Y106: England 1485-1558: the Early Tudors | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y106: England 1485-1558: the Early Tudors

99 questions
10 subtopics
British period study and enquiry, one of thirteen
Y101 to Y113

England 1485–1558: The Early Tudors is unit Y106 of OCR History A, one of the thirteen options in unit group 1, the British period study and enquiry; a student sits one of them.

Its seven key topics are the government of Henry VII and threats to his rule, Henry VII’s foreign policy, Henry VIII and Wolsey, the reign of Henry VIII after 1529, the stability of the monarchy, religious changes, rebellion and unrest. 99 recall questions across 10 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y106: England 1485-1558: the Early Tudors

Answer each one closed book first, then open the answer.

The government of Henry VII and threats to his rule: Henry’s claim to the throne and Yorkist opposition

What weakness lay in the Beaufort descent on which Henry's blood claim rested?

Show the answer
The Beauforts were the legitimated children of John of Gaunt's mistress and had been expressly barred from the succession by Henry IV, so Henry never rested his title on hereditary right alone.
The government of Henry VII and threats to his rule: relations with the nobility and administration

Why had Henry VII's methods of controlling the nobility become so hated by 1509?

Show the answer
The Council Learned in the Law, driven by Empson and Dudley, pursued bonds, debts and feudal dues so relentlessly and outside the ordinary courts that the new king arrested and executed both ministers to buy popularity.
Henry VII’s foreign policy: England’s position in Europe in 1485 and marriage negotiations

Why did Henry VII agree to the Treaty of Redon?

Show the answer
He judged that a French conquest of Brittany would put the far side of the Channel in French hands, so he undertook to send six thousand troops at Breton expense while stopping short of declaring war on France.
Henry VII’s foreign policy: trade agreements, Scotland and the marriage alliances

How did Henry VII exploit Philip's shipwreck politically as well as commercially?

Show the answer
He entertained his guest lavishly but would not let him leave until he had agreed to surrender the Earl of Suffolk and to a treaty of alliance.
Henry VIII and Wolsey: Henry VIII’s personality, Wolsey’s rise and foreign policy to 1520

How did Wolsey rise so quickly?

Show the answer
He made his name by organising the supplies and transport for the French campaign of 1513, and within two years he was Archbishop of York, a cardinal and Lord Chancellor.
Henry VIII and Wolsey: aims and policies in foreign affairs to 1529, divorce and Wolsey’s fall

What was Wolsey's most important financial innovation?

Show the answer
The subsidy assessed on a valuation of each taxpayer's actual income or goods, which was fairer and far more productive than the old fixed fifteenths and tenths.
The reign of Henry VIII after 1529: Religious change and opposition

Define the Valor Ecclesiasticus.

Show the answer
A nationwide survey of Church wealth compiled in 1535 which valued every benefice and religious house and supplied the information used first to tax them and then to dissolve them.
The reign of Henry VIII after 1529: rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, foreign policy in the 1540s

Why did Cromwell fall in 1540?

Show the answer
The Cleves marriage he arranged was a personal disaster for Henry, conservative rivals led by Norfolk and Gardiner exploited the king's anger and dangled Catherine Howard before him, and Cromwell was attainted without trial and executed.

The 10 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The government of Henry VII and threats to his rule: Henry’s claim to the throne and Yorkist opposition	Recall questions on Henry’s claim to the throne, Yorkist opposition, Lovel, Stafford and Suffolk, the Pretenders, Simnel and Warbeck.	8
The government of Henry VII and threats to his rule: relations with the nobility and administration	Recall questions on relations with the nobility, rewards and punishments, royal finances and their administration, opposition to taxation in Yorkshire and Cornwall, administration, the personnel, Councils, local government and parliament.	12
Henry VII’s foreign policy: England’s position in Europe in 1485 and marriage negotiations	Recall questions on England s position in Europe in 1485, Henry VII s aims, treaties of Medina del campo, Redon, Etaples and Ayton, marriage negotiations.	11
Henry VII’s foreign policy: trade agreements, Scotland and the marriage alliances	Recall questions on the Magnus and Malus Intercursus, Philip’s shipwreck, peace with Scotland, the Scottish marriage and its consequences, the match for Henry’s younger daughter and the success of his foreign policy by 1509.	8
Henry VIII and Wolsey: Henry VIII’s personality, Wolsey’s rise and foreign policy to 1520	Recall questions on Henry VIII’s personality and role in government, Wolsey’s rise and offices, the war of 1513 and Flodden, the Treaty of London and the Field of the Cloth of Gold.	8
Henry VIII and Wolsey: aims and policies in foreign affairs to 1529, divorce and Wolsey’s fall	Recall questions on aims and policies in foreign affairs to 1529, Wolsey’s role in foreign affairs, Wolsey’s administration of government, finances, law and social reforms, the Church and its condition under Wolsey, the divorce and Wolsey’s fall.	12
The reign of Henry VIII after 1529: Religious change and opposition	Recall questions on religious change and opposition.	12
The reign of Henry VIII after 1529: rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, foreign policy in the 1540s	Recall questions on the rise and fall of Thomas Cromwell, faction in 1540s, foreign policy in the 1540s, war with France and Scotland and its impact.	8
Enquiry: The stability of the monarchy — Edward VI’s minority, the succession crisis of 1553 and Mary’s marriage	Recall questions on Edward VI’s minority, faction under Somerset and Northumberland, the Devise for the succession, Mary’s gender and Spanish marriage, the succession of 1558 and faction under Mary.	9
Enquiry: Religious changes, Rebellion and unrest — religious and ecclesiastical policies 1547–1558	Recall questions on the religious and ecclesiastical policies 1547–1558, legislation, including the Prayer Books and Acts of Uniformity and the extent and results of religious change under Edward and Mary.	11

Y106: England 1485-1558: the Early Tudors is 99 of the 6,240 questions in the guide.Get the guide, £8

How the guide is worked

Answering a question from memory stores it far better than reading the answer again. The guide runs that as a fixed procedure on one subtopic at a time, about twenty minutes a session.

Step 1 · Closed book
Cover the answers. Work through one subtopic and write down what you can. Leave blanks where you have nothing.
Step 2 · Open book
Go back to the top. Read each printed answer and write it out in full, including the ones you had right.
Step 3 · Closed book again
Same questions, same order, from memory. The gap between pass one and pass three is the session result.

Read the full method, the return schedule and the research behind it.