AQA A-level History · 2B

The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499

Exam-style questions with answers for 2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 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 2B, Part one
State two reasons why Henry VI was a weak ruler. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: he was pious and easily influenced (1); he relied on favourites such as Suffolk and Somerset (1); he suffered a mental collapse in 1453 (1); the crown was in debt (1).
Question 2 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened in France by 1453? [1 mark]
Answer:
England lost all its French lands except Calais.
Question 3 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was Cade’s Rebellion (1450)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A Kentish rising against corrupt royal government that briefly took London.
Question 4 · Spec 2B, Part one
Why did Richard, Duke of York, become a threat? [2 marks]
Answer:
He was the wealthiest noble with a strong claim to the throne (1); he resented exclusion from power by Somerset (1).
Question 5 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened in 1453 that strengthened York? [2 marks]
Answer:
Henry VI suffered a mental breakdown (1); York was made Protector in 1454 (1).
Question 6 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at the first Battle of St Albans (1455)? [1 mark]
Answer:
York defeated the royal forces and Somerset was killed.
Question 7 · Spec 2B, Part one
Who was Margaret of Anjou? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry VI’s queen, who led the Lancastrian cause after 1455.
Question 8 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was the Loveday (1458)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A ceremony in which the factions walked in procession to show reconciliation; it did not last.
Question 9 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Ludford Bridge (1459)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Yorkist army collapsed and its leaders fled into exile.
Question 10 · Spec 2B, Part one
Who was Warwick ‘the Kingmaker’? [1 mark]
Answer:
Richard Neville, Earl of Warwick, the most powerful Yorkist ally, who later changed sides.
Question 11 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was the Act of Accord (1460)? [1 mark]
Answer:
It made York heir to Henry VI, disinheriting Henry’s son Edward.
Question 12 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Wakefield (1460)? [1 mark]
Answer:
York was killed by the Lancastrians.
Question 13 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Towton (1461)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward IV won a decisive victory in the largest battle of the wars.
Question 14 · Spec 2B, Part one
Why did Edward IV’s marriage to Elizabeth Woodville cause problems? [2 marks]
Answer:
It was secret and undermined Warwick’s plans for a French marriage (1); the Woodvilles gained offices and marriages, angering Warwick (1).
Question 15 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was the Readeption (1470–1471)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The brief restoration of Henry VI by Warwick and Margaret of Anjou.
Question 16 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Barnet and Tewkesbury (1471)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Warwick was killed at Barnet (1); Prince Edward of Lancaster was killed at Tewkesbury, and Henry VI died in the Tower soon after (1).
Question 17 · Spec 2B, Part one
Define the term ‘bastard feudalism’. [1 mark]
Answer:
The system in which lords retained followers with money fees and livery, creating private affinities.
Question 18 · Spec 2B, Part one
Who was the Duke of Suffolk? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry VI’s unpopular chief minister, blamed for losses in France and murdered in 1450.
Question 19 · Spec 2B, Part one
Who was Edmund Beaufort, Duke of Somerset? [1 mark]
Answer:
York’s main rival at court, killed at St Albans in 1455.
Question 20 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was the Percy-Neville feud? [1 mark]
Answer:
A rivalry between northern families that drew the Nevilles to York and the Percys to Lancaster.
Question 21 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Blore Heath (1459)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Yorkist Earl of Salisbury defeated a Lancastrian army.
Question 22 · Spec 2B, Part one
What was the Parliament of Devils (1459)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Coventry Parliament that attainted York and his allies.
Question 23 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Northampton (1460)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The Yorkists captured Henry VI.
Question 24 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at the second Battle of St Albans (1461)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Margaret’s army defeated Warwick and recovered Henry VI.
