History key terms

A military policy of destroying resources and supplies so that an opponent cannot use them.

The headquarters of the Metropolitan Police, from which senior officers and specialist detectives helped direct investigations.

The accelerating competition between European powers to acquire territory and control in Africa during the late nineteenth century.

Testing people for signs of disease before they necessarily have symptoms.

A room in a monastery where manuscripts were copied and sometimes decorated.

An examination of a prospective Athenian office-holder’s eligibility and conduct before they entered office.

A payment that allowed a baron to provide money instead of military service to the king.

A horse-drawn war vehicle fitted with projecting blades intended to injure soldiers and disrupt their formation.

The intelligence branch of the SS, which collected information about threats to the Nazi regime.

A country’s ability to use its navy to defend its interests, protect overseas trade and fight enemies at sea.

US missions intended to locate and kill Vietcong fighters and destroy their supplies and bases.

A person employed during a plague outbreak to examine bodies for signs of plague and identify the cause of death.

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organisation: an alliance formed in 1954 to resist communist expansion in the region.

The withdrawal of a state from a country or political union; in this context, southern states leaving the United States.

Industrial action taken against an employer who is not directly involved in the original dispute, in support of workers elsewhere.

Poverty in which a household’s income could cover basic necessities, but spending on other things leaves too little to meet those needs.

The renewed period of hostility between the USA and Soviet Union following the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan in 1979 and during Reagan’s first presidential term.

The further programme of relief and reform introduced by President Franklin D. Roosevelt from 1935 to tackle continuing hardship during the Great Depression.

The war fought between Rome and Carthage from 218 to 201 BC, during which Hannibal invaded Italy and Rome eventually took the fighting to North Africa.

The wave of fear of communist influence and infiltration in the USA after the Second World War, leading to investigations, loyalty checks and restrictions on employment.

The three-man political alliance of Octavian, Mark Antony and Lepidus, formed after Julius Caesar’s assassination to exercise power over the Roman state.

A leading royal adviser and an especially influential member of the Privy Council.

The British government minister responsible for Indian affairs.

A voting system in which a person's choice is kept private, reducing opportunities for intimidation and bribery.

Violence directed against people because of their religious or communal identity, particularly between Sunni and Shia communities in post-invasion Iraq.

Loyalty to the interests of a particular region rather than to the country as a whole.

Non-religious: for example, secular courts exercised ordinary legal authority rather than Church authority.

A court administered by non-religious authorities rather than the Church.

The Socialist Unity Party, which dominated East Germany's political system under Soviet influence.

A way of life involving much sitting and little physical activity.