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Edexcel AS Unit 1: Wars of the Roses

Is anyone else taking Wars of the Roses and Henry VII with Edexcel? I know its not the most popular of units; I am studying this myself at home, aiming to take the exams in June, and it would be nice to know if I am on the right track.

It is a period of history I have read about a lot due to personal interest, I am worried I might be thinking too indepth in some areas, and with not enough depth in others.

Reply 1

Sitrix

Original post by WhyteBoar

I am too doing that time period for my AS history.
However I am focusing on the latter years of the war and in depth about Richard III and Henry Tudor, covering a little about Henry VIII as well.

Reply 2

WhyteBoar

Well it is a relief to know that I'm not the only person taking this option!

From what I can work out from the information from Edexcel we have to know:

- Overview of the events leading to the battle of St Albans, including Henry VI, Duke of York, Duke of Somerset, Neville/Percy disputes.

- Reign of Edward IV and his policies

- Richard III, including why he took the throne and his eventually downfall

- Reign of Henry VII and his policies

I believe I am right in thinking that we need to have an understanding of how earlier events lead to later events.

I read a lot about this period anyway, so I am worried that I will go too in depth when they are only looking for an overview. It is hard to get a grasp on how much I need to know when I don't have a tutor to guide me!

I am doing the Henry VIII option for Unit 2 as well, but I haven't even started reading for that yet. Not a fan of the Tudors so motivation is an issue in that regard :smile:

Reply 3

Sitrix

The more depth you can put in the better. What matters is that you need to have enough time to writr up all you know - something I struggle with as I know so much but need to learn to know what to write e.g. Most important factors first

And from Henry VII reign onwards is the Tudor dynasty so I don't understand how you like Henry VII but not his 2nd son...

I cover from Edward III and all the way till 1529? I think for me my exam will revolve around 1483 Battle of Bosworth/ 1485 Battle of Stoke.

Sent from Samsung Galaxy S3

Reply 4

WhyteBoar

That's really helpful thanks. I will need to get on with past papers to get some practice with writing time. :smile:

Are you taking your exam this month, or in May? What makes you feel it will be Bosworth/Stoke

I like Richard III and his father, Richard, duke of York. Henry VII is a usurping wannabe as far as I am concerned :smile:

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(edited 11 years ago)

Reply 5

Sitrix

Original post by WhyteBoar

That's really helpful thanks. I will need to get on with past papers to get some practice with writing time. :smile:

Posted from TSR Mobile

Mine is in May

I'm on AQA so it would be different, I just looked through the past papers for the last few years and it seems that Bosworth is obviously missing. Hopefully it will be anyway.

I like all of them TBH
But I strongly disagree with your comment that Henry VII is a usurping wannabe because Richard III himself IS a usurper of his own nephew! And it's more than likely he killed them as he was the one who ursurp Edward V and hated the Woodvilles.

What's more Henry VII had started a peaceful and prosper era during hsi reign. He maximised revenues for the court, maanged to prop England up on the internationally stage through Arthur's marriage proposal with Catherine of Aragon, had the support of not only the Spanish but Maximillian I.

He also constructed a peace treaty with Scotland, and stopped France from annexing Brittany and Burgundy. He was a great King!

Reply 6

WhyteBoar

I will keep that in mind as I work through my past papers, and see if there are any glaring topics missing :smile:

I'm afraid I am a Richard defender :wink:

Richard's nephew was legally declared a bastard and was was unable to accend to the throne. Edward IV was very likely to have been bethrothed to another woman prior to his marriage to Woodville. At that time this would have made his marriage to Woodville invalid.

Historians have been arguing for centuries about the reasons why Richard took the throne. I believe there were a number of reasons such as the declared bethrothal, Richard's possible belief that a child king would be detrimental to the stability of the country, and the likely animosity between Richard and Woodville, which meant Richard was likely fearing for his safety.

Richard was loved when he was lord of the north and was considered to be fair and considerate. It seems very out of character to me that he would suddenly act as he did, without good reason.

Whether he despatched with his nephews in the tower is another matter. I'm not convinced he did, only because I don't see what he had to gain. He was already the king.

Henry VII had a weak claim to the throne at best. He actually had more to gain by the possible death of the princes in that it enabled him to destroy all copies of the Parliament statute which declared them illegitimate. Subsequently he could unite York and Lancaster by marrying their sister.

I'm certainly not dismissing other points of view. I'm sure Richard wouldn't be nearly as interesting, and historians wouldn't argue such about it, if the answers were written out clearly for all to read.

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