History key terms

A German revolutionary communist group led by Rosa Luxemburg and Karl Liebknecht, associated with the January 1919 uprising in Berlin.

The Social Democratic Party: a German socialist party which campaigned for workers’ rights and democratic reform and became the largest Reichstag party in 1912.

An illegal drinking establishment operating during prohibition.

A designated area offering special conditions to attract foreign investment and encourage international trade.

The development of officers or units with training and expertise for particular kinds of police work.

Medical care provided by professionals with advanced expertise in a particular disease, body system or type of treatment.

Buying an asset in the hope of making a profit from changes in its price.

An area in which a powerful country exercises substantial influence over other countries’ affairs.

Britain’s nineteenth-century policy of avoiding permanent European alliances while relying on its navy to protect its empire and trade.

The arms taken by a victorious Roman commander from an enemy leader whom he personally killed in battle, dedicated to Jupiter Feretrius. Livy presents Romulus’ offering as the founding example.

Financial and political backing for an undertaking, such as providing the resources and royal approval needed for an expedition.

The belief that microorganisms arise spontaneously from decaying matter, rather than coming from existing microorganisms.

A group of warships operating together as part of a larger fleet.

The Schutzstaffel: a Nazi organisation led by Heinrich Himmler that developed from Hitler’s bodyguard into a major instrument of security, terror and racial persecution.

The false claim that Germany’s army had been betrayed by civilians at home rather than defeated through the war.

A campaign celebrating workers who greatly exceeded production targets, named after the coal miner Alexei Stakhanov.

A situation in which neither side can make a decisive breakthrough.

Tobacco packaging with a standardised appearance and no promotional logos or graphics, designed to reduce its appeal while retaining health warnings.

The material conditions of people’s lives, including what their income can buy, their working conditions and their access to goods and leisure.

A permanent military force maintained in peacetime as well as during war.

A royal court which could hear cases against powerful people who might escape punishment in local courts.

The institutions through which a country is governed and authority is exercised, including law-making and law-enforcement bodies.

A period in which a government claims exceptional powers, restricting normal legal protections and civil liberties.

The argument that individual states should retain powers rather than submit to control by the national, or federal, government.

A possession or display used to show someone’s wealth and social importance.

A written law enacted under royal authority.

A law passed in 1351 which attempted to hold workers’ wages at pre-Black Death levels and restrict their freedom to move for better-paid work.

A law passed in 1285 that strengthened merchants’ ability to recover debts, helping to make trading on credit more secure.

Edward I’s settlement of 1284, which organised Welsh territory under direct royal control into six shire counties and introduced English-style administration and law, while retaining some Welsh legal practices.

A law introduced by Edward I in 1275 that prohibited Jews from lending at interest, restricting an important source of income.