Edexcel GCSE History key terms

A small area of land cultivated by an individual farming family for its own benefit, rather than as part of collective production.

The king’s private rooms and the group of attendants serving him there. Their close personal access could give them political influence.

The group of senior advisers who helped the monarch govern.

Supervision of an offender in the community, involving conditions and support from a probation officer.

The boundary established by Britain in 1763 along the Appalachian Mountains, beyond which colonial settlement was prohibited.

The royal measure of 1763 restricting colonial settlement and private land purchases west of the Appalachian Mountains unless authorised by royal officials.

The amount that an industry, factory or individual worker is expected to produce within a specified period.

A smaller group of agricultural producers within a commune that became responsible for production decisions and distributing income to its members.

A permanent force of trained soldiers who serve as a paid career, rather than an army raised only for a particular war.

The process of making military service a more skilled, organised occupation through training, recognised standards and promotion based more on ability.

Messages designed to influence people’s beliefs or behaviour, often through selective or misleading claims.

An electoral system in which parties receive seats broadly in proportion to the votes they win.

A system in which criminals demand payment from businesses, threatening damage or violence if they refuse.

The Nazi term for detention that allowed the Gestapo to send someone directly to a concentration camp without a trial or an effective right of appeal.

A person entrusted with protecting a monarch and governing on their behalf when they cannot rule personally. William Marshal held this role during Henry III’s childhood.

A Christian belonging to a tradition that emerged from the Reformation and rejected the pope’s authority.

A form of Christianity that developed through the Reformation and rejected the authority of the Pope.

The background of a source, including who created it, when and where it was produced, and its purpose and intended audience.

The temporary government that governed Russia after the fall of the Tsar in 1917.

Measures that protect the health of a whole population, such as providing clean drinking water and safe sewage disposal.

Services organised or funded by the state for the public, such as healthcare, education and public transport.

A condition or opportunity in a destination that attracts people to move there, such as employment or safety.

A ruler who holds a recognised title but whose decisions and authority are controlled by another power.

In medieval Catholic belief, a state of purification after death before entering heaven.

The removal of people from an organisation or position of power because they are regarded as disloyal or politically unacceptable; this could involve imprisonment, forced labour or killing.

A treatment that made a patient vomit or empty their bowels, intended to remove harmful material or excess humours.

A Protestant who wanted the English Church to remove remaining Catholic practices and become more thoroughly Protestant.