History key terms

A formal agreement between political authorities, such as the US government and representatives of Native American tribes.

The settlement of November 1277 that left Llywelyn ap Gruffudd ruling only western Gwynedd, although he retained the title Prince of Wales.

The peace settlement of 1748 that ended King George’s War, returned Louisbourg to France and left North American territorial disputes unresolved.

The March 1918 peace agreement between Bolshevik Russia and Germany which ended Russia’s participation in the First World War at the cost of extensive territorial and economic losses.

The 1670 agreement between Charles II and Louis XIV linking French financial support to English military cooperation, with secret provisions concerning Charles’s proposed conversion to Catholicism.

The peace agreement that ended the First Punic War in 241 BC and imposed losses and obligations on Carthage.

The 1585 agreement through which Elizabeth I committed military support to the Dutch rebels fighting Spanish rule.

The peace agreement of 1783 that ended the American War of Independence and recognised the independence of the United States.

The 1494 agreement between Spain and Portugal that divided their overseas claims using a north–south line through the Atlantic, with Spanish claims to the west and Portuguese claims to the east.

The 1919 peace settlement with Germany, which imposed territorial losses, reparations and restrictions on its armed forces.

The Egyptian–Israeli peace treaty signed on 26 March 1979, following negotiations based on the Camp David Accords.

An illness spread by body lice, causing a high temperature, headaches and muscle pains.

An injury to the feet caused by prolonged exposure to cold, wet conditions, which could lead to swelling, numbness and tissue damage.

Fighting in which armies defend and attack from networks of trenches dug into the ground.

A general direction of development over time, established by evidence from more than one moment.

Making a hole in the skull, historically used to treat conditions such as severe headaches or epilepsy.

The sorting of casualties according to their condition and treatment needs, so that limited medical resources could be allocated.

A test whose outcome was believed to reveal God's judgement of an accused person's guilt or innocence.

A group sworn to decide whether an accused person was guilty or innocent. Medieval criminal trial jurors were drawn from the locality and could use their own knowledge of people and events.

A trading pattern linking Europe, Africa and the Americas. Hawkins carried goods to West Africa, transported enslaved Africans to the Caribbean and returned to England with valuable goods and money.

A group of chiefs and elders that discussed matters such as war and peace, reaching decisions through agreement.

An Indigenous community sharing an identity, customs and social or political relationships; its organisation could differ from that of other communities.

A body that hears evidence and makes a decision; wartime tribunals considered applications for exemption from compulsory service.

An official representing the plebeians and protecting them against abuses by magistrates.

An official chosen to defend plebeian interests against abuses of authority.

Goods, money or labour demanded by a ruler or controlling power from subject people.

The three-house parliamentary system created by South Africa’s 1983 constitution, with separate representation for whites, Indians and Coloured people but none for Black Africans.

The immediate event that sets off a wider development whose underlying causes have already built up.

Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy’s defensive alliance, formed in 1882.

The relationship linking Britain, France and Russia by 1907 through separate agreements, rather than a single three-country military treaty.