Paper 2A — Thematic: Britain — Power and the people, c1170–present

1. Question 1

   The Magna Carta (1215) was signed by which English king?

   • A) Richard I
   • B) John
   • C) Henry III
   • D) Edward I
   Show answer

   Answer: John

   Magna Carta ('Great Charter') established that the king was not above the law. Most clauses dealt with specific feudal grievances; the symbolically important ones — no free man imprisoned without lawful judgement of his peers, no taxation without consent — became foundations of later constitutional rights. John tried to wriggle out almost immediately.

2. Question 2

   The English Civil War (1642-51) was fought between...

   • A) Catholics and Protestants
   • B) Parliamentarians ('Roundheads') and Royalists ('Cavaliers')
   • C) England and Scotland
   • D) Workers and landlords
   Show answer

   Answer: Parliamentarians ('Roundheads') and Royalists ('Cavaliers')

   Triggered by disputes over the king's right to rule absolutely vs Parliament's right to consent to taxes + laws. Charles I lost; executed in 1649 — the first English king ever publicly executed. Cromwell ruled as Lord Protector until 1658. Monarchy restored in 1660 under Charles II — but never again absolute. Set the long-term trajectory toward parliamentary supremacy.

3. Question 3

   The Great Reform Act of 1832 did what?

   • A) Abolished slavery
   • B) Redistributed seats + extended the vote to more middle-class men
   • C) Gave women the vote
   • D) Established the NHS
   Show answer

   Answer: Redistributed seats + extended the vote to more middle-class men

   Before 1832: only ~5% of adult men could vote; pocket boroughs (a handful of voters returning an MP) coexisted with industrial cities (Manchester) having NO MPs. The Act: abolished 56 rotten boroughs, gave seats to industrial cities, extended the vote to property-owning middle-class men. Didn't enfranchise working-class men (that came later: 1867, 1884, 1918) or women (1918, 1928).

More AQA History topics

• Paper 1A — Period: America 1840–1895, Expansion and consolidation
• Paper 1A — Period: Germany 1890–1945, Democracy and dictatorship
• Paper 1A — Period: Russia 1894–1945, Tsardom and communism
• Paper 1A — Period: USA 1920–1973, Opportunity and inequality
• Paper 1B — Wider world: Conflict and tension 1945–72 (Cold War)
• Paper 1B — Wider world: Conflict and tension, 1894–1918 (WWI)
• Paper 2A — Thematic: Britain — Health and the people, c1000–present
• Paper 2A — Thematic: Britain — Migration, empires and the people, c790–present
• Paper 2B — British depth: Elizabethan England, 1568–1603
• Paper 2B — British depth: Norman England, 1066–c1100
• Source skills (both papers)