AQA A-level History · 1B

Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598 (A-level only)

Exam-style questions with answers for 1B Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598 (A-level only) in AQA A-level History (spec 7042). Practise with flashcards, a topic quiz, a random quiz across the course, 5 crosswords, or read every question and answer below.

All questions and answers

Question 1 · Spec 1B, Part one
Why was the marriage of Ferdinand and Isabella in 1469 significant? [2 marks]
Answer:
It united the heirs of Aragon and Castile (1); it created a personal union, though each kingdom kept its own laws and institutions (1).
Question 2 · Spec 1B, Part one
State two problems facing Castile in 1469. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: civil war and disputed succession (1); over-mighty nobles (1); weak royal finances (1); lawlessness (1).
Question 3 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was the Santa Hermandad? [1 mark]
Answer:
A royal police force set up in Castile in 1476 to restore law and order.
Question 4 · Spec 1B, Part one
Explain how Ferdinand and Isabella restored royal authority over the nobility. [2 marks]
Answer:
They used the Act of Resumption (1480) to recover crown lands and revenue (1); they gained control of the wealthy military orders (1).
Question 5 · Spec 1B, Part one
What were corregidores? [1 mark]
Answer:
Royal officials sent to oversee town councils in Castile.
Question 6 · Spec 1B, Part one
When was Granada conquered? [1 mark]
Answer:
January 1492, ending the Reconquista.
Question 7 · Spec 1B, Part one
What happened to the Jews of Spain in 1492? [2 marks]
Answer:
They were ordered to convert to Christianity or leave (1); many left, while converts (conversos) remained under suspicion (1).
Question 8 · Spec 1B, Part one
When was the Spanish Inquisition established, and against whom was it mainly directed at first? [2 marks]
Answer:
1478 (1); conversos suspected of secretly practising Judaism (1).
Question 9 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who were the Moriscos? [1 mark]
Answer:
Muslims in Spain who were forced to convert to Christianity, from 1502 in Castile.
Question 10 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who sponsored Columbus’s voyage of 1492? [1 mark]
Answer:
Isabella of Castile.
Question 11 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was the Treaty of Tordesillas (1494)? [1 mark]
Answer:
An agreement dividing newly discovered lands outside Europe between Spain and Portugal along a line west of the Cape Verde Islands.
Question 12 · Spec 1B, Part one
Explain why the degree of unity in Spain by 1516 was limited. [2 marks]
Answer:
Castile and Aragon kept separate laws, Cortes and currencies (1); Aragon’s fueros limited royal power (1).
Question 13 · Spec 1B, Part one
What did Charles I inherit by 1519? [2 marks]
Answer:
Castile, Aragon, Naples and the Americas from his Spanish grandparents, and the Burgundian Netherlands (1); the Habsburg lands, and election as Holy Roman Emperor Charles V in 1519 (1).
Question 14 · Spec 1B, Part one
Explain why the Comuneros revolted (1520–1521). [2 marks]
Answer:
Castilians resented Charles’s Flemish advisers and taxes (1); they feared he would neglect Spain as Emperor (1).
Question 15 · Spec 1B, Part one
How was the Comuneros revolt defeated? [1 mark]
Answer:
The nobility sided with the crown, and the rebels were defeated at Villalar in 1521.
Question 16 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was the Germanía? [1 mark]
Answer:
A revolt of urban guilds in Valencia and Majorca (1519–1523) against the nobility.
Question 17 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was conciliar government? [2 marks]
Answer:
Government through specialist councils, such as the Council of State and the Council of Castile (1); secretaries linked them to the king (1).
Question 18 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who was Francisco de los Cobos? [1 mark]
Answer:
Charles’s chief secretary and financial administrator in Spain.
Question 19 · Spec 1B, Part one
State two of Charles’s wars in Europe. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: the Habsburg-Valois Wars with France over Italy (1); wars against the Ottoman Turks, eg Tunis 1535 (1); conflict with German Protestant princes (1).
Question 20 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who conquered the Aztec and Inca empires? [2 marks]
Answer:
Hernán Cortés conquered the Aztecs (1519–1521) (1); Francisco Pizarro conquered the Incas (from 1532) (1).
Question 21 · Spec 1B, Part one
State two economic effects of the New World on Spain. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: imports of silver and gold (1); inflation (the ‘price revolution’) (1); growth of Seville as the trade port (1); silver used to pay royal debts to foreign bankers (1).
Question 22 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was the Casa de Contratación? [1 mark]
Answer:
The House of Trade in Seville, set up in 1503 to control trade with the Americas.
Question 23 · Spec 1B, Part one
Describe Charles’s condition and decision in 1556. [2 marks]
Answer:
He was exhausted, in poor health and heavily in debt (1); he abdicated, dividing his lands between his brother Ferdinand and his son Philip (1).
Question 24 · Spec 1B, Part one
State two features of the Spanish nobility’s position under Ferdinand and Isabella. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: kept great estates and social status (1); excluded from key royal councils, which went to letrados (lawyers) (1); military role in the Granada war (1).
Question 25 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who were the letrados? [1 mark]
Answer:
University-trained lawyers who staffed the royal councils and administration.
