Exam Skills: Elizabethan England, c1568–1603 (AQA GCSE History: British Depth Study (Paper 2: Section B)): Exam Questions

How convincing is Interpretation A about the Elizabethan Court? Explain your answer using Interpretation A and your contextual knowledge.

Interpretation A: An interpretation of the Elizabethan Court. Adapted from an article by Penry Williams, in ‘History Review’, 1998.

This source cannot be reproduced here due to third-party copyright restrictions.

How convincing is Interpretation A about the Earl of Essex? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation of the Earl of Essex. Adapted from an article by Richard Cavendish in ‘History Today’, 2001.

"Essex soon charmed the elderly Queen when he arrived at Elizabeth’s court in his early twenties. He was tall, handsome and generous, but also arrogant and reckless. He showed daring but little judgement on military expeditions. Elizabeth gave him titles and a monopoly which made him wealthy but Essex was vain and jealous which made him easily offended and unwilling to be ruled by a woman. He failed in Ireland, which he blamed on enemies at Court. He then ignored Elizabeth’s orders by returning to England where he plotted to seize the Queen and take control of the government."

How convincing is Interpretation A about Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth I? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation of the Catholic plots against Queen Elizabeth I. Adapted from an article by R.E Foster, in ‘History Review’, 2008.

"Mary, Queen of Scots’ arrival in England was a problem for Elizabeth. The Northern Rebellion was an attempt to replace Elizabeth with Mary. The Pope said Elizabeth was, ‘the pretended Queen of England and servant of wickedness’ and excommunicated her. The anti-Catholic laws of the time seem severe today but were thought to be sensible then. They were a response to plots against the Queen and the increasing number of Catholic priests in the country. These priests encouraged the Throckmorton Plot and supported the Armada. Both the Papal Bull and Armada showed that English Catholics always looked abroad for support."

How convincing is Interpretation A about the theatre in Elizabethan England? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation of the theatre in Elizabethan England. Adapted from ‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England’ by Ian Mortimer, 2012.

Interpretation A not reproduced here due to third-party copyright restrictions

How convincing is Interpretation A about Essex’s rebellion? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation about Essex’s rebellion. Adapted from, ‘Elizabeth I – Profiles in Power’, by C Haigh, 1998.

Interpretation A not reproduced here due to third-party copyright restrictions.

How convincing is Interpretation A about Elizabeth I and gender? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation about Elizabeth I and gender. Adapted from 'Elizabeth I' by Anne Somerset, 1991.

"At her accession Elizabeth’s sex was looked on as a grievous disability, but she succeeded in turning even that to her advantage. Although she was sufficiently assertive to prevent her male advisers from contesting her authority, in other ways she flaunted her femininity... Furthermore, Elizabeth knew that, precisely because she was a woman, her ministers were ready to make allowances for her when she behaved in a fashion that would have been deemed intolerable for a king. Elizabeth exploited this indulgent attitude to stave off unwelcome decisions and to avoid being hustled into commitments against her will.”

How convincing is Interpretation A about Elizabeth’s relationship with Parliament? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation about Elizabeth I and Parliament. Adapted from Elizabeth I by Christopher Haigh, 1988.

"Elizabeth’s councillors nominated MPs, planned business in advance and tried to manage proceedings. Parliament was a most useful means of applying pressure on the Queen to accept policies she disliked – such as over marriage and the succession in 1563 and 1566, over religious reform in 1571, over anti-Catholic laws in 1581 and over the execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, in 1586.”

How convincing is Interpretation A about the idea of a ‘Golden Age’ in Elizabethan England? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation about the idea of a Elizabethan Golden Age. Adapted from a History Extra podcast between Nicola Tallis and Rhiannon Davies, 2024.

"The whole idea of the Elizabethan era as a ‘Golden Age’ came about after the queen’s death, when people started to realise how good they had had it during her reign; the cult of Elizabeth I was revered and revived continually in the centuries that followed... The Elizabethan age was undoubtedly a time of great change, with flourishing art, literature and architecture. And by the time of Elizabeth’s death in 1603, England had become one of the most powerful nations in Europe. So, a lot had changed in the years that Elizabeth was on the throne.”

How convincing is Interpretation A about poverty in Elizabethan England? Explain your answer based on your contextual knowledge and what it says in Interpretation A.

Interpretation A: An interpretation about poverty in Elizabethan England. Adapted from the 'Spartacus Educational' website, accessed in 2025.

"Unemployment was a major cause of poverty. When large landowners changed from arable to sheep farming, unemployment increased rapidly. The closing down of the monasteries in the 1530s created even more unemployment. As monasteries had also helped provide food for the poor, this created further problems."