Edexcel Ã¢Â€Â“ Unit 1 - Access to History 2

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Access to History Online Edexcel Unit 3 – A1 Protest, Crisis and Rebellion in England,1536–88PlanOne possible way of structuring an answer to this question would be to evaluate thestrengths and weaknesses of the conspiracy from its inception in November 1553 tothe March on London in January the following year:• Introduction: addresses the view stated in the question and sets out thedifferent factors the essay will consider• The unmasking of the plan• The failure of Wyatt’s co-conspirators• The lack of popular support• Wyatt’s indecision• ConclusionExaminer’s Exemplar Answer 1Sir Thomas Wyatt was a noble from Kent. He was aProtestant, but in spite of this, supported Mary inthe early years of her reign. A problem came whenMary decided to marry Philip from Spain. Wyattused his influence in Parliament to persuade Marynot to marry Philip, but when this failed he starteda plot against her. In this essay I will use sources 1,2 and 3 and my own knowledge to decide how far Iagree with the view that the Wyatt Rebellion of1554 posed a serious threat to the authority ofMary Tudor (1).Source 1 is a factual source by historians RogerTurvey and Nigel Heard. They say that the WyattRebellion ‘came as close as any to overthrowing themonarchy’. This shows that the Wyatt Rebellion wasas dangerous as any other rebellion when it cameto threatening the queen. However, Turvey andHeard were writing in 2009 and were not there atthe time. Because of this we cannot trust theirinterpretation. The source goes on to say thatWyatt benefited from being in Kent. I know frommy own knowledge that he was in Kent and that thepeople of Kent were concerned about the possibilityof a Spanish invasion which would have affectedKent more than other counties such as Yorkshirewhich was further north. However, I also know thatriots broke out in Kent in 1549 against Edward VIwhich indicates that the people of Kent were notstrong Protestants and therefore that they were notworking to overthrow Mary (2).(1) The introduction gives thebackground to the rebellionwith a particular focus onThomas Wyatt’s personalhistory. It does not, however,answer the question.(2) The main body of theessay consists of paraphrasesand direct quotes from thesources. In this sense theydemonstrate fairly low-levelskills. However, there is alsosome selection, and thecandidate does give both sidesof the argument. Additionallythere is some integration ofsources and own knowledge.Source 2 says that ‘the Wyatt rebellion gave thegovernment a fright’. This suggests that therebellion did not overthrow the government, but itdid make them nervous. The source also says that© Hodder Education 2011
Access to History Online Edexcel Unit 3 – A1 Protest, Crisis and Rebellion in England,1536–88the rebellion was a ‘conspiracy’ and that ithappened ‘too soon’. This suggests that if it hadhappened later it might have been successful.However, this is not true as I know that somehistorians say Wyatt took too long to launch hisrebellion. Finally, the Source tells us that a mancalled Pembroke deserted the Queen and fled toNorthumberland. This shows that the rebellion wasa threat because the Queen’s friends did not stickby her. This is backed up by my own knowledge asI know that the government were scared after therebellion. In fact they were so scared that theyexecuted some of the rebels (3).(3) There is also amisunderstanding: thecandidate misunderstands thereference to Northumberlandin Source 2.In Source 3 Colin Pendrill tell us what he thinksabout the Wyatt rebellion. However, this Sourcecomes from a textbook, not a proper historicalbook, and so was written to make money and istherefore biased. At the beginning of the SourceColin Pendrill does not talk about the WyattRebellion. Instead, he talks about Spain. But later inthe Source he says ‘Wyatt’s march on London waslittle better’. This shows that Wyatt’s Rebellion wasnot as successful as it could have been. In fact, itposed no threat whatsoever to Mary Tudor. This isbecause Mary had soldiers in London ready to meetWyatt and they attacked his rebellion and stoppedhim capturing Mary. Colin Pendrill says that Wyattwas not the only person who failed. He also saysthat ‘Croft’, ‘the Duke of Suffolk’, and ‘Carew’ gaveup. Carew went to France because he had no hopeof taking Exeter. From my own knowledge I knowthat Wyatt failed because he was too cautious.Overall, the Wyatt rebellion of 1554 did not pose aserious threat to the authority of Mary Tudor. Thisis because Wyatt was too cautious and Mary hadsoldiers who could capture the rebels and checkthat they were executed. At one point, however, itlooked like the Wyatt Rebellion might overthrow themonarchy and at this point the government werescared (Source 2).Examiner’s AssessmentThere is some own knowledge here, and thebeginnings of an analytical response. Therefore, inAO1, this essay gets the bottom mark in Level 3. Interms of source skills, the answer tends to presentparaphrases of the sources. What is more, thecomments on reliability are appropriate to AO2a,while Unit 3 tests AO2b – the ability to testinterpretations and synthesise an overall answer© Hodder Education 2011
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Edexcel Ã¢Â€Â“ Unit 1 - Access to History 2

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