Edexcel GCSE History key terms

Mounted soldiers who could dismount to fight with firearms.

Repeated practice of military movements, formations and weapons handling so that soldiers can act together on command.

Repeated practice of set movements and procedures so that soldiers can perform them together reliably.

Preparing and cultivating soil to conserve rainfall so that crops can grow with limited water.

The division of authority in 1917 between the Provisional Government and the Petrograd Soviet, also called dual power.

A territory governed by a duke or duchess. Normandy was a duchy held by the kings of England during Richard I’s reign and the beginning of John’s reign.

Alexander Farnese, Philip II's nephew, who commanded Spain's army in the Netherlands against the Dutch rebels and whose troops were to invade England with the Armada in 1588.

Russia’s parliament under the Tsar; its representatives formed the Provisional Government after his abdication.

A royal family whose members inherit the throne across successive generations.

A powerful noble who governed an earldom, a region of the kingdom, under the king.

A territory governed by an earl, a high-ranking noble with administrative and military responsibilities.

The highest-ranking nobles in Anglo-Saxon England, who governed large regions called earldoms.

The major North Vietnamese attack on South Vietnam launched in late March 1972.

The Asian trading regions that Europeans hoped to reach for valuable goods; these were Columbus’s intended destination.

Unequal treatment based on race that affects access to jobs, pay, housing or other economic opportunities.

Factors connected with work, trade, wealth, skills and the demand for labour.

Restrictions on trade or other economic dealings intended to put pressure on another country.

The ways a society produces, exchanges and uses goods and wealth, including farming and trade.

The Equal Employment Opportunity Commission, established by the Civil Rights Act of 1964 to investigate and tackle discrimination in employment.

A system that transmitted electrical signals along wires, allowing messages to travel rapidly over long distances.

A test that records the heart’s electrical activity and can help identify an irregular heartbeat.

Regulations introduced by Wolsey in 1526 to reduce spending and improve the organisation of Henry VIII’s royal household.

A ban on trade with a particular country. The 1973 oil embargo banned petroleum exports to selected countries that supported Israel.

A mission undertaken by a representative to negotiate or conduct important business with another ruler.

The law passed in March 1933 which allowed Hitler’s government to make laws, including laws that departed from the constitution, without the Reichstag’s approval.

The fencing off of land for exclusive use, which could remove villagers’ rights to use common land.

The holder of an encomienda.