History key terms

The Bolshevik secret police, established in December 1917 to combat counter-revolution and used to arrest, imprison and execute suspected opponents.

The treatment of cancer using drugs that kill cancer cells or slow their growth.

A destructive raid intended to weaken an enemy by burning crops, plundering settlements and terrorising the population.

A term adopted by many Mexican American activists to express pride in their identity and support for political, social and cultural rights.

The monarch’s leading adviser and organiser of government, whose authority depended on royal favour.

A young person employed or compelled to serve in a household. Some wealthy households in early modern Britain kept African or Indian child servants.

Productive raised agricultural fields constructed in shallow lake or wetland areas, with canals between them.

A medieval warrior code which valued courage and loyalty, alongside ideals such as mercy, justice and generosity.

A chemical whose vapour was used as a general anaesthetic. James Simpson demonstrated its anaesthetic effects in 1847.

A bacterial disease usually spread through water or food contaminated with infected human faeces. Severe diarrhoea can cause fatal dehydration.

A wealthy Athenian citizen responsible for financing a chorus and its preparation for a dramatic or choral competition.

A group of performers in an ancient Greek play who sing or speak collectively and comment on its events and themes.

A type of ancient Greek pouring jug.

The wider community of Christian countries and peoples to which medieval England belonged.

Made using gold and ivory, as in Pheidias’ original statue of Athena Parthenos.

The Christian religious institution, whose clergy, courts and teachings exercised considerable authority in medieval England.

A court exercising the Church’s legal authority, separate from ordinary secular courts.

Religious courts which dealt with clergy and religious or moral offences, using punishments intended to encourage repentance and reform.

Valuable metal objects used in church worship, such as silver communion cups.

Parish officials responsible for managing church resources and accounts who helped put religious policies into practice locally.

The US Central Intelligence Agency, which gathers intelligence and carries out secret operations overseas.

The Criminal Investigation Department: a specialist department established within the Metropolitan Police in 1878 to investigate serious crimes.

A system that disguises a message by replacing its letters or words with other characters or symbols.

Officials responsible for conducting the royal inquiry in an allocated group of counties, known as a circuit.

The movement of blood around the body, driven by the heart.

To travel all the way around the world.

A voyage all the way around the world.

Rome’s large venue for public games, especially horse-racing.

An enclosed storage chamber used to collect and hold water.

A fortified stronghold within or overlooking a city.