Y214: France 1814-1870 | OCR A-Level History A (H505)

Y214: France 1814-1870

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

France 1814–1870 is unit Y214 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 the reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X 1814–1830, the reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848 Revolution, domestic policy under Louis Napoleon, foreign and imperial policy 1848–1870. 80 recall questions across 8 subtopics.

Sample questions from Y214: France 1814-1870

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

The reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X 1814–1830: the legacy of 1789, the Charter and Louis XVIII’s reign

State who could vote under the Charter.

Show the answer
Only men aged thirty or over paying three hundred francs a year in direct taxes, roughly ninety thousand people in a nation of some twenty-nine million.
The reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X 1814–1830: domestic and foreign policies of Charles X

What economic and social difficulties faced France in the later 1820s?

Show the answer
A commercial downturn from 1826, bad harvests and high bread prices from 1827, and rural distress and urban unemployment left the regime with no reservoir of goodwill by 1830.
The reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848 Revolution: Personality of Louis Philippe and foreign policy

What internal challenges did the July Monarchy face in its first years?

Show the answer
Legitimist conspiracy in the Vendée, republican insurrections in Paris and the silk workers' risings in Lyon in 1831 and 1834 all had to be put down by force.
The reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848 Revolution: Guizot and establishment of the Second Republic

Who were the republican opposition and what did they want?

Show the answer
Moderates around Le National wanted a republic with a wider franchise, while radicals around Ledru-Rollin and La Réforme wanted universal male suffrage and social reform for the working class.
Domestic policy under Louis Napoleon: Election of Louis Napoleon, economic and social policies

Why did Louis Napoleon resort to a coup in 1851?

Show the answer
The constitution barred him from a second four-year term and the Assembly refused to revise it, so he chose to seize power rather than leave office in 1852.
Domestic policy under Louis Napoleon: the economy, the rebuilding of Paris, reform and the liberal empire

What were the aims and criticisms of the rebuilding of Paris?

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It was meant to improve health and traffic, provide work and make barricades harder to hold; critics attacked the enormous debt, the speculation it fed, and the way demolition pushed the poor into the outer districts.
Foreign and imperial policy 1848–1870: Napoleon’s aims and ideas, Crimean War

How did the Crimean War begin?

Show the answer
Napoleon III revived French claims to protect the Holy Places in Palestine, the resulting quarrel with Russia over Orthodox rights escalated with the Russian occupation of the Danubian principalities, and France and Britain entered the war in 1854.
Foreign and imperial policy 1848–1870: Italy, Mexico, Prussia and the war of 1870

How did the Mexican venture end?

Show the answer
The puppet emperor Maximilian never controlled the country, guerrilla resistance and disease drained the army, and after the American Civil War United States pressure forced a French withdrawal, leaving Maximilian to be shot in 1867.

The 8 subtopics

One subtopic is one session. Work down the list.

Subtopic	What it covers	Questions
The reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X 1814–1830: the legacy of 1789, the Charter and Louis XVIII’s reign	Recall questions on the legacy of the Revolution and Napoleon, the two restorations, the Charter of 1814 and its franchise, the Ultras, Richelieu and Decazes, the Double Vote, the Spanish expedition and Villèle.	11
The reigns of Louis XVIII and Charles X 1814–1830: domestic and foreign policies of Charles X	Recall questions on the domestic and foreign policies of Charles X and his ministers, Charles X’s views on monarchy, social and economic problems, religious policy, Polignac, 1830 election, Ordinances of St Cloud, July Revolution.	9
The reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848 Revolution: Personality of Louis Philippe and foreign policy	Recall questions on personality of Louis Philippe and the establishment, nature and problems of the July Monarchy, foreign policy including Belgium, Mehmet Ali Crisis, Tahiti, relations with Britain.	9
The reign of Louis Philippe and the 1848 Revolution: Guizot and establishment of the Second Republic	Recall questions on Guizot, social and economic developments and problems, opposition: liberal, republican, Bonapartist and socialist criticism, corruption, long and short-term political, social and economic causes of the 1848 Revolution, the establishment of the Second Republic.	11
Domestic policy under Louis Napoleon: Election of Louis Napoleon, economic and social policies	Recall questions on election of Louis Napoleon, aims and policies as president, coup of 1851, domestic policy as emperor, economic and social policies.	9
Domestic policy under Louis Napoleon: the economy, the rebuilding of Paris, reform and the liberal empire	Recall questions on banking and the Cobden-Chevalier Treaty, Haussmann’s Paris, policy towards workers, Duruy’s education reforms, the Niel Law, the liberalisation of the Empire from 1860 and Ollivier.	11
Foreign and imperial policy 1848–1870: Napoleon’s aims and ideas, Crimean War	Recall questions on Napoleon’s aims and ideas, attitudes to the Roman Republic, the Crimean War.	9
Foreign and imperial policy 1848–1870: Italy, Mexico, Prussia and the war of 1870	Recall questions on the Treaty of Turin and the domestic cost of Italian policy, the Mexican venture, colonial expansion, relations with Britain, the response to 1866 and the causes and course of the Franco-Prussian War.	11

Y214: France 1814-1870 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.