Y208: Philip II 1556-1598 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y208: Philip II 1556-1598

80 questions
8 subtopics
Non-British period study, one of twenty-four
Y201 to Y224

Philip II 1556–1598 is unit Y208 of OCR History A, one of the twenty-four options in unit group 2, the non-British period study; a student sits one of them.

Its four key topics are political authority, religion, foreign policy and the Netherlands. 80 recall questions across 8 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y208: Philip II 1556-1598

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

Political authority: Legacy of Charles I and condition of Spain

How far is it accurate to call Philip's rule absolutism?

Show the answer
He acknowledged no earthly superior and made every important decision himself, but he was bound by the fueros of Aragon, Catalonia, Valencia and later Portugal, depended on the Castilian Cortes for taxes, and was limited by distance and by his own officials, so his authority was greater in theory than in practice.
Political authority: faction, justice, revolts and finance

How did Philip understand his responsibility for justice?

Show the answer
He saw the dispensing of justice as the first duty of a king, refused to be hurried, insisted that cases go through the courts and audiencias, and made himself available through written petitions, which earned him a reputation for fairness even among critics.
Religion: Philip II’s inheritance and relations with the Papacy

How did Philip see his own role in defending the Church?

Show the answer
He believed God had entrusted him with the defence of Catholicism, so the interests of the faith and of the monarchy were the same thing; he told his ministers he would rather lose his lands than rule over heretics.
Religion: attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, moral and spiritual impact of the Inquisition

What happened to the Protestant groups discovered in Spain?

Show the answer
Small circles found at Valladolid and Seville in the late 1550s were destroyed by the Inquisition in public autos de fe, some of which Philip himself attended, and organised Protestantism never took root in Spain again.
Foreign policy: foreign situation in 1555, Holy League and the Battle of Lepanto

How did the war with France end at the beginning of the reign?

Show the answer
Spanish armies won at St Quentin in 1557 and Gravelines in 1558, but both sides were bankrupt, so the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis in 1559 confirmed Spanish control of Italy and was sealed by Philip's marriage to Elizabeth of Valois.
Foreign policy: relations with England, France, Portugal and Philip’s reputation abroad

What was Philip's policy towards France after 1584?

Show the answer
With the Protestant Henry of Navarre now heir, Philip allied with the Catholic League at Joinville in 1584, subsidised it heavily, and from 1590 sent Parma's army from the Netherlands into France to prevent a Huguenot king.
The Netherlands: origins of the revolt and its course to 1576

Why did the nobles turn against Cardinal Granvelle?

Show the answer
As the regent's chief minister he was blamed for the new bishoprics and for the exclusion of the nobility from government; the leading nobles boycotted the Council of State until Philip agreed to withdraw him in 1564.
The Netherlands: religion, reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt and situation in 1598

Assess William of Orange as a leader of the revolt.

Show the answer
He was its indispensable political leader — a propagandist, negotiator and organiser who kept provinces of different faiths in one cause and worked for a settlement of religious peace under the old liberties — but he was repeatedly beaten in the field and never a match for Alva or Parma as a commander.

The 8 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
Political authority: Legacy of Charles I and condition of Spain	Recall questions on legacy of Charles I, condition of Spain, absolutism, the conciliar system, centralisation, methods and style of government.	8
Political authority: faction, justice, revolts and finance	Recall questions on Ruy Gómez and faction, the Pérez brothers and Escobedo, Philip’s view of justice, the fates of Don Carlos and Montigny, the Morisco revolt, the Aragonese crisis and royal finances by 1598.	12
Religion: Philip II’s inheritance and relations with the Papacy	Recall questions on Philip II’s inheritance, family issues, personal religion, relations with the Papacy, the Spanish Church and Inquisition.	9
Religion: attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, moral and spiritual impact of the Inquisition	Recall questions on attitude towards the Tridentine decrees, Jesuits, the Index, heretics, Moriscos and Conversos, the moral and spiritual impact of the Inquisition.	11
Foreign policy: foreign situation in 1555, Holy League and the Battle of Lepanto	Recall questions on the foreign situation in 1555, priorities, defence, crusade, expansion, peace or war, foreign relations and military operations in the Mediterranean, the Holy League and the Battle of Lepanto.	8
Foreign policy: relations with England, France, Portugal and Philip’s reputation abroad	Recall questions on relations with England, France, Portugal, annexation, the consistency of Spain’s aims, methods and the nature of policies, Philip’s reputation abroad.	12
The Netherlands: origins of the revolt and its course to 1576	Recall questions on the political, religious and economic origins of the Dutch Revolt, Granvelle, the events of 1566, Alva and the Tenth Penny, the revival of 1572 and Requesens’s failure.	9
The Netherlands: religion, reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt and situation in 1598	Recall questions on religion, divisions between north and south, effects of the assassination of William of Orange, economic and strategic position of northern provinces, reasons for Spain’s failure to crush the revolt, the situation in 1598.	11

Y208: Philip II 1556-1598 is 80 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.