Answer this question three ways in 3–5 sentences each that exceed scoring requirements: Describe one political effect of the Protestant Reformation in England in the period 1500–1600. Information: Question # 3 Task: SAQ 3
Max. Points: 3
Topic: English Reformation
Mean Score: 1.61
What were the responses to this question expected to demonstrate?
a) Describe one cause of the Protestant Reformation in England during the reign of Henry VIII (1509–1547).
Responses were expected to demonstrate an understanding of the causes of the Reformation in England. This and the
other two parts of this question relate to Unit 2 of the curriculum framework on the Age of Reformation, with this
element focusing on Key Concept 1.5.
b) Describe one political effect of the Protestant Reformation in England in the period 1500–1600.
Responses were expected to demonstrate an understanding of the political effects of the Reformation, including the Act
of Supremacy’s expansion of political power into the spiritual realm and the increased power of the monarch as
derived from the economic profits from the dissolution of the monasteries. This portion of the prompt focuses on Topic
1.2, especially Key Concept 1.2.I and 1.2.II.
c) Explain one difference between political effects of the Protestant Reformation in England and political effects of the
Protestant Reformation in France in the period 1500–1600.
Responses were expected to demonstrate the historical reasoning process of comparison by explaining a difference
between the political effects of the religious reformations in England and France. This portion of the prompt focuses on
Key Concept 1.2, especially sub-concept 1.2.III. Responses could also address Key Concept 1.2.III.A and Key Concept
1.2.III.D.
How well did the response address the course content related to this question? How well did the responses
integrate the skills required on this question?
In Part A, responses demonstrated a high level of ability to address the course content related to this question and to
apply the reasoning process of causation. Most described how Henry VIII’s desire for an annulment (often described as a
“divorce”) of his marriage to Catherine of Aragon, with the hope of producing a male heir by another wife, led to a break
with the Catholic Church for personal, rather than religious, reasons.
In Part B, responses focused on how the establishment of a new church in England had an internal or international
political impact on the English state. Most identified how the monarchy’s new role in the Anglican Church extended its
political power into the religious sphere. Several successful responses also noted how the increased economic power of
the monarchy, which came from the sale of monastic properties, strengthened the power of the Tudors, or how
individuals who continued to adhere to Catholicism lost political clout. Other successful responses discussed how the
Protestant Reformation in England created some degree of political chaos when Henry’s children assumed the throne
because of their varying religious beliefs.
In Part C, responses were expected to explain a clear difference in political effects of the Protestant Reformation in
England and those in France, restricting those differences to the 16th century. The point was commonly achieved by one
of the following explanations: There was a degree of toleration of Protestantism in France (because of the Edict of Nantes)
but a lack of toleration of Catholicism by Protestant Tudors; there was a unity of church and state authority in England,
whereas these were separate in France; England had an Anglican majority population, compared to a Catholic majority
population and a Huguenot minority population in France; or the Protestant Reformation led to religious wars and a
weakened monarchy in France, but England did not experience this type of large-scale religious conflict that challenged
monarchical authority.
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What common student misconceptions or gaps in knowledge were seen in the responses to this question?
Common Misconceptions/Knowledge Gaps Responses that Demonstrate Understanding
• Students sometimes asserted that the
theological disputes behind the
Protestant Reformation in Germany
also drove the initial stages of
Protestant Reformation in England,
rather than being more of an aftereffect
of Henry’s break with Rome.
• “One cause of the Protestant Reformation in
England was the refusal of the Catholic
Church to grant Henry VIII a divorce so that
he could get an heir. This caused him to
break away from Catholicism and create the
Anglican Church. England then felt a wave
of Protestantism as it was supported by the
monarch.” (Effective responses like this one
recognized the political and personal forces
driving religious change in England.)
• Students often described effects that
were outside of the scope of time
acceptable for the prompt.
Successful responses used specific, relevant
historical evidence including:
• the Act of Supremacy
• the creation of the Book of Common Prayer
• the “politiques”
• the Edict of Nantes
Scoring guidelines: