Edexcel GCSE History key terms

Loading ammunition through the rear of a gun barrel rather than through its muzzle.

The Soviet policy asserting a right to intervene in communist countries if communist rule was threatened.

Pursuing a confrontation to the brink of war to pressure an opponent into making concessions.

A Black activist organisation formed in Britain in 1968 that campaigned against racist policing and discrimination in housing, education and employment.

The communal water pump in Soho, London, that John Snow linked to the cholera outbreak of 1854.

A steel helmet introduced for British soldiers in 1915 to provide better protection against fragments and head injuries than a soft cap.

A painful swelling associated with plague.

Painful swellings associated with bubonic plague, commonly found in the armpits or groin.

An area between potential enemies intended to provide protection against attack.

Human-made surroundings, including buildings, streets, towns and ports.

Gold or silver held as precious metal rather than as finished goods.

The officials and administrative organisations responsible for putting government decisions into practice.

The US government agency responsible for administering relations with Indigenous peoples and managing reservations.

A fortified town in Anglo-Saxon England that provided protection and a centre for trade.

Command, Control, Communications, Computers, Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance: linked systems used to gather information, share it and coordinate military action.

Protected underground rooms beneath Whitehall used by Britain’s wartime leadership to meet, share information and direct the war.

An Indigenous chief in the Caribbean.

A Communist Party official or activist responsible for carrying out Party policies.

The two frameworks agreed by Egypt, Israel and the United States in September 1978: one concerned Egyptian–Israeli peace and the other a wider settlement, including Palestinian self-government.

The laws governing the Church and its members.

An economic system in which businesses and productive property can be privately owned and operated for profit.

An accusation used against Communist officials alleged to favour policies that would lead China towards capitalism.

Mao’s label for Communist Party officials whom he accused of taking China towards capitalism.

An offence for which the law allows the death penalty.

The death penalty: execution by the state as punishment for a crime.

The senior military commander of a territory.

A senior official in the Catholic Church, appointed by the pope. Wolsey became a cardinal in 1515.