Britain: Power and the People, c1170 to the Present Day

What you'll learn

This thematic study examines how power has shifted between monarchy, parliament and the people across 850 years of British history. You'll explore key turning points including medieval rebellions, the English Civil War, democratic reform movements and the struggle for equality. Understanding the patterns of change and continuity in political power is essential for success in this paper.

Key terms and definitions

Magna Carta — The 1215 charter that limited royal power by establishing that the king was subject to the law, not above it.

Suffrage — The right to vote in political elections; universal suffrage means all adults can vote regardless of gender, wealth or social status.

Civil war — Armed conflict between groups within the same country; England's Civil War (1642-1651) pitted Royalists against Parliamentarians.

Chartism — A working-class movement (1838-1850s) demanding political reforms including votes for all men and secret ballots.

Feudal system — Medieval social structure where the monarch granted land to nobles in exchange for military service and loyalty.

Divine Right — The belief that monarchs derived their authority directly from God and were accountable only to God, not parliament or people.

Parliamentary sovereignty — The constitutional principle that parliament holds supreme legal authority and can make or unmake any law.

Trade unions — Organisations of workers formed to protect their rights and negotiate better wages and working conditions collectively.

Core concepts

Medieval challenges to royal authority (c1170-c1500)

The medieval period established fundamental questions about who held power in England. King John's conflicts with his barons led to Magna Carta in 1215, which established that even monarchs must follow the law. Though initially a document protecting baronial privileges, it became a symbol of limited government.

The Peasants' Revolt of 1381 demonstrated that ordinary people would challenge authority when pushed too far. Key causes included:

• The third poll tax in four years hitting the poorest hardest
• Labour shortages after the Black Death giving peasants bargaining power
• Resentment of the feudal system's restrictions on freedom
• Anger at the wealth of the Church while peasants suffered

Led by Wat Tyler and John Ball, rebels marched on London demanding an end to serfdom and fairer taxes. Though Richard II suppressed the revolt and executed its leaders, the feudal system gradually declined as landowners realised they needed to pay wages to keep workers.

The Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) shows how religious change intersected with power struggles. When Henry VIII dissolved the monasteries, 30,000 northerners rebelled because:

• Monasteries provided charity, healthcare and employment
• Religious conservatives opposed Protestant reforms
• Economic concerns about land redistribution to southern nobles
• Fear that parish churches would be next

Henry VIII crushed the rebellion ruthlessly, executing around 200 participants including leader Robert Aske. This demonstrated Tudor monarchs' determination to centralise power and control religious practice.

Revolution and republic (c1509-c1700)

The 17th century saw the ultimate test of royal versus parliamentary power. Charles I believed in Divine Right and attempted to rule without parliament from 1629-1640. His need for money to fight Scottish rebels forced him to recall parliament, triggering constitutional crisis.

Key causes of the English Civil War (1642-1651):

• Religious tensions between Charles I's High Anglican practices and Puritan parliament
• Constitutional disputes over taxation without parliamentary consent
• Personal distrust of Charles after he tried to arrest five MPs
• Economic grievances from unpopular taxes like Ship Money

Parliament's victory established that monarchs could not govern alone. The execution of Charles I in 1649 was revolutionary — monarchs elsewhere watched in horror as England declared itself a commonwealth. Though the republic failed and monarchy returned in 1660, the principle that parliament held ultimate authority survived.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 resolved these tensions permanently. When James II tried to restore Catholicism and absolutism, parliament invited Protestant William of Orange to take the throne. James fled without fighting, allowing parliament to claim it had the right to choose the monarch. The 1689 Bill of Rights enshrined:

• Regular parliaments that monarchs could not dismiss
• Free elections and parliamentary free speech
• No taxation without parliamentary consent
• Limits on royal use of standing armies

This established parliamentary sovereignty and constitutional monarchy that endures today.

