History key terms

Buying shares partly with borrowed money, while paying only part of their price from the buyer’s own funds.

The eastern Roman Empire, ruled from Constantinople; its Christian rulers sought to recover territory lost to the Turks.

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

The group of Charles II’s leading councillors influential from 1668 to about 1674: Clifford, Arlington, Buckingham, Ashley and Lauderdale. They directed policy through their offices and the Foreign Affairs Committee but were divided by rivalries and political differences.

The group of leading government ministers who discuss policy and coordinate government decisions.

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.

Ptolemy Caesar, the son of Cleopatra and Caesar, probably born in June 47 BC. His name linked the Egyptian royal dynasty with Caesar.

The Roman name for northern Britain, broadly corresponding to northern parts of modern Scotland.

Cotton cloth, imported into Britain from South Asia, which could be plain or decorated with printed patterns.

A Muslim ruler regarded as the leader of the Islamic community.

A state or territory governed by a caliph.

Decorative, carefully formed handwriting, valued as an art form and collected alongside paintings in Mughal albums.

A community of families connected by ancestry or long association, whose elders managed communal land and allocated plots to members.

An Aztec community organisation which managed local affairs and education; in Tenochtitlán, these became neighbourhood divisions rather than necessarily groups of related families.

A military campaign is a connected series of military operations undertaken to achieve an aim, rather than a single battle.

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.

The city that serves as the main centre of a ruler’s government.

An economic system in which businesses and property are mainly privately owned, with production and prices largely influenced by markets and competition.

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.

A punishment in which the state executes a person convicted of a crime; also called the death penalty.

The senior military commander of a territory.

A chemical used by Joseph Lister to kill germs in surgical treatment, including in dressings and sprays.

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

Support for a sick person, such as food, shelter, cleanliness and comfort, whether or not the illness can be cured.

Goods carried by a ship or another form of transport.