Britain: Power and the people, c1170 to the present · GCSE History

Challenging royal power, c1170–c1540

Magna Carta (1215): the barons forced King John to accept limits on his power, including that free men could only be punished after a lawful judgement. It established the idea that the king was not above the law.
Simon de Montfort's Parliament (1265) included knights and townspeople (burgesses) for the first time.
The Peasants' Revolt (1381): after the Black Death, peasants resented the Statute of Labourers (1351), which held wages down, and a new poll tax. Led by Wat Tyler, they marched on London. Richard II met them, Tyler was killed and the revolt collapsed, but the poll tax was dropped and serfdom slowly declined.
The Pilgrimage of Grace (1536) was a northern rebellion against Henry VIII's religious changes, including closing the monasteries. Henry promised concessions, but then executed about 200 people, including its leader, Robert Aske.

The English Civil War (1642–49) between Charles I and Parliament was fought over money, religion and power. Charles was executed in 1649, and England became a republic under Oliver Cromwell until the monarchy was restored in 1660.
The American Revolution (1775–83) rejected 'taxation without representation' and inspired British radicals such as Thomas Paine, who wrote Rights of Man (1791).

The slave trade was abolished in the British Empire in 1807, and slavery in 1833. Campaigners included Thomas Clarkson, William Wilberforce and Olaudah Equiano, alongside the resistance of enslaved people themselves.
At Peterloo (1819), cavalry charged a peaceful crowd in Manchester demanding the vote, killing about 15 people.
The Great Reform Act (1832) gave more middle-class men the vote and removed 'rotten boroughs'. The Chartists (1838–48) demanded six points, including votes for all men and a secret ballot. They failed at the time, but most of their points later became law.
The Tolpuddle Martyrs (1834) were transported to Australia for forming a union; public protests won their release.

Trade unions: skilled workers formed 'New Model Unions' (1850s); unskilled workers won the matchgirls' strike (1888) and the London Dock Strike (1889). The General Strike (1926) failed, and the miners' strike (1984–85) against pit closures was defeated.
Votes for women: suffragists (the NUWSS, led by Millicent Fawcett, from 1897) used peaceful methods; suffragettes (the WSPU, led by Emmeline Pankhurst, from 1903) used militant ones. The Representation of the People Act (1918) gave the vote to women over 30 (who met property conditions) and all men over 21. The Equal Franchise Act (1928) let women vote at 21, the same as men.
Minority rights: the Bristol Bus Boycott (1963) helped lead to the Race Relations Acts (1965 and 1968). The Equal Pay Act was passed in 1970.

Magna Carta: The 1215 agreement that limited the power of King John.
Parliament: The body that makes laws and approves taxes.
Peasants' Revolt: The rebellion of 1381, sparked by a poll tax.
Poll tax: A tax charged at the same rate on each person.
Chartism: The movement demanding the six points of the People's Charter, including votes for all men.
Suffrage: The right to vote.
Suffragist: A campaigner for women's votes who used peaceful methods.
Suffragette: A campaigner for women's votes who used militant methods.
Trade union: An organisation of workers that protects their pay and conditions.
Abolition: Ending something by law, such as slavery.