Radical reform movements (c1780-1928)

Despite parliament's power over monarchy, ordinary people still lacked representation. The unreformed system before 1832 was deeply unequal:

• Only 3% of the population could vote (male property owners)
• Rotten boroughs like Old Sarum had two MPs but seven voters
• Industrial cities like Manchester had no MPs at all
• Voting was public, enabling bribery and intimidation

The Great Reform Act 1832 was a moderate response to pressure from middle-class reformers and fear of revolution after unrest in Europe. It:

• Abolished 56 rotten boroughs and reduced representation for 30 others
• Gave seats to industrial cities like Birmingham and Manchester
• Extended voting to middle-class men (homeowners paying £10+ annual rent)
• Increased the electorate from 500,000 to 813,000

This disappointed radicals who wanted universal male suffrage. Chartism emerged as a mass working-class movement demanding six reforms:

1. Votes for all men
2. Secret ballot
3. No property qualification for MPs
4. Payment for MPs
5. Equal-sized constituencies
6. Annual parliamentary elections

Chartists presented three petitions to parliament (1839, 1842, 1848) with millions of signatures. Parliament rejected all three, but five of the six demands were eventually achieved, showing how radical ideas can become mainstream.

Further Reform Acts gradually extended democracy:

• 1867 Reform Act: Gave vote to urban working-class men (electorate doubled to 2 million)
• 1884 Reform Act: Extended vote to rural workers (electorate reached 5 million)
• 1918 Representation of the People Act: All men over 21 and women over 30 could vote
• 1928 Equal Franchise Act: Women gained equal voting rights at 21

The struggle for women's rights (c1860-1928)

Women's exclusion from political power sparked organised resistance. The suffragists (National Union of Women's Suffrage Societies, led by Millicent Fawcett from 1897) used peaceful methods:

• Petitions and lobbying MPs
• Public meetings and demonstrations
• Pamphlets and newspapers
• Building cross-party support

When progress stalled, the suffragettes (Women's Social and Political Union, founded by Emmeline Pankhurst in 1903) adopted militant tactics:

• Smashing windows of government buildings
• Arson attacks on pillar boxes and empty buildings
• Chaining themselves to railings
• Hunger strikes in prison (met with force-feeding)

Emily Davison's death at the 1913 Derby became a rallying point. The debate continues over whether suffragette militancy helped or hindered the cause.

World War One proved transformative. Women's war work in munitions factories, transport and nursing demonstrated their capability. The 1918 Act granted voting rights to women over 30 who met property qualifications — still unequal, but a breakthrough. Full equality came in 1928.

Trade unions and workers' rights (c1799-1990)

Early trade unions faced legal suppression. The Combination Acts (1799-1800) banned workers from organising, making unions illegal. Repeal in 1824 allowed unions to form, but the Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834) showed continued hostility when six Dorset farm labourers were transported to Australia for swearing an oath to their union.

The "New Model Unions" of skilled workers (1850s-1880s) gained respectability through:

• Moderate leadership avoiding strikes
• Providing insurance benefits for members
• Accepting capitalism while seeking better conditions

The 1871 Trade Union Act legalised unions fully. "New Unionism" from the 1880s organised unskilled workers, leading to successful strikes like the 1888 Match Girls' Strike and 1889 London Dock Strike.

The 20th century saw unions gain significant power:

• Formation of the Labour Party (1900) to represent workers in parliament
• 1926 General Strike (unsuccessful but demonstrated union strength)
• Post-1945 cooperation with government on economic policy
• 1980s conflicts with Thatcher government, especially 1984-85 Miners' Strike

The defeat of the miners and Trade Union Acts (1984, 1988) restricting strike action marked a shift away from union power.

Worked examples

Example 1: 4-mark "How far do you agree?" question

Question: "The main reason the Peasants' Revolt failed was poor leadership." How far do you agree with this statement? (4 marks)

Student answer: I partially agree. Wat Tyler's death during negotiations with Richard II at Smithfield left the rebels leaderless and confused, allowing the king to disperse them. However, this wasn't the only reason. The rebels lacked military training and equipment compared to royal forces. Additionally, once Richard II made promises (which he later broke), many peasants simply went home, showing the revolt lacked a coordinated long-term plan. The fundamental issue was the power imbalance — peasants could never defeat the combined force of nobility and monarchy in 1381.

