Glossary of Historical terms

Here are a list of some of the terms used by Historians and there definitions:

A

Abolitionist: a person who favours the abolition of the institution of slavery

Absolute Monarchy: Rule, commonly hereditary, by or in the name of a single individual - absolute monarchs wielded unlimited authority

Allies: nations (including Britain, the Soviet Union, and the US) opposing the Axis


Amnesty: General pardon, especially against the State.

Angevin Age: England from Henry II through Richard II - development of the justice system and of parliament further weaken of the crown, the signing of the Magna Charta.

Angles: Germanic tribe, from Schleswig to East Anglia in the 5th century

Anglo-Saxons: Name given to the Germanic-speaking peoples who settled in England after the decline of Roman rule there

Apache: Tribe of Indians in the Southwest, living in New Mexico when the Spaniards arrived. 

Archive: A collection of documents and records.

Attorney General: Legal advisor to a Government

Autobiography: An individual's account of their life.


Axis: commonly applied to the alliance of Germany, Italy, and Japan during World War II.

B


Baron: A British nobleman of the lowest rank of dignity

Bibliography: A list of works, including books, journals and essays, on a particular subject.

Bill: a proposed law under consideration by a legislature.

Biography: An account of an individual's life, written by another person.


Boer: Inhabitant of South Africa of Dutch or French Huguenot descent, also known as Afrikaners

Bolshevik: A member of the radical majority of the Social Democratic party, 1903 to 1917 (Communist)


Bourbons: European ruling dynasty in France beginning with Henry IV in 1589 and ending with the French Revolution. In Spain, the dynasty ruled beginning with Philip V in 1700 until Alfonso XIII in 1931 (his grandson Juan Carlos was restored to the throne in 1975)


Bourgeoisie: Originally, the urban merchants who developed trade at the end of the middle ages and who led the struggle against the feudal aristocracy for the rights of citizenship. The meaning was later extended to include the whole middle class


Burgundians: A Teutonic tribe which had been given lands on the upper Rhine by the Romans. They moved south and established a kingdom along the Rhone between the Franks and the Ostrogoths. Their kingdom lasted about 100 years until they were conquered in 534 by the Franks.

C

Cavaliers: The name of the Royalist party before, during, and after the English Civil War- defined by loyalty to the crown and to the Anglican church


Celts: An Indo-European people now represented chiefly by the Irish, Gaels, Welsh, and Bretons


Central Powers: Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy, between 1882 and 1914


Centurion: A professional middle-ranking officer of a century (100) in the Roman army.


Charter: Document granting certain rights, privileges, powers, or functions - a constitution of sorts for colonies, corporate bodies, or cities


Cherokee: One of the most powerful tribes of the Iroquoian stock who occupied territory ranging in present-day Alabama,Georgia, S.Carolina, N.Carolina and Virginia


Cheyenne: Plains Natives occupying what is now Minnesota and North Dakota


Ciompi: In medieval Florence, the ciompi did not belong to guilds. In 1378 they staged a revolution to secure political power. They were successful, only to lose out completely by the counter-revolution of 1382.

Civil Right: enforceable right or privilege

Civil War: war between organized groups within the same nation state or republic


Common Law: The unwritten law based on the traditional, precedent-based element in the law, as distinct from statute law




Confederate: A supporter of the Confederate States of America during the Civil War


Congress: The legislative branch of the US federal government - it consists of the Senate (upper house) and the House of Representatives (lower house)


Conquistadors(Spanish - "conqueror"): The Spanish soldiers and adventurers who conquered South and Central America in the 16th century


Constitution: The system of fundamental principles according to which a nation, state, corporation, or the like, is governed or the document embodying these principles


Coup d'état (From the French "blow"): A sudden and decisive action in politics, especially one resulting in a change of government illegally or by force

D


Delawares: At one time the most important confederacy of the Algonquian family of Native Americans - occupying present-day New Jersy, eastern Pennsylvania, northern Delaware, and the land now covered by New York City


Demagogue: A person, especially an orator or political leader, who gains power and popularity by arousing the emotions, passions, and prejudices of the people

Democracy: a form of government in which all eligible citizens have an equal say in the decisions that affect their lives.


