AQA GCSE HISTORY - Britain: Migration, Empires and the People Part 1

Question 1

Invasion

Who Were the Vikings?

Answer 1

In the mid-700s, the people of Scandinavia began to explore, raid, and invade countries around them. They travelled across Europe looking for land and riches. These ‘Northmen’ became known as the Vikings and began to raid Britain in the 790s AD.

Question 2

Invasion

Why Did the Vikings Attack Britain?

Answer 2

The Vikings started to attack Britain in 790s AD because they had previously traded goods with the Anglos Saxons in England for many years, and knew of their wealth. The first recorded attack was on the monastery at Lindisfarne in 793 AD, and the Vikings continued to return for the next few years.

Question 3

Invasion

Viking Settlement in Britain

Answer 3

The Vikings had a lot in common with the Anglo-Saxons, even though they fought every time the Vikings came to Britain. They were both farming communities and both looked to new lands to improve their opportunities. This is why the Vikings settled in Britain in places like Jorvik (York). Britain provided a better landscape and more space for the Vikings to farm and grow crops, and many younger brothers in families left to settle for a new life in Britain.

Question 4

Invasion

Danelaw

Answer 4

The Vikings that settled in Britain took over areas of Britain like Northumbria and East Anglia. The Vikings attempted to take over Wessex a number of times, but failed due to Alfred’s great leadership, so the two leaders made peace, after the Battle of Eddington in 878AD. In this, the Viking leader became a Christian and Alfred had to accept the Vikings were staying. Territory which was controlled by the Vikings, in which Viking laws held sway and Vikings dominated over Anglo Saxon native population there was called ‘Danelaw’.

Question 5

Invasion

Alfred the Great

Answer 5

Alfred became the King of Wessex in 871 AD and died in 899 AD. He was known as Alfred the Great for three main reasons:
- Alfred took the most just laws from other kingdoms and used them for his

• Alfred ensured there would be no further Viking attacks through defences (burhs & fortifications of existing town e.g. Oxford) and agreements
• Alfred became the ‘overlord’ (the first person to have ruled over most of the kingdoms in England).

Question 6

Invasion

English Identity

(Alfred)

Answer 6

Before Alfred, England was split into many kingdoms with many rulers, with each believing they had their own land. Under Alfred a new found unitity of England formed and from this, the idea of English identity began. As other kingdoms saw Alfred as their overlord, the people united and saw themselves as Angelcynn (English).

Question 7

Invasion

Impact of the Vikings

Answer 7

The Vikings had a positive and negative impact on England.

• Caused death and destruction through raids
• Settled in Danelaw, forcing Anglo Saxons to become second class citizens
• Introduced new ways of making things (farming, crafts, amber, different foods, slavery).
• Introduced new language, many words of which we still use today like ‘Thursday’ and ‘Dirt’

Question 8

Invasion

Emma of Normandy

Answer 8

• Helped legitimise Cnuts rule because she was widow of Aethelred
• Mother of 2 Kings of England, Cnut’s son Harthacnut, Aethelred’s son Edward.
• possessed large areas of land and wealth, made her influential. She also had links with the town of winchester.
• Strong connection with church and was a supporter of Stigand who became Archbishop of Canterbury, and helped strengthen Christianity in England

Question 9

Invasion

Cnut’s gain of throne and loss of throne

Answer 9

Cnut was Forkbeard’s son. Forkbeard attempted to raid and take over England again, when Aethelred was out of the country. The country fell into disarray. After some fighting, Cnut took the throne of King of England, but was fought off when Aethlered returned and Cnut went back to Denmark. However, this was not the last England saw of Cnut!

Question 10

Invasion

Cnut regains the throne

Answer 10

Cnut returned and fought off Edmund. Edmund was given Wessex (one of several Kingdoms of England at the time) to rule over, whilst Cnut reigned over the rest of the country.

Question 11

Invasion

Cnut as ruler

Answer 11

Saw England as the most important kingdom. It had good trade systems and resources. Cnut did whatever he could to keep power, including working hard to please the English people he ruled over. He became a fair and just leader and brought peace to the land and because of this became known as Cnut ‘the great’.

Question 12

Invasion

Emma & Cnut’s children

Answer 12

Emma, now Aethelred’s widow, married Cnut in order to bring greater stability to England. They had a son Harthacnut. Both Harthacnut, and Cnut’s first son with a different wife, Harold ‘Harefoot’, were hated by the English people and both had very short reigns over England, after Cnut died. In 1042 AD Harthacnut died without children and the throne went to his brother-in-law Edward ‘the Confessor’.

