History key terms

The policy or practice of extending a country's power over other territories and peoples.

The decisions and rules through which a government expands, governs and benefits from territories under its control.

Material intended to shape people’s beliefs and attitudes in favour of imperial expansion or rule.

Money and precious metals held by the government to fund its activities.

A war fought to acquire, defend or extend overseas possessions and influence.

The authority of a Roman magistrate to command, including command of an army.

A tax charged on goods entering a country or territory.

Compulsory recruitment into military service.

A punishment that deprives an offender of their freedom by keeping them in prison.

A bomb designed to start fires rather than cause damage mainly through a large explosive blast.

A payment imposed on a defeated state as part of a peace settlement.

A worker bound by a contract to work for an employer for an agreed period, with restrictions on their freedom to leave.

A person contracted to work for a fixed period in return for benefits such as passage overseas. Unlike an enslaved person, their service had an agreed end.

A loose political and religious grouping which opposed compulsory state-regulated worship and supported religious freedom for non-Catholics. It had influential allies among senior Army officers.

Support for Indians gaining greater control over their own government, ranging from demands for increased self-government to an end to British rule.

A United States law passed in 1830 under President Andrew Jackson that authorised the negotiation of removals of Indigenous peoples to land west of the Mississippi; removals were frequently coerced.

The name used by the US government for land west of the Mississippi River designated for relocated Indigenous peoples, in what later became Oklahoma.

Peoples whose communities inhabited a territory before colonisation by outsiders. North America contained many distinct Indigenous societies with their own governments, cultures and interests.

Discrimination resulting from a rule or practice that appears to apply equally to everyone but disadvantages a particular group.

Government through existing local rulers and institutions rather than direct administration of every community by the ruling power.

The systematic teaching of beliefs in ways that discourage questioning or alternative views.

A remission of punishment for sins granted by the Church. The promise of a full indulgence offered crusaders a powerful spiritual reward.

Action taken by workers, such as striking, to put pressure on employers over an employment dispute.

The growth of industry, including factory production, supported by developments such as coal mining, steel production and railways.

The transformation of production through machinery and factories, which began in Britain around the middle of the eighteenth century.

Unable to make mistakes. Stalin’s propaganda presented him as infallible, rather than acknowledging that his decisions could be wrong.

Deaths of babies before their first birthday.

The number of babies who die before their first birthday per 1,000 live births.

Soldiers who fight on foot, including spearmen and missile troops.

A defensive infantry formation facing outwards on all sides, with bayonets helping to keep attacking cavalry away.