1.3.5 Vikings and Anglo-Saxons

Question 1

How might the English have defeated their Viking invaders? (2)

Answer 1

• The English would have had a much better chance of defeating their invaders if they had worked together
• The seven English kingdoms wasted a lot of energy and resources fighting each other instead of the Vikings

Question 2

Why was King John unpopular in England? (2)

Answer 2

• He imposed heavy taxes to fund his war with France
• His war with France resulted in the humiliating loss of Normandy

Question 3

What were the consequences of the Hundred Years’ war for England (2)

Answer 3

• The English victories fuelled a sense of English pride
• England lost all its territory in France apart from Calais

Question 4

Why were the crofters forced off their crofts in the Highland Clearances? (2)

Answer 4

• In the late 1700s and early 1800s wealthy landowners decided that they wanted to modernise their land
• They could make more money if they merged many small crofts into large farms. They could use this land for sheep farming. Working on a larger scale would increase productivity and profits

Question 5

How did the Reformation affect the relationship between England and Ireland? (3)

Answer 5

• By the seventeenth century most of Britain had converted to Protestantism but Ireland remained Catholic
• The English saw this as confirmation that Ireland was a savage and backward country that needed to be civilized
• The Reformation had also increased tensions between Britain and Catholic countries on the continent. England worried that Catholic Spain might team up with Ireland to challenge it