Question 13

Invasion

North Sea Empire

Answer 13

• England, Denmark & Norway
• England developed closer ties w/ Scandanavia
• trade & cultural exchange increased

Question 14

Normans

Battle for throne

Answer 14

In January 1066 AD Harold Godwinson was made King of England by the Witan (a council that appointed the King of England). But in the summer of 1066 William the Conqueror fought Harold Godwinson in the Battle of Hastings to become King of England and won. William the Conqueror beat Harold Godwinson due to several reasons including luck, weather and the weakness of the opposition.

Question 15

Normans

French Influence

Answer 15

• land taken from English
• English taxes went to Normans
• William spent 1/2 time in France
• French customs introduced
• French language of those in power
• Built Churches, Cathedrals and monastries

Question 16

Angevin Empire

Henry’s significance

Answer 16

Henry was seen as the most powerful leader in Europe at the time. Henry grew and reigned over a wide empire. Henry’s Angevin Empire was significant at the time as it was the largest empire an English King had ruled over. It changed the way England was seen, particularly its relations with Ireland.

Question 17

Angevin Empire

Invasion Ireland

Answer 17

1. 1166 Irish ‘King’ asked for help against another Irish ‘King’
2. By mid-1170’s English controlled more land than English
   - Henry’s army of knights and barons used it as an opportunity to seze land for themselves
   - Henry used his control over Ireland to build new fortifications and to develop Ireland as a centre for commerce. THis gave henry extra money and defence against invading forces.

Question 18

King John

John and Barons

Answer 18

• John imposed heavy taxes on the Barons (in order to pay for his expensive foreign wars)
• If the Barons refused to pay him, John punished them severely with violence or through taking away their property.
• upset at poor military leadership and losing foreign wars (losing the territory of the Angevin Empire)
• Raising taxes upset them
• Ignoring his advisors annoyed them
• Horror at the idea he could murder his own nephew
• Quarrelling with the Pope upset them
  The Barons fought against John in the First Barons War and captured London. The Barons and King John met Runnymede and negotiated. The terms of the negotiations were recorded in a document called the ‘Magna Carta’ (translated as the ‘Great Charter’), which John signed. The charter set out the rights and duties, of the King of England and the Barons. It also gave every free man the right to justice and a fair trial.

Question 19

King John

John and France

Answer 19

John fought King Philip II of France. He tried and failed to protect his French territory and protect his Angevin Empire. Throughout his reign, John lost the Northern territories of France including Anjou, Normandy, Brittany, and Maine.

Question 20

King John

Johns Significance to England

Answer 20

• Saw the end of the Angevin Empire (having lost most of the territory in France, including Anjou, his reign marked the end of the Angevin Empire)
• Left England’s economy in economic ruin (having spent so much money on foreign war and raising taxes too high, which resulted in the Barons and his subjects refusing to pay them and Civil War to break out)
• His reign saw the creation of the ‘Magna Carta’, which still has a legacy on the rights to law, justice, and a fair trial we claim today.

Question 21

birth of English identity

Causes of the Hundred Years War

Answer 21

In 1337 AD, King Edward III of England claimed the French throne and declared war on France. The Hundred Years War broke out for 4 main reasons:
- King Edward wanted the throne of France. He felt it was his right, as his mother was the daughter of King Philip IV.
- France threatened to take Gascony territory from England (England made wine in England and the wine tax revenue from the wine went to the English Crown).
- France threatened to take further territory from England - territory in which England was turning English wool into cloth to sell abroad and therefore the loss of this territory would make England poorer
- Edward was in conflict with Scotland at the time and the French said they would help Scotland against him.

Question 22

birth of English identity

Events of the Hundred Years War

Answer 22

It is debated how long the Hundred Years War lasted - roughly from 1337 AD to 1453 AD - it spanned three different English Kings. Most of the fighting was done on French land, and was split into three phases:
- In the first phase, things went well for the English, they gaining land and winning battles.
- In the second phase things went better for the French, as they won back some of the land that they had lost.
- The final stage was good for the English under King Henry V. The English saw victory against the French, despite the odds, in the Battle of Agincourt 1415 AD. The English conquered Northern France. However, the French did not give up. The French fought back under the leadership of a 17-year old Joan of Arc, who beat the English in many military campaigns, until she was captured and burnt at the stake in 1431 AD.