Question 25 · Spec 2B, Part one
Why did London refuse to admit Margaret’s army in 1461? [1 mark]
Answer:
Londoners feared her northern troops would plunder the city.
Question 26 · Spec 2B, Part one
Why did Warwick turn against Edward IV? [2 marks]
Answer:
The Woodville marriage ruined his French alliance plans (1); Edward allied with Burgundy and excluded Warwick from influence (1).
Question 27 · Spec 2B, Part one
What happened at Edgecote (1469)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Warwick’s rebels defeated a royal army, and Edward IV was briefly held captive.
Question 28 · Spec 2B, Part two
State two ways Edward IV strengthened royal authority after 1471. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: improved finances through crown lands and trade (1); the French pension from the Treaty of Picquigny (1475) (1); regional councils, eg in Wales and the North (1).
Question 29 · Spec 2B, Part two
What happened to the Duke of Clarence in 1478? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward IV’s brother was executed for treason.
Question 30 · Spec 2B, Part two
Why did Edward IV’s early death in 1483 cause a crisis? [2 marks]
Answer:
His heir Edward V was 12 (1); there was rivalry between the Woodvilles and Richard of Gloucester (1).
Question 31 · Spec 2B, Part two
How did Richard of Gloucester become king? [2 marks]
Answer:
He took control of Edward V and executed Hastings (1); Parliament declared Edward IV’s children illegitimate in Titulus Regius (1).
Question 32 · Spec 2B, Part two
What were the Princes in the Tower? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward V and his brother Richard, who disappeared in 1483, probably killed.
Question 33 · Spec 2B, Part two
What was Buckingham’s Rebellion (1483)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A failed rising against Richard III, which led some Yorkists to support Henry Tudor.
Question 34 · Spec 2B, Part two
Why was Richard III weak in 1484–1485? [2 marks]
Answer:
His son died in 1484 and his wife in 1485 (1); he relied on northern supporters, and rumours about the princes spread (1).
Question 35 · Spec 2B, Part two
What happened at Bosworth (1485)? [2 marks]
Answer:
Richard III was killed (1); the Stanleys intervened for Henry Tudor (1).
Question 36 · Spec 2B, Part two
What was the Lovell Rebellion (1486)? [1 mark]
Answer:
A failed Yorkist rising led by Viscount Lovell.
Question 37 · Spec 2B, Part two
What happened at Stoke (1487)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry VII defeated the supporters of Lambert Simnel.
Question 38 · Spec 2B, Part two
Who was Margaret of Burgundy? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward IV’s sister, who funded Yorkist pretenders.
Question 39 · Spec 2B, Part two
Who was Perkin Warbeck? [2 marks]
Answer:
A pretender claiming to be Richard of York (1); he was supported by Scotland and joined the Cornish rebels in 1497 but was executed in 1499 (1).
Question 40 · Spec 2B, Part two
Why was the Earl of Warwick executed in 1499? [1 mark]
Answer:
He was the last male Yorkist claimant, and his death helped secure the Spanish marriage.
Question 41 · Spec 2B, Part two
State two effects of the Wars of the Roses on society. [2 marks]
Answer:
Any two from: limited impact on trade and towns (1); losses among the nobility (1); stronger royal authority by 1499 (1); fighting was intermittent (1).
Question 42 · Spec 2B, Part two
What was the Treaty of Picquigny (1475)? [1 mark]
Answer:
Edward IV invaded France but agreed to withdraw in return for a large pension.
Question 43 · Spec 2B, Part two
How did Edward IV improve royal finances? [1 mark]
Answer:
By managing crown lands through the chamber, trade, benevolences and the French pension.
Question 44 · Spec 2B, Part two
Who were the Woodvilles? [1 mark]
Answer:
Queen Elizabeth’s family, whose influence was resented by older nobility.
Question 45 · Spec 2B, Part two
Why did Hastings support Richard of Gloucester in 1483? [1 mark]
Answer:
He opposed Woodville control of Edward V.
Question 46 · Spec 2B, Part two
Why was Hastings executed in June 1483? [1 mark]
Answer:
Richard saw him as an obstacle to taking the throne.
Question 47 · Spec 2B, Part two
What was Titulus Regius (1484)? [1 mark]
Answer:
The act declaring Edward IV’s marriage invalid and his children illegitimate.
Question 48 · Spec 2B, Part two
Who was Margaret Beaufort? [1 mark]
Answer:
Henry Tudor’s mother, who plotted to bring him to the throne.
Question 49 · Spec 2B, Part two
What did Henry Tudor promise in 1483 to win Yorkist support? [1 mark]
Answer:
To marry Elizabeth of York.
Question 50 · Spec 2B, Part two
Who were the Stanleys? [1 mark]
Answer:
A powerful family whose late intervention at Bosworth won the battle for Henry.

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The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499

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