History A-Level

Social hierarchy

What Social hierarchy means in History A-Level, as defined for AQA, Pearson Edexcel.

Definitions of Social hierarchy

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Reference: Pearson Edexcel

The structure of society in which the nobility retained great power through landownership, titles and office, while the gentry class expanded and diversified.

Pearson Edexcel · Social and intellectual challenge, 1625–88 (study guide)

Social policies aimed to consolidate royal authority while maintaining social hierarchy, with the nobility's economic privileges and landholdings confirmed.

AQA · 1B Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598 (A-level only) – The forging of a new state, 1469–1516 (study guide)

The existing social order that elites sought to maintain while resisting British authority, attempting to control popular protests to prevent mob rule.

AQA · 2G The Birth of the USA, 1760–1801 – Enforcing the Colonial Relationship, 1763–1774 (study guide)

The wars brought severe consequences for the aristocracy, contrasting with the relative continuity experienced by the peasantry and merchant classes.

AQA · 2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 – The end of the Yorkist Dynasty, 1486–1499 (A-level only) (study guide)

A structure in which social mobility persisted as wealthy merchants used their economic power to purchase land and integrate into the gentry.

AQA · 2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 – 'The Sun in Splendour': the reign of Edward IV, 1471–1483 (A-level only) (study guide)

Late fifteenth-century English society was strictly hierarchical, with churchmen, nobles and commoners forming the structure of society.

AQA · 1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603 – Henry VII, 1485–1509 (study guide)

Topics that use Social hierarchy

1B Spain in the Age of Discovery, 1469–1598 (A-level only) – The forging of a new state, 1469–1516 (AQA A-Level)
1C The Tudors: England, 1485–1603 – Henry VII, 1485–1509 (AQA A-Level)
2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 – 'The Sun in Splendour': the reign of Edward IV, 1471–1483 (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
2B The Wars of the Roses, 1450–1499 – The end of the Yorkist Dynasty, 1486–1499 (A-level only) (AQA A-Level)
2G The Birth of the USA, 1760–1801 – Enforcing the Colonial Relationship, 1763–1774 (AQA A-Level)
Social and intellectual challenge, 1625–88 (Pearson Edexcel A-Level)

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