately from a distance.
 English tactics. The use of fireships worked brilliantly. It broke the tight formation of the Spanish
fleet and made individual ships vulnerable to attack. The constant bombardment by the English canons
made it impossible for the Spanish to regroup. Commanders like Francis Drake were goods tacticians
and leaders. They used their ships cleverly. They shot the culvers from distance. As the English ships
were quicker, the Spanish were unable to get in close to use their superior short-range canons and to
bind the their ships to the English with grappling hooks, board and then take advantage of their
superior numbers.
 Spanish mistakes. The Spanish had some of the most effective warships in the world but they were
designed for the Mediterranean and struggled to cope with the English Channel and the North Sea.
They were slow and much less manoeuvrable than the English ships. The delay in getting soldiers on
board from the Netherlands was disastrous for the Spanish but their biggest mistake was not being
fully prepared for a sea battle. Most of the canons they had on board were designed to be used once
they had landed in England and they had also brought a number of the wrong cannonballs, making the
canons they did have for naval warfare useless. They were largely helpless as their ships were hit with
English cannon fire. The commander of the Spanish fleet was inexperienced, although many of the ships’
captains were very experienced.
 The weather. The Spanish had largely survived the battle with the English but many could not survive
the journey home. They were battered by storms off the Scottish and Irish coasts and many were
wrecked. They ran out of food and water and many of the sailors became too sick to sail.
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