Dictatorship: A regime in which an individual leader or a small leadership group holds unchallenged power


Directory: The French revolutionary government constituted in 1795, comprising two councils and an executive. Overthrown in 1799


Doctrine of Nullification (United States): Doctrine expounded by the advocates of extreme states' rights - it held that states have the right to declare null and void any federal law that they deem unconstitutional


Duar War: Five month war fought between British India and Bhutan in 1864-1865.

E

Earl: A British nobleman of the third highest rank of dignity in the peerage

Emancipation: efforts to procuring political rights or equality, often for a specifically disenfranchised group


Estates General: A gathering of representatives of the three estates of a realm: the Church; the nobility; and the commons (representatives of the corporations of towns).


Etymology: The study of the historical origin or derivation of a word.

F


Federalist: In U.S. history, the political faction that favoured a strong federal government


Feminism: The social movement towards equalising the status of women socially, economically and politically.


Feudalism: A system of land tenure, characteristic of medieval Europe, in which property is held by a vassal (the feudal inferior) of his lord (the feudal superior) in return for a pledge of homage and services, principally military, and certain other accompanying conditions









Fief: The land held under the feudal system by a vassal from his lord








Franks: Tuetonic tribe which settled originally along the Rhine from Cologne to the North Sea. They began to expand their territory in the 5th c., and under the successors to Clovis, the Frankish dominions embraced nearly all that today is included in France, Belgium, Holland, and western Germany


Fronde (1648 - 1653): Civil war in France


Fugitive Slave Laws: The (U.S.) federal acts of 1793 and 1850 providing for the return between states of escaped black slaves

G


Ghibellines (from the German Waiblingen): Italian political faction during Frederick II's conflict with the papacy - they supported Frederick


Gilded Age, US: America enters an industrial era - this period is marked by depression, Populist revolt, and middle-class reform


Girondist: A member of the French moderate republican Party in power during the Revolution of 1791 to 1793


Gold Standard: The gold standard is a monetary system in which the standard economic unit of account is a fixed weight of gold.


Goths: Teutonic people who in the 3rd to 5th centuries invaded and settled in parts of the Roman Empire


Great Depression: The severe economic depression of 1929 to 1934. The stock market crash of 1929 is traditionally seen as the starting point.


Guelfs: Italian political faction during Emperor Frederick II's conflict with the papacy - they opposed the claims of the Hohenstaufen emperor to authority in Italy and were sympathetic to the pope


Guild: A corporation or association of persons engaged in similar pursuits for mutual protection, aid, or co-operation. Known in England from the 7th century.

H


Habeas Corpus: A writ requiring a person to be brought before a judge or court, especially for investigation of a restraint of the person's liberty, used as a protection against illegal imprisonment


Hapsburg: Line of Holy Roman emperors from Albert II until the Empire was abolished in 1806 (with the single exception of Charles VII of Bavaria: 1742-45), monarchs of Austria until 1919


Hellenism: The civilisation that spread from Greece through much of the ancient world from 333 (Alexander the Great) to 63 (dominance of Rome) BCE.


Heruli: Nomadic Germanic people, who were subjugated by the Ostrogoths and Huns in the 3rd to 5th centuries


Hessian: Mercenaries (of the state of Hesse)used by England during the American Revolution

History: the study of the past or the product of our attempts to understand the past, rather than the past itself.

Historian: An individual who studies the past.

Historiography: the methods and principles used in the study of history, or the written result.


Holocaust: The attempted extermination of European Jews (and other persecuted groups such as gypsies and homosexuals) by the Nazis from 1935 to 1945


Hopewellians: Mound building Native group occupying what is now mid-west United States from 300 B.C.E. - 500 A.D.


Hopi: Group of pueblo Natives who have remained in the same territory they occupied when first seen by Coronado's troops in 1540 (modern-day Arizona)


Huguenots (from the German "Eidgenossen"): French Protestants, followers of John Calvin.

