AQA_2024: AS History - Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702
Component 1D: Absolutism Challenged: Britain, 1603–1649
(Merged Question Paper and Marking Scheme)
AS
HISTORY
Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702
Component 1D Absolutism challenged: Britain, 1603–1649
Wednesday 15 May 2024 Afternoon Time allowed: 1 hour 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
7041/1D.
Answer two questions.
In Section A answer Question 01.
In Section B answer either Question 02 or Question 03.
Information
The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
The maximum mark for this paper is 50.
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:
– 50 minutes on Section A
– 40 minutes on Section B.
,For AS History: Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702, Component 1D: Absolutism
Challenged: Britain, 1603–1649, focus on the following key areas:
1. James I and the Early Stuart Monarchy (1603–1625):
Royal Absolutism: Study James I's belief in the divine right of kings and his attempts to establish
absolute power. Understand the tension between his authority and Parliament.
Conflict with Parliament: Examine the early struggles over royal prerogative, especially James's
disputes with Parliament over taxation, the monarchy's finances, and religious issues.
Religious Tensions: Focus on the impact of James's policies on different religious groups,
particularly Puritans, Catholics, and the Church of England. Understand the Millenary Petition and
the Hampton Court Conference.
2. Charles I's Reign (1625–1649):
Conflict with Parliament: Study the significant struggles between Charles I and Parliament,
especially the Personal Rule (1629–1640), when Charles ruled without calling Parliament.
Financial Issues: Examine Charles’s use of ship money and other methods of raising revenue
without parliamentary consent, which led to growing discontent.
Religious Conflict: Study the impact of Charles's religious policies, especially the Prayer Book
Controversy and his attempts to enforce Arminianism, which alienated Puritans and led to unrest
in Scotland (the Bishops' Wars).
3. The Long Parliament and the Breakdown of Royal Authority (1640–1642):
The Long Parliament: Focus on the key events of the Long Parliament (1640–1660), including the
Triennial Act and the abolition of the Star Chamber. Understand the political shifts that occurred
during this period.
Conflict Escalates: Study the key events leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War in
1642, including the Grand Remonstrance and the king’s attempt to arrest five members of
Parliament in 1642.
4. The Causes of the Civil War:
Political Causes: Study the breakdown of the relationship between the monarchy and Parliament,
focusing on issues such as the royal prerogative, parliamentary sovereignty, and the right to
raise taxes.
Religious Causes: Understand the role of religion, including the clash between Anglicanism,
Puritanism, and Catholicism, which played a key role in the conflict.
5. Key Events and Turning Points:
The Petition of Right (1628): Understand how this petition challenged the king’s authority, limiting
his power over taxation, imprisonment, and the quartering of soldiers.
The Ship Money Crisis (1630s): Focus on Charles I’s controversial collection of ship money and
the legal challenges it faced.
6. Key Figures:
James I: His belief in divine right and conflict with Parliament laid the groundwork for later conflicts
under his son, Charles I.
Charles I: Study his personality, his policies, and his relationship with Parliament, focusing on his
desire for absolute power and his role in precipitating the English Civil War.
IB/M/Jun24/G4001/E4 7041/1D
, 2
Section A
Answer Question 01.
Extract A
James I’s extravagance was the main reason for the Crown’s financial weaknesses. In the
first five years of his reign James’ expenditure on clothes increased significantly. Some
increase in the giving of gifts by a new monarch was inevitable but the scale of James’
gifts and pensions was excessive. The Crown debt had risen to £597 000 by 1608, when
Cecil succeeded in extracting a public promise from James to end his gifts of land. He 5
also got James to promise not to sell any Crown land without the Privy Council’s
permission. James failed to keep to these promises. After the failure of Cecil’s
Great Contract, James listened to anyone who had a scheme to raise non-parliamentary
revenue.
Adapted from B Coward, The Stuart Age, 1980
Extract B
The problems relating to Crown finances under James I were serious, but not all his fault.
The Crown’s income, especially that from feudal rights, was unpopular with the
Political Nation. Yet James was far from willing to consider some alternative arrangement
to these methods. The main problem was that inflation had caused the Crown’s income to
decline by 40% and James had inherited a royal debt from Elizabeth I. The Crown 5
therefore needed adequate financial compensation if James were to surrender particularly
profitable sources of feudal income. This was all the more necessary because James’
family made his household more expensive than that of Elizabeth I.
Adapted from DL Smith, A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603–1707, 1998
0 1 With reference to these extracts and your understanding of the historical context, which
of these two extracts provides the more convincing interpretation of the financial
weaknesses of the Crown in the reign of James I?
