AQA
A-level
HISTORY
7042/1C
Component 1C The Tudors: England, 1485-1603
Version: 1.0 Final
IB/M/Jun23/E6 7042/1C
A-level
HISTORY
Component 1C The
... [Show More] Tudors: England, 1485–1603
Wednesday 24 May 2023 Morning Time allowed: 2 hours 30 minutes
Materials
For this paper you must have:
• an AQA 16-page answer book.
Instructions
• Use black ink or black ball-point pen.
• Write the information required on the front of your answer book. The Paper Reference is
7042/1C.
• Answer three questions.
In Section A answer Question 01.
In Section B answer two questions.
Information
• The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
• The maximum mark for this paper is 80.
• You will be marked on your ability to:
– use good English
– organise information clearly
– use specialist vocabulary where appropriate.
Advice
• You are advised to spend about:
– 1 hour on Question 01 from Section A
– 45 minutes on each of the two questions answered from Section B
2
IB/M/Jun23/7042/1C
Section A
Answer Question 01.
Extract A
Henry VIII not only reigned over England but led the nation. He held back men who went
too fast, dragged forward men who lagged behind. The conservatives in religion trusted
him because he shared their conservatism. The King believed in the traditions in which
he had been trained. Nevertheless, during his reign, the constitution of England was
transformed. Henry brought Ireland within the reach of English civilisation. He absorbed
Wales into the general English system. He alone raised the House of Commons from its
narrow duty of granting taxes and made the Commons into the first power in the state
under the Crown. He brought the Commons to life in 1529, and they became his right
hand, enabling him to subdue the resistance of the House of Lords. He forced upon the
Lords a course of legislation which they whole-heartedly detested. King Henry VIII not
only broke through the ancient practices of government, he was the architect and saviour
of the English nation.
Adapted from JA Froude, History of England, 1856
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Extract B
The view of Henry VIII as a virtuous and worthy king is little more than a myth. One only
has to look at his portrait by Holbein with its ruthless pig-like face to see the real Henry.
While Henry lived, men rightly feared his anger. They were terrorised by his arbitrary
executions. Hanging without trial was one of the major causes of death in Henry’s reign.
Men dared not speak freely about his loathsome character. There was an almost
complete absence of any major rebellion by the people in general during Henry’s reign.
His ruthlessness can only be partly explained by the Tudors’ shaky claim to the throne.
Henry VIII was a disaster to his country, impoverishing its resources and stunting its
growth for the sake of futile wars. He left it both an empty treasury and its government in
the hands of an unprincipled gang of political adventurers.
Adapted from WG Hoskins, The Age of Plunder: The England of Henry VIII, 1500–1547,
1976
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Extract C
Henry VIII failed to fulfil many of his most personal ambitions. He failed to achieve any
substantial victories or conquests in France. He failed to secure the succession, leaving
Edward, a child, to inherit a wealth of complications which surrounded Mary and
Elizabeth’s illegitimacy. He failed to secure his vision of a reformed, yet still Catholic,
Church. He failed to win support for the royal supremacy which he sought from his
subjects. In even more personal terms, he failed to secure the loyal marriage which he
idealised. He felt himself betrayed by a succession of those closest to him. Yet, if
Henry’s life was a failure in personal terms, he still achieved an extraordinary amount by
1547. It was Henry VIII who had laid the foundations of the English nation; he had
separated England from the rest of Christendom. That England was neither Catholic nor
straightforwardly Protestant, was a consequence of Henry’s extraordinary reign.
Adapted from L Wooding, Henry VIII, 2009
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0 1 Using your understanding of the historical context, assess how convincing the
arguments in these three extracts are in relation to Henry VIII as ruler.
[30 marks]
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