Mark scheme notes: This answer would score 4/4. It provides a clear judgement (partial agreement), explains the named factor with specific evidence (Tyler's death at Smithfield), introduces alternative factors (military weakness, lack of strategy, power imbalance) and reaches a supported overall judgement.

Example 2: 16-mark essay question

Question: "The extension of the franchise between 1832 and 1928 was mainly the result of popular protest." How far do you agree? Explain your answer. (16 marks + 4 SPaG)

Essay structure:

Introduction: State your argument clearly. For example: "Popular protest played a significant role in extending voting rights, but other factors including political calculation, fear of revolution and changing social attitudes were equally important."

Paragraph 1 — Popular protest (agreeing):

• Chartism's mass petitions pressured parliament
• Suffragette militancy kept women's suffrage in public eye
• Trade union growth demonstrated working-class organisation

Paragraph 2 — Political expediency (disagreeing):

• 1867 Act resulted from Conservative-Liberal competition for advantage
• 1918 Act avoided post-war unrest after promises to soldiers
• Politicians extended franchise to groups they thought would support them

Paragraph 3 — Social/economic change (disagreeing):

• Industrialisation created new middle/working classes deserving representation
• Education improvements showed working men were "responsible"
• Women's war work proved capability, not just suffragette protests

Conclusion: Synthesise arguments. For example: "While popular protest kept pressure on, franchise extension resulted from a combination of protest, political calculation and social change. Protest alone was insufficient — politicians only acted when other factors aligned."

Marking: This structured approach addresses the question throughout, uses specific knowledge, analyses multiple factors and reaches a supported judgement, hitting all Assessment Objectives.

Common mistakes and how to avoid them

• Treating this as a narrative paper: This is a thematic study examining change over time. Don't just tell the story — analyse patterns, compare different periods and explain why power shifted.

• Ignoring chronology: Even in a thematic paper, you must understand which events came first. The Glorious Revolution built on Civil War precedents; Chartism responded to the limited 1832 reforms.

• Overstating individual impact: Avoid "great man" history. Leaders like Emmeline Pankhurst mattered, but examine broader social movements, economic factors and political contexts too.

• Presentism: Don't judge historical people by modern values. Understand why 1832 reformers thought their limited changes were radical, even though we see them as inadequate.

• Vague references to "the people": Be specific. Which people? Working-class men? Middle-class reformers? Women? Different groups had different interests and accessed power differently.

• Neglecting continuity: Not everything changed. Monarchy survived; class distinctions persisted. Identify what stayed the same alongside what changed.

Exam technique for "Britain: Power and the People, c1170 to the Present Day"

• Understand command words: "How far do you agree" requires a judgement with balanced analysis. "Explain why" needs causes with supporting evidence. "Describe two features" wants specific details, not analysis.

• Use the mark allocation strategically: 4-mark questions need two developed points or one point with depth. 16-mark essays need sustained argument across multiple paragraphs, not just a list of factors.

• Deploy precise evidence: Don't write "peasants rebelled in medieval times." Write "the 1381 Peasants' Revolt saw 30,000 rebels march on London demanding an end to serfdom." Specific dates, names and details demonstrate knowledge.

• Link to the theme of power: Every answer should address how power was challenged, defended, redistributed or exercised. This thematic focus is what distinguishes this paper.

Quick revision summary

This course traces how political power shifted from absolute monarchy through parliamentary supremacy to democracy. Medieval challenges (Magna Carta, Peasants' Revolt) questioned royal authority. The 17th-century Civil War and Glorious Revolution established parliamentary sovereignty. Reform movements (1832-1928) gradually extended the franchise from 3% to all adults. Women won suffrage through suffragist and suffragette campaigns plus wartime contributions. Trade unions grew from illegal combinations to major political forces before 1980s defeats. Understanding these patterns of challenge, resistance and gradual reform is essential for exam success.