AQA GCSE History key terms

The Russian communist party led by Vladimir Lenin which overthrew the Provisional Government in November 1917 and sought to end Russia’s involvement in the First World War.

An agreement reached in December 2001 establishing arrangements for an interim Afghan government and a transition towards a constitution and elections.

A group of First World War veterans who marched to Washington in 1932 to demand early payment of a promised military service bonus.

The illegal production, transport or sale of alcohol.

A lower-status peasant with a small holding who owed services to the lord.

An organised refusal to buy goods or use services as a form of protest.

A route to the Montana goldfields through the Powder River Country, an important Lakota hunting area.

The movement of skilled and educated workers out of a country, reducing its supply of expertise and labour.

Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, approved in the 2016 referendum and carried out in 2020.

The Soviet policy announced in 1968 claiming a right to intervene where communist rule was threatened, limiting the independence of communist states.

Attempting to force an opponent to give way by taking a confrontation close to war.

The period of direct British Crown rule in India beginning in 1858.

The firing of guns mounted along one side of a warship.

A bacterial disease which commonly causes fever and swollen lymph nodes, called buboes; it can be transmitted through bites from infected fleas.

An area of friendly or controlled countries separating a state from potential enemies.

The federal council representing the governments of the German states, which shared responsibility for approving legislation with the Reichstag.

A town resident with recognised citizenship rights and privileges.

A fortified Anglo-Saxon town intended to protect a whole community from attack.

Fortified towns used to protect territory against attack.

Buying shares partly with borrowed money, while paying only part of their price from the buyer’s own funds.

The group of Charles II’s leading councillors influential from 1668 to about 1674: Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale. They directed policy through their offices and the Foreign Affairs Committee but were divided by rivalries and political differences.

An economic system in which businesses and property are mainly privately owned, with production and prices largely influenced by markets and competition.

A chemical used by Joseph Lister to kill germs in surgical treatment, including in dressings and sprays.

A hostile nickname for Northerners who moved to the South after the Civil War; they included teachers, former soldiers, officials and businessmen.

The November 1939 policy allowing countries such as Britain and France to buy American weapons if they paid for them and transported them themselves.

A crop grown mainly to sell rather than to feed the people growing it.

The keeper of a castle, responsible for its garrison, defences and administration.