Paper 2B — British depth: Elizabethan England, 1568–1603
AQA GCSE History revision on Paper 2B — British depth: Elizabethan England, 1568–1603. Aligned to the AQA GCSE History 8145 specification. This bank has 62 practice questions on this topic.
Sample questions (3 of 62)
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Question 1
Mary, Queen of Scots was executed in which year?
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Answer: 1587
She'd been imprisoned in England since 1568. The Babington Plot (1586) — Catholic plotters planning to assassinate Elizabeth and put Mary on the throne — gave Elizabeth's spymaster Walsingham the evidence to convict her. Mary's execution helped trigger the Spanish Armada the following year.
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Question 2
The Spanish Armada sailed against England in which year?
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Answer: 1588
Philip II of Spain sent ~130 ships to invade England and restore Catholicism. The Armada was defeated by a combination of English fireships at Calais, English tactics (smaller, more manoeuvrable ships), and severe storms off Scotland on the return journey. Only ~67 Spanish ships made it home.
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Question 3
Elizabeth I's religious settlement aimed to...
- A) Reimpose Catholicism in England
- B) Create a compromise Protestant church acceptable to most subjects
- C) Abolish Christianity
- D) Persecute all religious dissenters
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Answer: Create a compromise Protestant church acceptable to most subjects
Elizabeth recognised that hardline Protestantism would alienate Catholics; restored Catholicism would alienate Protestants. Her settlement: Protestant doctrine + traditional ceremonies, English-language prayer book, monarch (not Pope) as head of the Church. Worked for most; opposed by Puritans (too Catholic) and recusant Catholics (too Protestant).
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