Edexcel GCSE History key terms

Hitler’s book, meaning ‘My Struggle’, which set out his political aims and racist beliefs.

An account in which someone recalls their experiences, either orally or in writing; it may have been produced long after the events.

Heavily armed and armoured soldiers, including knights, who could fight mounted or on foot.

A soldier hired to fight for payment.

A person who bought and sold goods, sometimes trading between towns or overseas.

The London police force established by Robert Peel in 1829, under the direct responsibility of the Home Secretary.

The Montgomery Improvement Association, formed on 5 December 1955 to coordinate the bus boycott, with Martin Luther King as president.

The belief that disease was caused by bad or polluted air, often associated with rotting matter and unpleasant smells.

The belief that disease was caused by poisonous, foul-smelling air from rotting material.

A microscopic organism. Some microorganisms cause disease, but many do not.

The Atlantic crossing during which enslaved Africans were transported to the Americas, often in overcrowded, brutal conditions.

People between the nobility and the poorer labouring population in the social hierarchy, including prosperous merchants and professionals such as lawyers.

A person who moves from one place to another to live, either within a country or across national borders.

The movement of people to another place to live, rather than simply to raid or visit.

A change in military organisation, recruitment, training, weapons or the ways armies fight.

The organisation within the Petrograd Soviet through which Trotsky coordinated Red Guards, soldiers and sailors for the October 1917 uprising.

A locally organised military force whose members normally serve part-time rather than as permanent professional soldiers.

The Nazi government department led by Joseph Goebbels that directed propaganda and controlled public information and cultural activity.

A place where coins are produced.

Multiple Independently Targeted Re-entry Vehicles: several nuclear warheads carried by one missile, which can be directed at different targets.

A failure of the justice system that results in an unjust conviction or punishment.

A person sent to spread a religion and convert others to it.

A defensive ditch around a fortification, which could be dry or filled with water.

Fighting based on moving forces to attack selected targets rather than remaining in fixed defensive positions.

Communist leaders such as Zhou Enlai and Deng Xiaoping who favoured practical administration and economic recovery rather than continued revolutionary disruption.

A system of government in which a king or queen is the ruler.

A religious community where monks or nuns lived according to rules of worship and discipline.