OCR GCSE History B (Schools History Project) Component 42 November 2021 question paper

In Interpretation A, historian Antonia Fraser argues that Mary Queen of Scots was treated unfairly at her trial.

Identify and explain one way in which she does this.

Interpretation A

An extract from ‘Mary Queen of Scots’, a 1969 book by historian Antonia Fraser.

At the trial Mary was allowed neither lawyer nor witnesses in her defence; she was not even allowed a secretary to help her prepare her own case as her own secretaries were imprisoned in London. She was left totally alone, a sick woman and a foreigner, who knew nothing of England, its laws, or customs, and had only begun to learn its language comparatively late in life. She was left alone to conduct and manage her own defence against the best legal brains in the country.

If you were asked to do further research on one aspect of Interpretation A, what would you choose to investigate? Explain how this would help us to analyse and understand the problems that Mary Queen of

Scots caused Elizabeth.

Interpretations B and C both focus on daily life in Elizabethan society.

How far do they differ and what might explain any differences?

() Spelling, punctuation and grammar and the use of specialist terminology

Interpretation B An image and extract from the website for Kentwell Hall in Suffolk. Kentwell Hall is a stately home where the public can pay to see re-creations of daily life in Elizabethan times.

STEP BACK IN TIME

At Kentwell, our Tudor days are the biggest and most authentic Tudor experience you will get anywhere. Everywhere around you is the Tudor age. Relax into it and spend a day in the sixteenth century! Our Tudors re-create a whole Tudor community: the dress, speech, food, drink, music, dance, crafts, activities, pleasures and way of life. Visitors feel they have been transported back to a real sixteenth-century community, where everyone depended on and looked after each other.

The Tudor period was the period 1485 to 1603 when the monarchs were all from the Tudor family (including Elizabeth I).

Interpretation C An extract from a BBC history programme for secondary school students, based on the book ‘The Time Traveller’s Guide to Elizabethan England’ by historian Ian Mortimer.

Elizabethan society is dominated by the rich and powerful, but this is a world enjoyed by a privileged few. For most people, life is very different.

There is widespread poverty, and many people struggle to feed and house their families. The punishments for even the smallest crimes are harsh, and disease is everywhere. It has been known for some people feeling the symptoms of plague to simply wait for death.

On arrival in any town, you’ll be drawn instantly to the hustle and bustle of the market. Cooked meats, pies and pasties are all on offer, and so are tasty treats. But they are expensive – you might only stretch to buy some herbs or an onion to make a soup. And as the day ends, the town seems less friendly and safe. In fact, after dark, it’s terrifying. Where there is poverty, there is often crime. Most young men carry a dagger.

3* In an article for a British newspaper in 2016, historian John Guy argued that ‘to see Elizabeth as all-powerful is a big mistake’.

How far do you agree with this view of the power of Elizabeth between 1580 and 1603?

() Spelling, punctuation and grammar and the use of specialist terminology

4* According to the website www.elizabethanenglandlife.com, the Elizabethan explorers were successful in ‘exploring distant lands to gain wealth and power’. How far do you agree with this view of the achievements of Elizabethan adventurers between

1580 and 1603?

() Spelling, punctuation and grammar and the use of specialist terminology