Year 7 Progress Check 4

This revision pack contains information to help you revise for Progress
Check 4. Lots of the answers to the questions below can be found in this
booklet, but for some you will need to look on the History department
website - www.oasphistory.weebly.com

Dont forget! You need to make sure you can show off all of your history skills:

The Norman Conquest

Who was originally king in 1066?
In 1066 the King of England was Edward the Confessor.
He was a very religious man, under his rule Westminster Abbey in London was built.
He was well respected for bringing peace and wealth to England.
On January 4 1066 King Edward the Confessor died of illness and old age. England had to find a
new king.
Unfortunately, Edward the Confessor had no son. Although he had been married, he had no
children and therefore, there was no heir to the throne.

Who were the claimants?

Harold
Godwinson

William of
Normandy

Powerful English Earl

French Duke

Harold
Hardrada
Norwegian King

Why did William win?

Williams army was made of professional soldiers.
Harolds army worked as farmers.
The Normans had knights on horseback who were
skillful fighters.
The battle began before Harolds troops were
properly ready
William promised French nobles some English land
if they helped him fight.
The wind changed direction when William was waiting
to sail to England. This meant that he could arrive
earlier than expected and surprise Harold.

The Vikings arrived before William; Harold was

not prepared for this.
Stamford Bridge and the journey south made
Harolds troop very tired
Harold and his men had the best position on the
top of Senlac Hill.
Most of Harolds best fighters died at Stamford
Bridge.
The Normans prepared carefully. They brought
with them a useful mixture of well-equipped
soldiers, archers and cavalry

It was late in the day when William had an idea. He told his men to run up the hill, but then pretend
that they were retreating (running away again).
Williams men followed his orders and the English fell for the trick. As Harolds men came own the
hill, Williams men turned around and killed them. This happened more than once.
Finally, Williams men broke through the shield wall and hacked down Harolds warriors. Harold
himself was killed.
Now that Harold Godwinson was dead, William marched to London. He was crowned king on Christmas
Day, 1066.

What is the difference between

Catholics and Protestants?
In 1500 there was only one Christian church in Western Europe the Catholic
Church. Its leader was the Pope. He was a powerful man, with great wealth and
even his own army. He was based in Rome, Italy.
But not everybody was happy with how the Catholic Church was being run. Soon
there would be major protests which would lead to the Church being split in two.

Martin Luther believed:

1. You can be forgiven directly by God.
2. The Church was wrong to sell Indulgences- it was
taking advantage of peoples fear of what would
happen when they died.
3. The Bible should made in different languages so
that everyone has a chance to read it for
themselves.
4. The Church was too rich and its leaders did not
act like men of God.

Catholics believed church

should be a bright and
colourful place. They
used incense (smells) and
would prey in Latin

Protestants believed in
modesty and disliked money
and riches. They dressed in
plain clothes to show they
were humble in front of
God.

King John and Magna Carta

Norman control

The Black Death

The Black Death consequences

Pros (advantages)
Ending of the feudal
system: The death of
many peasants during the
plague meant that fields
lay abandoned and the
crops went unharvested.
Lords became desperate
for workers. The
remaining peasants took
advantage of the scarcity
of labour and began
demanding higher wages
in cash rather than in
foodand fairer
treatment for their
services.

However, remember the

Peasants Revolt! King
Richard tried very hard to
make sure that the
peasants did not become
too powerful.

Medicine: Different types

of medicine were
discovered (although none
that cured the Plague)
that proved helpful in
treating other diseases.
Task: List advantages
and disadvantages of
the Black Death.

Cons (disadvantages)
Death: 1\3 of
Europe's population
died as a result of
the Plague.
Religion: Some
people believed that
the Plague was
caused because God
was angry. Some
people loss their
faith in God.
Cure: There was no
cure and people would
almost certainly die.

The Aztecs (Mesoamerica)

Summary of the Aztecs:

The Aztecs who entered the land we call Mexico came from the North.
In 1325 they founded a huge city on an island in the middle of Lake
Texcoco this became Tenochtitlan.
The Aztecs had one of the most advanced civilizations in the Americas. Their
cities were as large as any in Europe. They built towering temples and huge
sculptures.

They held impressive ceremonies featuring bloody

human sacrifices to appease their gods.

In 1519 the Spanish attacked and the Aztec

Empire. By 1521 they had conquered and
destroyed it.

Tenochtitlan the capital of the Aztec Empire

Tenochtitlan was the Aztec's capital city. By the early 1500s, it was home
to about 300,000 people. It was a beautiful city, with ornate temples and
open plazas and tons of little shops, each specializing in a certain goods.
There were restaurants, and small places you could grab some finger food
and a drink. There was fresh food and meat for sale. There were
hairdressers, medicine shops, basket shops, herbs and embroidered
clothing. Artists were everywhere, painting and sculpting in the
marketplace. The city was alive with people and colour and culture.