I


Impeach: To accuse (a public official) before an appropriate tribunal of misconduct in office


Indenture: A contract by which a person, as an apprentice, is bound to a master craftsman for a specified in order to learn a trade

Interdisciplinary: the study, or practice, of a subject which applies the methods and approaches of several disciplines. For instance, while History, Literature and Archaeology are separate disciplines, they can be combined.


Iroquois: A powerful confederation of Iroquoian tribes, first known as the Five Nations (Cayuga, Mohawk, Oneigda, Onondaga, and Seneca). Became Six Nations when the Tuscarora were adopted into the confederacy.

J


Jacobin: The most radical and ruthless of the political clubs of the French Revolution


Jacquerie: A violent peasant revolt in France in 1358 against war taxes, the heavy ransom for captives taken at Poitiers in 1358, and pillaging mercenary soldiers. This revolt was put down in merciless fashion by the nobles.

Journal: A periodical which normally deals with a specific issue, for instance, National Geographic.


Jutes: The Jutes were a Germanic people who are believed to have originated from Jutland in modern Denmark and part of the Frisian coast.

K

King: The male ruler of an independent state, esp. one who inherits the position by right of birth.


Ku Klux Klan: US secret society that sprang up in Southern states after the Civil War

L


League of Nations: An international organisation created (1920) after World War I with the purpose of achieving international co-operation






Lombards: Germanic barbarian tribe which overran the Po Valley in Italy in the 6th c. Their kingdom lasted 200 years until it ws conquered by Charlemagne in 773


Louisiana Purchase: A treaty signed with France in 1803 by which the U.S. purchased for $15,000,000 the land extending from the Mississippi River to the Rocky Mountains and from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico

M


Magna Carta (Latin "Great Charter"): British historical document issued by King John in 1215 - this constitutional document ensures that the King observe the rights of subjects and communities


Manorial System (aka seignorial system): Economic and social system of medieval Europe under which peasants' land tenure and production were regulated, and local justice and taxation were administered


Masonic Order: International fraternity called Freemasons, characterised by elaborate rituals and systems of secret signs, passwords, and handshakes


Mayflower Compact: Agreement Between the Settlers at New Plymouth


Merovingians: Dynasty of kings of the Franks from Clodion (428 - 448) to Childeric III (dethroned in 751 by Pippin). The family was descended from Merovens, a traditional chief of the Salian Franks


Middle Ages: In 1469, Giovanni Andrea of Aleria spoke of writings of the "middle period". In 1518 the Swiss scholar Vadian used the phrase "middle ages". In 1604 the German historian Goldast used a similar expression. The end of the Middle Ages cannot be associated with one comparable event, but 1300 is the year used by this site.


Ming Dynasty: Chinese dynasty ruling from 1668 to 1644


Modus Vivendi: A temporary arrangement between persons or parties pending a settlement of matters in debate


Mohawk: Powerful tribe of the Iroquois, formerly occupying the territory of the Mohawk valley in New York




Monarchy: A form of government in which sovereignty is vested in a single person whose right to rule is generally hereditary and who is empowered to remain in office for life


Moors: Nomadic people of the northern shores of Africa, originally the inhabitants of Mauretania. In the 8th century the Moors were converted to Islam and became fanatic Muslims


Mugwump: Term for the Republicans who in 1884 deserted their party nominee, James G. Blaine, to vote for the Democratic nominee, Grover Cleveland

N


Narragansett: Tribe of Algonquian Natives, at one time the most powerful of southern New England (modern day Rhode Island)


National Assembly: The elected legislature in France 1789 to 1791


Native Americans: The forefathers of the Native Americans came across eastern Siberia in Asian, and then through Alaska and Canada to the territory now known as the United States. These people spread south, west and east, diversifying custom and language as they did.


