OCR GCSE History A key terms

A legal status identifying a person as a member of a country, carrying rights and responsibilities.

Organisations that regulated particular crafts and trades in the City of London.

Basic freedoms that protect individuals from excessive state interference, such as freedom from arbitrary detention.

Rights protecting people from unequal treatment and discrimination, including equal treatment under the law.

A war between opposing groups within the same country.

A Highland social group organised around a chief and ties of family and loyalty. Chiefs could exercise authority over land, followers and local justice.

People ordained for religious service, including priests and bishops.

A Senate procedure for ending debate and allowing a bill to move towards a vote.

The Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, launched in Britain in February 1958 to campaign against nuclear weapons.

An alliance of states working together against a common enemy.

A government formed by two or more political parties that agree to govern together.

The Convention for a Democratic South Africa: multiparty negotiations beginning in December 1991 to agree a transition from apartheid to democracy.

The use of force or threats to make people comply with a decision or policy.

A commercial meeting place where customers bought coffee and could socialise, conduct business, read news and discuss politics.

Trimming precious metal from the edges of coins to sell it, reducing the coins’ metal content.

The political and military rivalry after the Second World War between the USA and its allies and the Soviet Union and its allies, involving an arms race and the threat of nuclear conflict.

Negotiation between an employer and workers acting together, usually through a trade union, over pay or working conditions.

The principle that countries act together to defend a member that is attacked.

The organisation of separate farms into larger units in which land, labour and resources are pooled.

Taking control of territory and settling people there, often displacing or subordinating its existing population.

A territory controlled by another country, where settlers and officials helped extend that country’s power.

An arrangement that excludes people from employment, housing or services because of their colour.

An organisation established in 1947 to coordinate European communist parties and strengthen their alignment with Soviet policies.

An event or action that honours and preserves the memory of a person or historical event.

The idea that a policy should benefit the kingdom as a whole. The Crown and Flemish weavers used this argument to defend privileges for immigrant cloth workers.

A voluntary association of countries linked through their historical relationship with Britain, including many former parts of the British Empire.

A political and economic ideology advocating common ownership of the means of production. During the Cold War, many Americans associated it with the Soviet Union and one-party rule.

An organisation bringing people together around shared needs, interests or identities.