Edexcel GCSE History key terms

A senior royal officer responsible for the Great Seal, official royal documents and oversight of the legal system.

An American colonist who remained loyal to the British Crown during the American Revolution.

The Indigenous inhabitants of the Bahamas whom Columbus encountered in 1492.

Germany’s air force during the Second World War.

An unlawful killing without a legal trial, often used by white racists to terrorise Black Americans.

Scientifically flawed agricultural ideas associated with Soviet scientist Trofim Lysenko, including planting seeds unusually deeply and closely together.

A state centre supplying tractors and other agricultural machinery to collective farms.

Mutually Assured Destruction: the situation in which both sides possess enough nuclear weapons to destroy the other, even after suffering an initial attack.

A chemical treatment designed to attack the microbes causing a particular disease without damaging the rest of the body.

An official who dealt with local legal cases and helped organise law enforcement.

The ‘Great Charter’ sealed by King John in June 1215, setting out restrictions on royal power and protections for the Church and free men.

An arrangement under which a country administered a territory under international authority. Britain administered Palestine until May 1948.

The nine activists prosecuted following the August 1970 protest against police harassment of the Mangrove Restaurant.

The belief held by many white Americans that the United States was destined to expand across North America.

An estate controlled by a lord, containing land farmed for the lord and land held by tenants.

The release of an enslaved person from slavery by their enslaver.

Mao Zedong’s version of communism, which emphasised peasant revolution, mass participation, class struggle and Communist Party leadership.

An earldom on the border between England and Wales, whose earl had extensive powers to defend and control the border region.

A medieval unit used to express sums of money. Richard I’s total ransom was set at 150,000 marks of silver.

A Chinese law introduced in 1950 that established freedom of choice in marriage, equality between spouses and rights to divorce, while prohibiting compulsory marriage, concubinage and the buying and selling of brides.

An American economic aid programme announced in 1947 to rebuild European economies after the Second World War and reduce the appeal of communism.

A person killed for their religious beliefs, whose death may inspire others who share those beliefs.

Mao’s principle that the Communist Party should learn from ordinary people’s experiences and ideas, then develop policies and mobilise people to carry them out under Party leadership.

Organising large numbers of people to work towards a shared political or economic goal.

A political campaign that mobilises large numbers of ordinary people to take part in activities such as meetings, accusations and investigations.

A project that collected evidence about everyday life, thoughts and feelings in Britain, including wartime diaries, responses to questions and observational reports.

Manufacturing large quantities of standardised goods, often using factory production lines and identical parts.