History for Common Entrance 13+ Revision Guide (for the June 2022 exams)

Ed Adams was educated at Sutton Valence School and the University of Exeter, where he gained degrees in Law and Medieval Studies. He lives in Kent.

i: Introduction
A: Medieval Realms: Britain 1066–1485


1: The Norman Conquest


1.1: Background to the Conquest
1.2: Preparations for the invasion
1.3: The Battle of Stamford Bridge, 25 September 1066
1.4: The Battle of Hastings, 14 October 1066


2: Conquered England


2.1: Medieval rule and the Feudal System
2.2: Revolts and rebellions
2.3: New buildings
2.4: The Domesday Book
2.5: Life in the manor


3: The sons of William I


3.1: William II (1087–1100)
3.2: Henry I (1100–35)
3.3: Matilda
3.4: The Church
3.5: Monasteries and nunneries


4: From civil war to Henry II


4.1: Stephen (1135–54)
4.2: Henry II (1154–89)
4.3: Thomas Becket
4.4: Eleanor of Aquitaine and the sons of Henry II


5: Richard I, the Crusades and King John


5.1: The First Crusade
5.2: Richard I (1189–99) and the Third Crusade
5.3: John and the Angevin Empire
5.4: John and the Church
5.5: Magna Carta


6: Henry III and the Edwards


6.1: Henry III (1216–72)
6.2: Edward I (1272–1307)
6.3: Wales and Scotland
6.4: Edward II (1307–27)
6.5: The fall of Edward II
6.6: Edward III (1327–77)
6.7: The Battle of Crécy, 26 August 1346
6.8: The last years of Edward III


7: Life in the Middle Ages


7.1: Castles
7.2: The Jews
7.3: Medieval women
7.4: Medieval health and the Black Death


8: Richard II and life in the towns


8.1: Richard II (1377–99) and the Peasants’ Revolt
8.2: The fall of Richard II
8.3: Towns
8.4: Guilds
8.5: Town government, law and order


9: The three Henrys


9.1: Henry IV (1399–1413)
9.2: Henry V (1413–22)
9.3: The Battle of Agincourt, 25 October 1415
9.4: Joan of Arc
9.5: Henry VI (1422–71)
9.6: The coming of civil war


10: The Wars of the Roses


10.1: The first war (1459–61)
10.2: Edward IV (1461–83)
10.3: The second war (1470–71)
10.4: Edward V and Richard III (1483–85)
10.5: The Battle of Bosworth, 22 August 1485




B: The Making of the United Kingdom: 1485–1750


11: Henry VII (1485–1509)


11.1: Securing the throne
11.2: The two pretenders
11.3: The tax rebellions
11.4: Foreign policy


12: Henry VIII (1509–47)


12.1: Early life and reign
12.2: Thomas Wolsey
12.3: The rise of Protestantism
12.4: The King’s Great Matter
12.5: Cromwell and the Reformation
12.6: The six wives of Henry VIII


13: Edward VI (1547–53) and Mary I (1553–58)


13.1: Edward VI and the Protestant surge
13.2: Lady Jane Grey and Mary I
13.3: Wyatt’s Rebellion (1554)
13.4: The Catholic resurgence


14: Elizabeth I (1558–1603)


14.1: Early life and reign
14.2: The Elizabethan Settlement
14.3: Mary, Queen of Scots
14.4: War with Spain
14.5: Elizabeth’s government


15: Life in the sixteenth century


15.1: Trade
15.2: Poverty and the Poor Laws
15.3: Town and country
15.4: Women in the sixteenth century


16: James I (1603–25) and Charles I (1625–49)


16.1: James I and religion
16.2: James I and Parliament
16.3: Charles I and religion
16.4: Charles I and Parliament
16.5: Causes of the Civil War


17: Civil War (1642–49) and the Interregnum (1649–60)


17.1: The English Civil War
17.2: The Battle of Marston Moor, 2 July 1644
17.3: Oliver Cromwell and the New Model Army
17.4: The trial and execution of Charles I
17.5: Cromwell and Parliament
17.6: Ireland and Scotland
17.7: Richard Cromwell and the Restoration


18: Charles II (1660–85) and James II (1685–88)


18.1: Charles II
18.2: Plague and fire
18.3: Charles II and religion
18.4: James II and the Monmouth Rebellion
18.5: The Glorious Revolution
18.6: Culture and science


19: William III and Mary II (1689–1702) and Anne (1702–14)


19.1: William III and Mary II
19.2: Ireland and France
19.3: The Act of Settlement (1701)
19.4: Anne and war with France
19.5: The Battle of Blenheim, 13 August 1704
19.6: The Act of Union (1707)


20: George I (1714–27) and George II (1727–60)


20.1: George I and the 1715 Jacobite Rebellion
20.2: Parliament and Walpole
20.3: Trade and the empire
20.4: George II and war with Europe
20.5: The 1745 Jacobite Rebellion




C: Britain and Empire: 1750–1914


21: The Seven Years’ War


21.1: Background
21.2: William Pitt the Elder
21.3: Wolfe and the fall of Quebec
21.4: British victories and the end of the campaign


22: The American Rebellion and World War


22.1: Background
22.2: The outbreak of war
22.3: The early war
22.4: The later war


23: The French Revolution and the Napoleonic Wars


23.1: The French Revolution
23.2: William Pitt the Younger
23.3: Horatio Nelson
23.4: The Trafalgar campaign
23.5: Arthur Wellesley, Duke of Wellington
23.6: The Waterloo campaign


24: Dissent and calls for political reform, 1815–48


24.1: The rise of protest
24.2: The Reform Acts
24.3: Chartism


25: The Agricultural and Industrial Revolutions


25.1: The Agricultural Revolution
25.2: The Industrial Revolution
25.3: Public health


26: The transportation revolution


26.1: Roads
26.2: Canals
26.3: Rail
26.4: Telford and Brunel


27: Social and industrial reform


27.1: The slave trade
27.2: The abolition movement
27.3: Prison reform
27.4: Poor Law reform
27.5: Employment reform


28: Religious life, 1750–1914


28.1: Catholicism and the Oxford Movement
28.2: Methodism and the Evangelical movement


29: Victorian England: success, war and politics


29.1: Victoria’s life
29.2: Victorian politics
29.3: The Great Exhibition
29.4: The Crimean War
29.5: Seacole and Nightingale
29.6: Women's suffrage


30: The British Empire and the road to war


30.1: India
30.2: The Indian Mutiny
30.3: South Africa
30.4: The Anglo-Boer War, 1899–1902
30.5: Great Power rivalries, 1871–1914




ii: Essay question answers
iii: Test yourself answers
Appendix 1: Timelines


iv: The monarchs of England, 1066–1485
v: The monarchs of England, 1485–1750
vi: The monarchs of Great Britain and the United Kingdom, 1750–1900


Appendix 2: Family trees


vii: For Chapters 1–2
viii: For Chapters 3–5
ix: For Chapter 6
x: For Chapters 8–11
xi: For Chapters 12–14
xii: For Chapters 16–20
xiii: For Chapters 21–30