History A-Level Induction Task

The English Revolution

As part of your course you will be studying the development of the Stuart Kings’ relationship with Parliament and the people. Between 1625 and 1660 England underwent a revolution that saw the Civil War, Regicide, The Establishment of a Republic and finally a return to Monarchy. As part of your induction you will need to investigate a range of factors that brought England to Civil War with the armies of the King, Charles I and Parliament under the rule of Oliver Cromwell battling for supremacy. The purpose of this assignment is to give you an overview of the causes as it is important that you have a general understanding of the time period first before engaging it in depth.

  1. Read the photocopied chapterdescribing the causes of the English Civil War and conduct your own research on the causes of the English Civil War
  2. Create notes on a range of long and short term causes (approximately half a page each).
  3. Respond to the essay question below:

Assignment Title: “The issue of taxation was the most important cause of The English Civil War”. How far do you agree with this statement?

You need to consider the weight of each of these causes – are some more significant than others? Why would this be? Consider the issue of Long and Short term (trigger) causes how did they combine together to lead to the English Civil War? Was the war inevitable? Could it have been avoided? Include any wider reading and ideas from your research.

Long TermFactors and links / Short Term Factors
  • Charles’ personality – how did his viewpoint shape his policy to the following areas? -
  • Money – what did Charles’ determination to collect ship money illustrate about his personality?
  • Religion – why was Charles so determined to force changes on the Church?
  • Parliament – how did Charles’s obstinacy create tension?
/
  • The Grand Remonstrance
  • The Irish Rebellion
  • Arrest of 5 MPs
  • Religious Division
  • The Army
  • The 19 Propositions

Quality of Response / Criteria
Excellent / A detailed response which explains how three or more long term (Conditional) factors led to war and is able to show links between them (interdependence). The response will also explain how trigger (Contingent) factors affected the timeframe of the lead up to war and why civil war broke out in 1642 rather than at points before or after. The response is supported by evidence from a range of historical sources and reaches a clear judgment about the relative importance of factors leading to war supported by evidence and argument.
Good / A detailed response which explains how three or more long term (Conditional) factors led to war .The response will also explain how trigger (Contingent) factors sparked of the war. The response is supported by evidence from a range of historical sources and reaches a judgement about the relative importance of the factors.
Satisfactory / A detailed response which describes how three or more long term (Conditional) factors led to war .The response will also describe how some trigger (Contingent) factors sparked of the war. The response is supported by evidence from a some historical sources
Unsatisfactory / Identifies some long and short term causes of the Civil War. Suggests why one causal factor may be most important.