Navajo: A tribe of southwestern Natives, occupying present-day Arizona and New Mexico


Nazi: Member of the German National Socialist party - led from 1921 (inception) to 1945 by Adolph Hitler


New Deal: F.D.Roosevelt's domestic reform program to provide recovery and relief from the Great Depression


New World: North and South America regarded collectively in relation to Europe


Nez Perces: Powerful Native tribe that roamed the territory between the Blue Montains in Oregon and the Bitter Root Mountains in Idaho


Noble: Belonging to the aristocracy


Non-conformist: A Protestant in England who is not a member of the Church of England; dissenter












Norman: The Northmen, or Norsemen, who conquered Normandy in the 10th cent. and adopted Christianity and the customs and language of France, in 1066 they displaced the Anglo Saxon nobility of England



Norman Conquest: The defeat of King Harold of England by the Normans, under William (the Conqueror) I, in 1066. A Norman aristocracy was superimposed on the English, and the new elite brought with it Norman feudal customs

O


Occoneechee: Native group composed of a Siouan tribe named Eno and the Shakori who merged at the end of the 17th century. They occupied territory in what is now North Carolina


Ostrogoths: A branch of the Goths who invaded the Roman Empire in the 4th century. Under their leader, Theodoric, they invaded Italy in 488


Ottomans: A powerful Muslim clan that settled in what is now Turkey and established a Muslim dynasty that ruled from about the 13th century CE until 1924 (when it fell to the rebellious "young Turks"). It was the major preserver of "official" Islamic continuity in the Mediterranean and adjacent areas during most of that period.

P


Pacifism: A modern term for positions opposed to warfare (e.g. Quakerism).


Paiute: refers to two related groups - Northern Paiute and Southern Paiute - of Native Americans speaking languages belonging to the Numic branch of the Uto-Aztecan family of Native American languages. The Northern Paiute call themselves Numa (sometimes written Numu); the Southern Paiute call themselves Nuwuvi. Both terms mean "the people."


Paris Commune: A group which seized the municipal government of Paris in the French Revolution and in this capacity played a leading part in the Reign of Terror until suppressed in 1794


