Random history stuff

Question 1

Who where the 4 kings of the Norman period? And what dates did they reign?

Answer 1

1) William The Conqueror (1st)- 1066-1087
2) William II (Rufus) 1087-1100
3) Henry I - 1100-1135
4) Stephen 1135-1154

Question 2

Name some key points of Henry I:

Answer 2

Youngest son of William the Conqueror

Called the ‘Lion of Justice’

Daughter- Matilda who was made successor but seen as unfit to rule so gave the throne to William the Conqueror’s grandson (Stephen)

No male hier as both his sons died on the White Ship

Question 3

Name some key points of Stephen 1135-1154:

Answer 3

Weak king- nearly destroyed country with raids from Scots and the Welsh

Matilda invaded from Anjou in 1139

Made treaty/ compromise named the ‘Treaty of Westminster’- Matilda’s son Henry Plantagenet would succeed the throne when Stephen died

Question 4

Give the name and dates of the next line of kings- The Plantagenet Kings:

Answer 4

1) Henry II 1154-1189
2) Richard I (The Lionheart) 1189-1199
3) John 1199-1216
4) Henry III 1216-1272

Question 5

Name some key points of Henry II 1154-1189:

Answer 5

Strong king, good soldier, ruled most of France
Laid foundations for the English jury system
Quarrelled with Thomas Becket who was then murdered in 1170

Question 6

Name some key points of Richard I (Lionheart) 1189-1199:

Answer 6

3rd son of Henry II
No children died from arrow-wounded
Held for ransom on way back from Palestine which almost bankrupt the country
Spent most of his return abroad

Question 7

Name some points about John I- 1199-1216:

Answer 7

4th child of Henry II
Jealous of Richard I
Selfish- raised taxes, all elements of society, clerical and at were against him. Pope even excommunicated him
Been termed ‘The worst English King’

Question 8

Name some key points of Henry III- 1216-1272:

Answer 8

9 years old when king
Weak-easily influenced
Brought up by church
Captured during the rebellion of barons (Battle of Lewes) led by Simon de Montfort , forced to set io a ‘parliament’ at Westminster - start if the House of Commons
One of the greatest patrons of medieval architecture-restored Westminster Abbey

Question 9

Name the next kings in the period of Monarchs of England and Wales:

Answer 9

1) Edward I 1272-1307
2) Edward II 1307-1327
3) Edward III 1327-1377
4) Richard II 1377-1399

Question 10

Name some facts about Edward I 1272-1307:

Answer 10

Formed 1295 model Parliament- brought Knights, clergy, Lords and commons together

Defeated Welsh chieftains and started the fist Prince of Wales- his eldest son

Victories in Scotland- ‘Hammer if the Scots’

Question 11

Name some key points of Edward II 1307-1327:

Answer 11

Weak

Lost 1314 Battle of Bannockburn to the Scots

Murdered in Berkeley Castle (red poker thrust up his anus)

Question 12

Name some key points of Edward III 1327-1377

Answer 12

Son of Edward II
Ambition to Conqueror Scotland and France which plunged England into the Hundred Years War (started in 1338)
Outbreak if the ‘Black Death’ in 1348-1350 which killed half the population

Question 13

Name some key points of Richard II- 1377-1399:

Answer 13

Son of Edward III’s son- Edward of Woodstock (never became king died 1 year before his father) but did fulfil achievements and was known as ‘The Black Prince’ (Woodstock- only after death)

Defeated 1381 peasants Revolt led by Wat Tyler

Murdered in Pontefract Castle in 1400- disliked by public

1399 Henry of Lancaster to replace/ depose Richard and become king Henry IV

Question 14

What were Henry V11 6 wives in order?

Answer 14

1) Catherine of Aragon
2) Anne Boleyn
3) Jane Seymour.
4) Anne of Cleves
5) Catherine Howard
6) Katherine Parr

Question 15

When was the Spanish Armada?

Answer 15

1588

Question 16

THE SEALING OF MAGNA CARTA

Answer 16

-The fame of Magna Carta, or ‘Great Charter’, lies not in its impact, which was actually relatively small, but its legacy. Forced on King John by his barons in an attempt to limit his power, the initial charter was swiftly annulled. Reissued by his son after his death, its idea lived on and today it is seen as an example of the principles of law, human rights and justice.

Question 17

THE PLAGUE (BLACK DEATH) ARRIVES IN ENGLAND

Answer 17

• 1346
• It is difficult to imagine the terror that must have struck the people in England as the Black Death swept across the country. Well over a quarter of the population are believed to have died, devastating villages and towns. The plague had profound impact on society - leading to relative peace for a time and providing wage rises to surviving peasants - paving the way to the Peasants Revolt and helping to end serfdom.

Question 18

WARS OF THE ROSES BEGINS

Answer 18

• 1455
• Less than one hundred years after the Black Death, England was again uprooted by dramatic upheaval - this time man-made. The Wars of the Roses, fought between the two powerful houses of York and Lancaster, pitted families against each other. After the removal of King Henry VI, the country faced three decades of rebellion and plotting. This was only ended when Henry Tudor defeated Richard III at the Battle of Bosworth in 1485, which marked the beginning of the age of the Tudors.

Question 19

GUY FAWKES AND THE GUNPOWDER PLOT ARE DISCOVERED

Answer 19

• 1605
• An attempt by Catholic plotters to assassinate King James I, the Gunpowder Plot may have succeeded if it were not for a late warning by an anonymous letter. The plot is remembered by the rhyme ‘remember, remember, the 5th November’, and we still mark the day it was discovered with bonfires and fireworks today.

Question 20

THE BATTLE OF WATERLOO

Answer 20

• 1815
• The Battle of Waterloo was the final clash after years of war between European nations and French emperor Napoleon Bonaparte. The allied forces led by the Duke of Wellington - who descibred the battle as ‘a damned close-run thing’ - defeated Napoleon’s imperial amibitions. This led to peace in Europe for years to come and helped to end centuries of conflict between England and France.

Question 21

TIM BERNERS-LEE INVENTS THE WORLD WIDE WEB (INTERNET)

Answer 21

• 1989
• Few inventions have changed our lives as much as the internet. When Tim Berners-Lee proposed a new information management system at CERN in 1989, it was difficult to imagine the impact it would have, connecting the world and sharing information in a way never done before

Question 22

Christopher Columbus Arrives in the West Indies and Claims the Land for Spain; European Conquest of the Americas Begins:

Answer 22

-1492 (The Bahamas)

Question 23

The French Revolution:

Answer 23

-1789-1799

Question 24

The Medical Revolution:

Answer 24

-1796-1885

Question 25

The Napoleonic Wars:

Answer 25

-1799-1815

Question 26

The American Civil War:

Answer 26

-1860-1865

Question 27

Revolution in China:

Answer 27

-1911-1949

Question 28

The Russian Revolution:

Answer 28

-1917-1922

Question 29

The End of Apartheid in South Africa:

Answer 29

-1990-1994