Henry VIII and his Ministers, 1509-40 Exam Questions

Describe questions (4 marks)

Describe two features of

o Wolsey’s rise to power

o The Treaty of London (1518)
o The Field of Cloth of Gold, 1520
o The Amicable Grant (1525)

Describe two features of

o Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon
o The opposition to the annulment
o The Boleyn faction

Describe two features of

o His personality that helped Cromwell become Chief Minister

o Cromwell’s work as Chief Minister
o Cromwell’s role in the fall of Anne Boleyn

Describe two features of

o Cromwell’s management and use of Parliament

o Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves
o England’s government and control of Ireland

Describe two features of

o The English church after the Reformation
o The Act of Supremacy of 1534
o Opposition of the Reformation

Describe two features of

o The Dissolution of the Monasteries

o The Pilgrimage of Grace
Describe two features of
o The Pilgrimage of Grace, 1536
o Henry’s marriage to Catherine of Aragon, 1509
o Cardinal Wolsey’s financial reforms, 1519 – 1529
o Cardinal Wolsey’s fall from power, 1529-30
o Cromwell’s enforcement of the English Reformation

Explain questions (12 marks)

• Explain why Wolsey’s foreign policy did not win military glory for Henry VIII

• Explain why Wolsey’s domestic reforms were not as successful as he wished

• Explain why Henry VIII failed to get an annulment of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon

• Explain why Cromwell rose to power to be King Henry’s Chief Minister

• Explain why Cromwell made reforms of the Government in the 1530’s

 • Explain why Cromwell fell from power in 1540

• Explain why there was an opposition to the break with Rome

• Explain why Sir Thomas More was executed in 1535

• Explain Thomas Cromwell’s role in the enforcement of English Reformation

• Explain why the religious houses were dissolved in the 1530’s

• Explain why the Pilgrimage of Grace failed in 1536

• Explain why Cardinal Wolsey fell from power in 1529-30.

You may use the following in your answer:
- The failure of the divorce proceedings in London, 1529
- The influence of the Boleyns

You must also use information of your own.

Essay questions (16 marks)

• ‘Wolsey’s desire for peace was the main reason why Henry VIII did not achieve military success 1515-25’.
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘Wolsey’s failure to gain an annulment of Henry’s marriage was the main reason why he fell from power in
1529’.How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘The main reason for Anne Boleyns execution was that she did not give birth to a son’. How far do you
agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘The most important consequence of Cromwell’s reforms of government was to the role of Parliament’. How
far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘The main reason for Henry’s campaign against the Pope and the Catholic Church was his wish to annul his
marriage to Catherine of Aragon’. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘The main consequence of the Dissolution of the Monasteries was that the King became much wealthier’.
How far do you agree? Explain your answer.

• ‘The main cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace was the Dissolution of the Monasteries’. How far do you agree?
Explain your answer.

• ‘The main cause of the Pilgrimage of Grace was the Dissolution of the Monasteries’. How far do you agree?
Explain your answer. You may use the following in your answer – impact on the poor, the redistribution of
land to the King and nobles. You must also use information of your own.

• ‘Thomas Cromwell’s arrangement of Henry’s marriage to Anne of Cleves was the main reason for Cromwell’s
fall from power in 1540’. How far do you agree? Explain your answer.
You may use the following in your answer:
- the influence of the Duke of Norfolk
- the accusations of treason.
You must also use information of your own.