Parliament: Legislative assembly
Pastry War (1838 - 1839): Brief and minor conflict between Mexico and France, arising from the claim of a French pastry cook living in Tacubaya, near Mexico City, that some Mexican army officers had damaged his restaurant.
Pawnee: A powerful confederacy of the Caddoan language family consisting of the Chaui, the Kitkehahki, the Pitahauerat, and the Skidi
Pequot: An Algonquian tribe, believed to have been an eastern division of the Mohegan (modern-day Connecticut)
Picts (Latin: Picti=painted people):The Picts were a confederation of tribes in central and northern Scotland from the 3rd century to the 10th century. They lived to the north of the Forth and Clyde. 
Pilgrims: The group of separatists and other individuals who were the founders of Plymouth Colony
Pima: Native North American tribe of South Arizona
Pluralism: A general term for situations in which a variety of perspectives are accommodated, or at least tolerated, within the recognised system; e.g. America as a pluralistic society.
Podesta: An administrator responsible for law and order in an Italian city
Pope: Bishop of Rome and Head of the Roman Catholic Church
Primary sources: Material from, or directly related to, the past. In History, primary sources are usually letters, records or other documents created during the period that is being studied, such as diaries, legal notices or accounts. However, primary sources can include photographs, jewelry and other items.
President: a leader of an organization, company, or a republic
Proletariat: Originally, the lower class of Rome and other ancient states, the term was later used to refer to the lower class of any community
Ptolemies: Any of the Kings of the Macedonian dynasty that ruled Egypt from 323 to 30 B.C.E
Q
Queen:  Female ruler of an independent state, esp. one who inherits the position by right of birth or a consort of a King
R
Ratify: To confirm by expressing consent, approval, or formal sanction
Rebellion: uprising, or insurrection is a refusal of obedience or order.
Red Army: Originally the Workers' and Peasants' Red Army set up by Trotsky, later the term refers to the army of the Soviet Union (until shortly after WWII)
Reichstag: Name for the diet of the Holy Roman Empire, for the lower chamber of the federal parliament of the North German Confederation, and for the lower chamber of the federal parliament of Germany from 1871 to 1945
Renaissance (Latin, "rebirth"): Name usually given to the "rebirth" of classical knowledge that erupted in the 15th century and provided background for the protestant reformation and associated events in Europe. 
Reparations: Payments or other compensation offered as an indemnity for loss or damage
Republic: A sovereign state ruled by representatives of a widely inclusive electorate
Restoration: The re-establishment of a monarchy
Revolution: A forcible overthrow of a government or social order for a new system.
Romanov: Dynasty that ruled in Russia from the accession of Michael Romanov in 1613 until the overthrow of the last tsar, Nicholas II, in 1917
Roundhead: Derisive name for the supporters of Parliament during the English Civil War
Royalist: A Cavalier adherent of Charles I of England or a loyalist in the American Revolution; Tory
S
Saracen: An Arab or Muslim at the time of the Crusades
Saxons: German people who made settlements in Britain by approximately 450 AD
Secondary sources: Material created by somebody removed from the event being studied - who was either not at the event, or was working later. 
Segregation: To require, often with force, the separation of (a specific racial, religious, or other group) from the general body of society
Seminole: Tribe of the Muskhogean family allied to the Hitchiti and Creek who occupied what is now Georgia and northern Florida
Serf: An unfree medieval peasant under the control of the lord whose lands he worked
Sharecropping: System of farm tenancy that arose at the end of the Civil War out of the plantation system
Sioux: Confederation of Native North American tribes occupying present-day Wisconsin, Iowa, Minnesota, North and South Dakota
Slavery: Institution where servitude gradually becamesubject to bondage for life based on race
Suffrage: The right to vote, especially in a political election. 
T
Temperance Movement: Social movement, dedicated to promoting moderation and, more often, complete abstinence in the use of intoxicating liquor
Teutons: The Teutons were mentioned as a Germanic tribe in early historical writings by Greek and Roman authors such as Strabo and Velleius. 
Thane: A freeman granted land by the king in return for military service in Anglo-Saxon England
Third Reich: Germany during the Nazi regime (1933 to 1945)
Thirteen Colonies: The 13 North American colonies that became the United States of America in 1776. They were: Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, and Virginia
Tory: A member of a British political party traditionally opposed to the Whigs, conservative
Treaty: Formal agreement between sovereign states or organizations of states
Tsar,(also spelled Czar or Tzar and): Official title designating "Emperor" in Russia from about 1480 until 1917. In 1917, Peter I the Great decreed that the Latin-based title imperator should be used instead, but tsar remained in common usage.
U
Union, US: Term referring to the supporters of the Northern Union during the American Civil War
United Nations: International organization established immediately after World War II (replacing the League of Nations), with 51 members - 193 nations are now members of the organization 
Ute: An important division of the Shoshoni Natives, closely related to the Paiute and the Bannocks - they lived in what is now Colorado, Utah and New Mexico
V
Vandals: Central European tribe which migrated across France and Spain and settled in Carthage in Africa in 429. They sacked Rome in 455
Vassal: A vassal or liege, in the terminology that both preceded and accompanied the feudalism of medieval Europe, is one who enters into mutual obligations with a lord, usually of military support and mutual protection, in exchange for certain guarantees, which came to include the terrain held as a fief. 
Veto: The power of one functionary (e.g., the president) of a government, or of one member of a group or coalition, to block the operation of laws or agreements passed or entered into by the other functionaries or members
Viking: Scandinavian warriors who raided the coasts of Europe and the British Isles from the 9th cent. to the 11th cent. 
Visigoths: Barbarian Germanic tribe that invaded the Roman Empire and sacked Rome in 410. Invaded Gaul, and then secured control of Spain by 507
W
Wampanoag: An Algonquin tribe who occupied what is now Massachusetts
Waterloo: Napoleon was decisively defeated at this village in central Belgium on 18 June, 1815. 
Whig: Historical member of the British reforming and constitutional party; opposed to the Tories
Witan: The Witan (or Witenagemot) was a political institution in Anglo-Saxon England which operated between approximately the 7th century and 11th century.
World War I (1914 - 1918): The war involving Great Britain, France, Russia and the U.S. etc. on one side and Germany, Austria-Hungary, etc. on the other.
World War II (1939 -1945): The war involving Great Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the U.S., etc. on one side and Germany, Italy, Japan, etc. on the other.
X
Y
Yeoman: Free man who cultivates his own land, of a lower class than a gentleman - the basis for later time's middle class
Zuni: Important tribe of the Pueblo Natives who settled in what is now New Mexico