[25 marks]
IB/M/Jun24/7041/1D
Component 1D: Absolutism Challenged: Britain, 1603–1649
(Merged Question Paper and Marking Scheme)
AS
HISTORY
Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702
Component 1D Absolutism challenged: Britain, 1603–1649
Wednesday 15 May 2024 Afternoon Time allowed: 1 hour 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
7041/1D.
Answer two questions.
In Section A answer Question 01.
In Section B answer either Question 02 or Question 03.
Information
The marks for questions are shown in brackets.
The maximum mark for this paper is 50.
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:
– 50 minutes on Section A
– 40 minutes on Section B.
,For AS History: Stuart Britain and the Crisis of Monarchy, 1603–1702, Component 1D: Absolutism
Challenged: Britain, 1603–1649, focus on the following key areas:
1. James I and the Early Stuart Monarchy (1603–1625):
Royal Absolutism: Study James I's belief in the divine right of kings and his attempts to establish
absolute power. Understand the tension between his authority and Parliament.
Conflict with Parliament: Examine the early struggles over royal prerogative, especially James's
disputes with Parliament over taxation, the monarchy's finances, and religious issues.
Religious Tensions: Focus on the impact of James's policies on different religious groups,
particularly Puritans, Catholics, and the Church of England. Understand the Millenary Petition and
the Hampton Court Conference.
2. Charles I's Reign (1625–1649):
Conflict with Parliament: Study the significant struggles between Charles I and Parliament,
especially the Personal Rule (1629–1640), when Charles ruled without calling Parliament.
Financial Issues: Examine Charles’s use of ship money and other methods of raising revenue
without parliamentary consent, which led to growing discontent.
Religious Conflict: Study the impact of Charles's religious policies, especially the Prayer Book
Controversy and his attempts to enforce Arminianism, which alienated Puritans and led to unrest
in Scotland (the Bishops' Wars).
3. The Long Parliament and the Breakdown of Royal Authority (1640–1642):
The Long Parliament: Focus on the key events of the Long Parliament (1640–1660), including the
Triennial Act and the abolition of the Star Chamber. Understand the political shifts that occurred
during this period.
Conflict Escalates: Study the key events leading up to the outbreak of the English Civil War in
1642, including the Grand Remonstrance and the king’s attempt to arrest five members of
Parliament in 1642.
4. The Causes of the Civil War:
Political Causes: Study the breakdown of the relationship between the monarchy and Parliament,
focusing on issues such as the royal prerogative, parliamentary sovereignty, and the right to
raise taxes.
Religious Causes: Understand the role of religion, including the clash between Anglicanism,
Puritanism, and Catholicism, which played a key role in the conflict.
5. Key Events and Turning Points:
The Petition of Right (1628): Understand how this petition challenged the king’s authority, limiting
his power over taxation, imprisonment, and the quartering of soldiers.
The Ship Money Crisis (1630s): Focus on Charles I’s controversial collection of ship money and
the legal challenges it faced.
6. Key Figures:
James I: His belief in divine right and conflict with Parliament laid the groundwork for later conflicts
under his son, Charles I.
Charles I: Study his personality, his policies, and his relationship with Parliament, focusing on his
desire for absolute power and his role in precipitating the English Civil War.
IB/M/Jun24/G4001/E4 7041/1D
, 2
Section A
Answer Question 01.
Extract A
James I’s extravagance was the main reason for the Crown’s financial weaknesses. In the
first five years of his reign James’ expenditure on clothes increased significantly. Some
increase in the giving of gifts by a new monarch was inevitable but the scale of James’
gifts and pensions was excessive. The Crown debt had risen to £597 000 by 1608, when
Cecil succeeded in extracting a public promise from James to end his gifts of land. He 5
also got James to promise not to sell any Crown land without the Privy Council’s
permission. James failed to keep to these promises. After the failure of Cecil’s
Great Contract, James listened to anyone who had a scheme to raise non-parliamentary
revenue.
Adapted from B Coward, The Stuart Age, 1980
Extract B
The problems relating to Crown finances under James I were serious, but not all his fault.
The Crown’s income, especially that from feudal rights, was unpopular with the
Political Nation. Yet James was far from willing to consider some alternative arrangement
to these methods. The main problem was that inflation had caused the Crown’s income to
decline by 40% and James had inherited a royal debt from Elizabeth I. The Crown 5
therefore needed adequate financial compensation if James were to surrender particularly
profitable sources of feudal income. This was all the more necessary because James’
family made his household more expensive than that of Elizabeth I.
Adapted from DL Smith, A History of the Modern British Isles, 1603–1707, 1998
0 1 With reference to these extracts and your understanding of the historical context, which
of these two extracts provides the more convincing interpretation of the financial
weaknesses of the Crown in the reign of James I?
[25 marks]
IB/M/Jun24/7041/1D
