History key terms

The removal of the Pope’s authority over the English Church under Henry VIII, establishing the monarch’s authority instead.

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

Britain’s withdrawal from the European Union, approved in the 2016 referendum and carried out in 2020.

The Soviet policy announced in 1968 claiming a right to intervene where communist rule was threatened, limiting the independence of communist states.

A large British people whose territory lay in northern Britain. Their internal conflict helped create the circumstances for Roman military intervention.

A small sailing warship. Cortés used thirteen brigantines on Lake Texcoco during the attack on Tenochtitlan.

Attempting to force an opponent to give way by taking a confrontation close to war.

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

Territories and peoples ruled or controlled by Britain beyond Britain itself.

The period of direct British Crown rule in India beginning in 1858.

A person whose nationality status was based on allegiance to the British Crown.

The firing of guns mounted along one side of a warship.

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.

The legal case in which a federal district court ruled in June 1956 that bus segregation was unconstitutional; the US Supreme Court upheld the ruling that November.

The case in which the US Supreme Court ruled on 17 May 1954 that racial segregation in public schools was unconstitutional because separate educational facilities were inherently unequal.

A painful swelling associated with plague.

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

A form of plague associated with swollen lymph nodes called buboes; infected fleas can transmit it to humans.

A group of territories or friendly states intended to separate a country from potential enemies.

A written agreement specifying work to be undertaken and the obligations of those involved; it records intended work, not necessarily its completion.

Changing an existing building so that it serves a different purpose or community.

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

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

The federal council representing the governments of the German states, which shared responsibility for approving legislation with the Reichstag.

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 town resident with recognised citizenship rights and privileges.

A fortified Anglo-Saxon town intended to protect a whole community from attack.

Fortified towns used to protect territory against attack.