History key terms

A school principally educating boys in Latin grammar, classical literature and religious texts.

The wartime partnership of Britain, the USA and the USSR against their common enemies in the Second World War.

The statement of grievances and proposed reforms concerning Charles I’s government passed by the House of Commons in November 1641.

Objects placed in a grave with a dead person, which can provide evidence of status and beliefs about life after death.

Farm animals, such as cattle, sheep and goats, that feed on grass and other vegetation.

A nineteenth-century name applied by white explorers and settlers to a broad area between the Mississippi River and the Rocky Mountains, expressing their belief that it was unsuitable for farming and settlement.

A wave of Protestant religious revivals across the British Atlantic in the eighteenth century, stressing personal faith and powerful emotional religious experiences.

The dispute over who should inherit the Scottish throne, which Edward I adjudicated, choosing John Balliol in 1292.

The belief that God had placed creation in a fixed hierarchy, making social rank and obedience part of a divinely ordered world.

The severe international economic downturn that followed the Wall Street Crash of 1929, bringing falling production, business failures and mass unemployment.

The crisis in Ireland, usually dated 1845–1852, in which potato blight destroyed a major food crop, causing widespread hunger, disease, death and emigration.

A large room used for communal dining, receiving guests and displaying a lord’s status.

A large Viking force that arrived in England in 865 and campaigned to conquer Anglo-Saxon kingdoms.

The title used by the ruler of the Persian Empire; Bessus claimed it after Darius III’s death.

Mao’s second Five-Year Plan, dated 1958–62, intended to accelerate China’s economic transformation through mass mobilisation and collective production.

A major Athenian religious festival honouring Athena, which included a procession. Harmodios and Aristogeiton chose the Great Panathenaia for their attack.

The Soviet name for the war against Nazi Germany from June 1941 to 1945, emphasising the defence of the homeland.

The largely open grassland region of central North America, where limited rainfall and few trees made settlement and farming difficult.

The building and improvement of houses during the Elizabethan period, especially as prosperous owners invested in comfort and displays of wealth.

President Lyndon B. Johnson's programme of domestic reforms aimed at reducing poverty and inequality and improving access to education and healthcare.

The most intense phase of Stalin’s mass repression, usually dated to 1936–38.

Armour protecting the lower legs.

An incendiary weapon used by the Byzantines, particularly against enemy ships.

Hitler’s aim of creating a ‘Greater Germany’ by bringing German-speaking peoples together within one German state.

Audience members who paid for standing places in the open yard around the stage of an outdoor theatre.

The Indigenous name for the Bahamian island where Columbus first landed on 12 October 1492; he renamed it San Salvador.

Responsibility for protecting and maintaining a historic site without necessarily owning it.

Warfare using raids and surprise attacks rather than relying on a large, set-piece battle.

Fighting in which small, mobile groups use surprise attacks rather than confronting an enemy mainly in large, conventional battles.

An association of merchants or craftspeople that regulated aspects of business and protected its members’ interests.