Question 26 · Spec 1B, Part one
Who was Cardinal Cisneros? [1 mark]
Answer:
Archbishop of Toledo who reformed the Spanish Church and twice acted as regent of Castile.
Question 27 · Spec 1B, Part one
Explain why the Reconquista strengthened the monarchy. [2 marks]
Answer:
It united nobles behind a common crusading cause (1); the conquest of Granada in 1492 gave Ferdinand and Isabella huge prestige, and the Pope named them the Catholic Monarchs (1).
Question 28 · Spec 1B, Part one
What was the Mesta? [1 mark]
Answer:
The powerful association of sheep owners in Castile, protected by the crown for its wool exports.
Question 29 · Spec 1B, Part one
What happened to Isabella’s inheritance after her death in 1504? [1 mark]
Answer:
Castile passed to her daughter Joanna and her husband Philip of Burgundy; Ferdinand became regent after Philip died in 1506.
Question 30 · Spec 1B, Part two
State two features of Philip II’s character as ruler. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: hard-working and bureaucratic (‘the paper king’) (1); devoutly Catholic (1); cautious and slow to decide (1); suspicious of advisers (1).
Question 31 · Spec 1B, Part two
Why did Philip II make Madrid his capital and build the Escorial? [2 marks]
Answer:
Madrid was central in Castile and became the permanent seat of government in 1561 (1); the Escorial was a palace, monastery and royal mausoleum (1).
Question 32 · Spec 1B, Part two
Name the two court factions under Philip II. [2 marks]
Answer:
The Eboli faction led by Ruy Gómez (1); the Alba faction led by the Duke of Alba (1).
Question 33 · Spec 1B, Part two
Who was Antonio Pérez? [2 marks]
Answer:
Philip’s secretary, involved in the murder of Escobedo in 1578 (1); he fled to Aragon, which led to the revolt of Aragon in 1591 (1).
Question 34 · Spec 1B, Part two
What was the revolt of the Alpujarras (1568–1570)? [2 marks]
Answer:
A Morisco rebellion in Granada against restrictions on their culture (1); after its defeat, Moriscos were dispersed across Castile (1).
Question 35 · Spec 1B, Part two
Explain why Philip II went bankrupt several times. [2 marks]
Answer:
The cost of constant wars exceeded revenue (1); despite American silver, he defaulted in 1557, 1560, 1575 and 1596 (1).
Question 36 · Spec 1B, Part two
What was the millones tax? [1 mark]
Answer:
A tax on basic foodstuffs agreed by the Cortes of Castile in 1590 after the Armada.
Question 37 · Spec 1B, Part two
Name two figures of Spain’s ‘Golden Age’ culture. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: El Greco (1); Cervantes (1); Teresa of Ávila (1); Lope de Vega (1); John of the Cross (1).
Question 38 · Spec 1B, Part two
State the role of the Jesuits in Spain. [1 mark]
Answer:
Founded by the Spaniard Ignatius Loyola, they spread Catholic education and missions.
Question 39 · Spec 1B, Part two
What was the Treaty of Cateau-Cambrésis (1559)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The peace with France that confirmed Spanish dominance in Italy.
Question 40 · Spec 1B, Part two
What happened at Lepanto (1571)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Holy League fleet, led by Don John of Austria, defeated the Ottoman fleet.
Question 41 · Spec 1B, Part two
How did Philip II gain Portugal? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Portuguese king died without an heir in 1580 (1); Philip had a strong claim and Alba invaded, so Philip became king of Portugal (1).
Question 42 · Spec 1B, Part two
State two causes of the Dutch Revolt. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: persecution of Protestants (1); taxation, eg the Tenth Penny (1); Spanish troops and Alba’s Council of Troubles (1); loss of noble privileges (1).
Question 43 · Spec 1B, Part two
State two reasons why Philip sent the Armada in 1588. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: English support for the Dutch rebels (1); English attacks on Spanish treasure fleets (1); the execution of Mary Queen of Scots (1); to restore Catholicism in England (1).
Question 44 · Spec 1B, Part two
What was the Treaty of Vervins (1598)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Peace between Spain and France, with Spain returning conquests and accepting Henry IV.
Question 45 · Spec 1B, Part two
Explain whether Spain’s position by 1598 was illusion or reality. [2 marks]
Answer:
Reality: Spain ruled a global empire and held Portugal and much of Italy (1). Illusion: it was bankrupt, the northern Netherlands were lost and the Armada had failed (1).
Question 46 · Spec 1B, Part two
How did Philip II govern Portugal after 1580? [1 mark]
Answer:
Through a separate Council of Portugal, promising to respect Portuguese laws and institutions.
Question 47 · Spec 1B, Part two
Who was the Duke of Alba? [1 mark]
Answer:
Philip II’s general who suppressed the Dutch Revolt harshly from 1567 with the Council of Troubles.
Question 48 · Spec 1B, Part two
What was the Spanish Fury (1576)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The sack of Antwerp by unpaid Spanish troops, which united the Dutch provinces against Spain.
Question 49 · Spec 1B, Part two
State two achievements of the Spanish empire in the New World under Philip II. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: silver from Potosí (1); conquest of the Philippines (1565 onwards) (1); expansion of settlements in New Spain and Peru (1).
Question 50 · Spec 1B, Part two
Explain why Philip II struggled to defeat the Dutch rebels. [2 marks]
Answer:
Distance and the Spanish Road made supply difficult (1); he was distracted by wars with the Turks, France and England (1).

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Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598 (A-level only)

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