A guide to the language of history
History glossary
Understand the people, places and ideas behind the stories. Find a term, read its meaning, then explore it in context.
37–72 of 80 terms · C
Clear filtersCivil Rights Act of 1968
the national law that included protections against housing discrimination.
Civil war
a war fought between groups within the same state or political community.
clergy
the ordained religious officials of the Church, including priests, bishops, monks, and nuns.
code of law
a written collection of legal rules and judgments associated with state authority.
Codex
the part of Justinian's legal compilation that gathered imperial laws and constitutions.
Cohong
licensed Chinese merchants who managed foreign trade at Canton.
Cold War
the long global rivalry between the United States and the Soviet Union after the Second World War.
collectives
shared agricultural or production units created by socialist reorganization of rural life.
collectivization
the forced or state-directed merging of individual farms into collective agricultural units.
Colonialism
control of one territory or people by settlers or rulers from another place.
colonization
the settlement or control of territory by an outside power.
commanderies
large administrative districts governed by officials appointed from the centre rather than hereditary local rulers.
Committee of Public Safety
the emergency committee that directed revolutionary government during the Terror.
Common Sense
Thomas Paine's 1776 pamphlet arguing plainly and forcefully for American independence.
Commonwealth
a voluntary association of independent states, many with historic ties to the British Empire.
Commonwealth of Independent States
the loose association announced in December 1991 to replace the Soviet Union.
communion
receiving the consecrated bread and wine of the Eucharist.
Communism
a political and economic ideology aiming for shared ownership and a classless society.
Communist Party
China's ruling party, which preserved one-party control while allowing market reform.
Compromise of 1850
a package of laws meant to settle disputes over slavery after the Mexican-American War.
Confederate States of America
the breakaway slaveholding republic formed by seceding southern states in 1861.
Confederation of the Rhine
a French-protected alliance of German states that left the Holy Roman Empire in 1806.
Confucianism
an ethical and political tradition associated with Confucius that emphasised moral rule, ritual, education, hierarchy, and social duties.
Congress
the two-house legislature of the United States, made up of the Senate and House of Representatives.
Congress of Racial Equality
the civil rights organisation founded in 1942 that organised the first Freedom Ride of 1961.
conscription
compulsory military service required by the state.
Constantinople
the eastern Roman capital founded by Constantine, now the city of Istanbul in Turkey.
Constitution
the basic law establishing the United States government and its powers.
constitutional
relating to the basic legal rules and institutions of a state.
Constitutional monarchy
a monarchy where the ruler's power is limited by law, parliament, or a constitution.
consuls
the two annually elected chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, each able to check the other's power.
Containment
the Cold War policy of trying to stop communism from spreading to new countries.
Continental Congress
the intercolonial assembly that coordinated resistance, declared independence, and directed the Revolutionary War.
corvus
a Roman boarding device used in the First Punic War to turn naval encounters into infantry combat.
Council of 500
the Athenian citizen council that prepared business for the Assembly after Cleisthenes' reforms.
counterterrorism
policies and operations intended to prevent or respond to terrorism.
