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.
109–144 of 797 terms
Chetniks
royalist Serbian fighters in occupied Yugoslavia who opposed both Axis forces and Tito's communist Partisans.
Chinese Civil War
the conflict between Chinese Communists and Nationalists that ended with Communist victory on the mainland in 1949.
Chinese Communist Party
The revolutionary party founded in 1921 that won the mainland civil war and founded the People’s Republic of China.
Choshu
a powerful western Japanese domain that became a centre of anti-shogunal resistance.
Christianity
a religion centered on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth.
Christianization
the spread or adoption of Christianity by individuals, rulers, or societies.
Chu-Han struggle
the civil war between Liu Bang of Han and Xiang Yu of Chu after the Qin collapse.
Church of England
England's national Protestant church, created during the English Reformation.
CIA
the U.S. foreign intelligence agency involved in reconnaissance, analysis and covert action during the Cold War.
citizenship
membership in a political community with recognized rights, duties, and identity.
City-state
an independent city that controls its surrounding land like a small country.
civil disobedience
deliberately breaking an unjust law or rule as a form of political protest.
civil rights
rights that allow people to participate in public life on equal terms.
Civil Rights Act of 1964
the national law banning major forms of discrimination in public services and employment.
Civil 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.
