A2 History Edexcel Stuarts Course Overview

Edexcel A2 History Course Overview

This is the Edexcel course list of everything you should *theoretically* cover/know for the A2 Stuart History exam!

NOTE: This is missing the second controversy question theme The Protectorate checklist (section 9) as my sixth form only learnt one of the two controversy questions, but this information can be found on the original specification document on the Edexcel website.

1) 2 hours: Introduction: Charles I and the Dissolution of Parliament	A difficult inheritance: the long-term causes of tension between Crown and parliaments The impact of Charles I, 1625-29: character and actions of Charles I Reasons for dissolution in 1629 Different interpretations of the decision to rule without parliaments. (introduction to sources and conflicting interpretations)
2) 5 hours: The failure of Personal Rule, 1629-40	Peace and retrenchment: the search for financial security, 1629-37 Uniformity and order: the role of the Privy Council, Laud, Strafford               and the policy of Thorough Reforming the Church: Charles, Laud and the ‘beauty of holiness’; the attack on puritan influence The British dimension: resentment in Ireland and conflict in Scotland, 1633-39 The growth of opposition in England, 1637-40 and the calling of the Long Parliament.
3) 5 hours: From Crisis to War, 1640-42	The parliamentary opposition: aims, strategies and success, November 1640 - February 1641 The problem of Strafford and its impact, February-May 1641 Steps too far? The extension of parliamentary power, the attack on the Church and the emergence of moderate royalism, May-October 1641 The Irish rebellion and its aftermath, October 1641 –January 1642 The drift to war: competing plots and mutual mistrust, the propaganda war and the taking up of arms.
4) 15 hours: Controversy: What determined side-taking in 1642?	Causes and motives: the causes of war and the taking up of arms – the differences between them and the way they relate. Historians’ views: Whigs, Marxists and revisionists, the importance of local studies and why individuals took up arms. Patterns of allegiance, 1642-43 (about six hours study, using both contemporary sources and historians’ accounts to establish the nature and complexity of the process by which men took sides – or not.) The broad pattern: regions and resources The raising of forces, June-October 1642: levies, volunteers and resistance The roles of religion and class, the influence of individuals and personal loyalties Neutralism and localism: the role of the county community The failure of neutrality, October 1642 - May 1643; the fate of individuals The process of taking sides and its implications for explaining the English Civil War. The historical debate through the sources (about 7 hours). Using the views of historians as secondary sources, to analyse different interpretations and evaluate them against students’ knowledge of events and contemporary sources, and against each other. In particular students will consider attempts to explain the ‘causes of the civil war’ and explanations based on long-term problems, the impact of individual leaders and the context of attitudes and beliefs. They will also refer to local research and the various local studies made at different times and for different purposes. Students will consider reasons for conflicting views, the extent and nature of conflict, and the extent to which conflicts can be reconciled, in order to establish a judgement about why men took up arms, for whom, and what this suggests about the causes of the English Civil War.
5) 5 hours: The victory of Parliament, 1642-46	1642-43: the balance of forces and the royalist advance: the importance of parliamentary outposts, Hull, Plymouth and Gloucester, in delaying defeat: the Solemn League and Covenant and its effects. Comparisons: resources, administration and leadership, 1643-44: the role of Pym 1644: military stalemate and political developments: the emergence of the New Model Army, the roles of Cromwell and Fairfax, ‘Presbyterians’ and ‘Independents’. 1645-46: the defeat of the Royalists, commanders and Clubmen, the role of the King. Sources and debates: Why did Parliament win the first Civil War?
6) 5 hours: The search for settlement, 1646-48	King and Parliament: the search for peace and the Newcastle Propositions Ferment and fears 1645-46: the origins, nature and impact of radical ideas. Parliament and Army 1646-47: disbandment and mutiny, the role of the Levellers, the Presbyterian leaders and the Grandees The Army and the King, June-November 1647: the role and motives of Cromwell, the influence of Ireton, the attitudes of the King. The King’s Engagement with the Scots and the Second Civil War in England
7) 5 hours: Regicide and Rump	The impact of the Second Civil War: Pride’s Purge, the trial and execution of the King. The role of Cromwell – conflicting views. Assessment of Charles I: tyrant, martyr or fool. The abolition of the monarchy and the government of the Rump: securing the regime in England, Ireland and Scotland The Rump and the Army: conflicting aims and mutual mistrust, 1649-53 The Dissolution of the Rump and the role of Cromwell The Barebones Parliament: aims, achievements and dissolution.
8) 5 hours: The Lord Protector: the search for stability	The establishment of the Protectorate and the Instrument of  Government – a viable solution? Cromwell and Parliament, 1654-55: conspiracies and conflicts, fears and frustrations, the problem of conflicting aims 1655-56: the experiment of the Major-Generals: conflicting interpretations 1657-58: King Oliver: the significance of the Humble Petition and Advice and the prospects for settlement – conflicting views from both contemporaries and historians 1658-59: the death of Oliver and the failure of Richard, the return of the Rump and the threat of Civil War.
10) 5 hours: The return of the King	Government under the Rump, 1659: a bankrupt regime? Fear and instability: the Army and the sects, the Army and the Rump, the Army and the country The return of the King: the role of General Monck The return of the King: Charles and Clarendon 1660-61: prospects for reconciliation and the desire for revenge.
11) 5 hours: The nature of settlement	1661-62: the royalist reaction: the Cavalier Parliament and the Act of Uniformity Dissenters and their allies: the failure of the religious settlement Land, money and Crown finances: winners and losers, the old and new elite. The powers of the King: the three kingdoms, the role of parliaments and the fall of Clarendon The Restoration: the new monarchy by accident and design.