by Chris Harman
Shaw, George Bernard: Major playwright and polemicist of first half of twentieth century. Born in Dublin, lived in England. Founder of Fabian Society.
Shelley, Percy Bysshe: English poet of early nineteenth century, supporter of revolutionary ideas, died in sailing accident 1822.
Shlyapnikov, Alexander: Bolshevik metal worker and organiser before and during First World War, commissar for labour in revolutionary government in 1918, leader of ‘workers’ opposition’ in 1920–21, reconciled with Stalin in mid-1920s, disappeared mid-1930s.
Smith, Adam: Scottish economist of eighteenth century, part of Scottish Enlightenment, influenced both mainstream modern economics and Karl Marx.
Spartacus: Leader of best-known slave revolt in ancient Rome.
Sulla: Roman general of first century BC, used vicious repression to break opponents and poor.
Sun Yat-sen: Founder and leader of Chinese national movement and Kuomintang party until death in 1925.
Thiers, Louis Adolphe: Former royal minister, president of French third republic 1871, organised crushing of Paris Commune.
Thorez, Maurice: Leader of French Communist Party from late 1920s, vice-premier of France 1945–47.
Tito, Josip: Communist leader of Yugoslavia 1945–80. Broke with Stalin 1948.
Tressell, Robert (Robert Noonan): Housepainter, socialist and novelist of first decade of twentieth century, died in poverty 1911 aged 40.
Trotsky, Leon: Russian revolutionary from late 1890s, president of St Petersburg Soviet 1905, opposed Lenin until joined Bolsheviks in 1917, organiser of October insurrection, founder of Red Army, opposed Stalinism, exiled from Russia 1929, assassinated by Stalin’s agent 1940.
Vargas, Getulio: Dictator of Brazil 1937–45, president 1950–54.
Wallenstein (sometimes Waldstein): General-in-chief of imperial armies during first part of Thirty Years War. Assassinated on orders of emperor at the height of his successes.
Webb, Beatrice and Sidney: Founders of Fabian version of gradualist socialism in Britain in 1880s. Opposed Bolshevik Revolution, praised Stalin’s Russia in 1930s.
Weber, Max: German sociologist of beginning of twentieth century.
Wellington, Duke of: Head of British armies against Napoleon in Peninsular War and Battle of Waterloo, later Tory prime minister.
Wells, H G: Popular English novelist 1890s to early 1940s, pioneer of science fiction, populariser of science and history.
Wilberforce, William: English MP who led parliamentary campaign against slave trade in late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.
Wilkes, John: Eighteenth-century English journalist and MP. Gained support of London merchants and London mob, clashed with George III’s government, was expelled from parliament and imprisoned. Later became Lord Mayor of London and pillar of establishment.
Wilson, Woodrow: US president 1913–21.
Wycliffe, John: Fourteenth-century English precursor of Reformation.
Zhou Enlai (Chou En-lai): Prominent Chinese Communist from mid-1920s onwards, prime minister throughout 1950s, 1960s and early 1970s.
Zola, Émile: Major French realist novelist of second half of nineteenth century, sentenced to prison for defending Dreyfus.
Places
Aegean: Sea and islands to east and south east of Greece. Also sometimes used for Bronze Age civilisation of mainland Greece.
Agra: Indian town, south of Delhi, where Taj Mahal is situated.
Alsace-Lorraine: Area now in north east of France, but annexed by Germany between 1871 and 1919, and between 1940 and 1944.
Aragon: Inland north east region of modern Spanish state. Kingdom that included Catalonia in late medieval and early modern times.
Armenia: Region east of Asia Minor, between Black and Caspian seas. Today name of former Soviet republic.
Asia Minor: Asiatic part of modern Turkey, often called Anatolia.
Assyria: Area in what is today southern Turkey, centre of great Middle Eastern empire in seventh century BC.
Bohemia: North western half of present-day Czech Republic, with capital in Prague. From thirteenth to seventeenth centuries important centre of (mainly German-speaking) Holy Roman Empire.
Burgundy: Territory in northern and eastern France that came close to developing into separate state in fifteenth century.
Byzantium: City on stretch of water connecting Mediterranean to Black Sea. From fourth century on called Constantinople and, from late fifteenth century, Istanbul. Also name given to Greek-speaking remnant of Roman Empire from fifth to fifteenth centuries.
Castile: Central region in Spain, where modern Spanish state and language originated.
Catalonia: Province in north east of Spanish state, stretching south from French border, with its own language. In medieval period separate entity, including parts of southern France. In twentieth century contained strong nationalist movement, and today has own parliament within Spanish state.
Charleston: Important port-city in South Carolina in US.
Cordoba: City in Spain that was a centre of Islamic civilisation in Middle Ages. Also Argentinian city.
Fertile Crescent: Region of Middle East including Palestine, Lebanon, northern Syria and most of Iraq.
Flanders: Medieval name for western Belgium around Ghent and Bruges and northern slice of France between Lille and Dunkirk. Today name for half of Belgium in which they speak version of Dutch known as ‘Flemish’.
Gaul: Roman name for what is now France. Included northern slice of Italy.
Giza: Couple of miles due west of modern Cairo, where biggest Egyptian pyramids were built.
Granada: Last Moorish city to fall to Spanish monarchy.
Hanseatic cities: German ports on North Sea and Baltic in late medieval period.
Harappa: Third-millennium BC city on Indus.
Hellespont Straits: West of Istanbul joining Mediterranean to Black Sea, also called Dardanelles.
Hispaniola: Name for Caribbean island including modern Haiti and Dominican Republic.
Holy Roman Empire: Empire originally established by Charlemagne in ninth century. Persisted as disparate collection of territories in Germany, eastern Europe and Italy until nineteenth century, when it became known as Austrian Empire and then Austro-Hungarian Empire.
Iberian Peninsula: Term for Spain and Portugal.
Indochina: Region comprising Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos.
Indus Valley: Today eastern part of Pakistan, close to Indian border.
Ionian: Sea and islands to west of Greece.
Kampuchea: Cambodia.
Knossos: Site of palace of Cretan civilisation of 2000 to 1500 BC.
Lagash: City state in third-millennium BC Mesopotamia.
Low Countries: Region including present-day Belgium and Holland.
Macedonia: Region in Balkans north of Greece.
Maghreb: North African region including Morocco, Algeria and Tunisia.
Mahagda: State in sixth-century BC northern India that led to Mauryan Empire.
Mecca: Trading city in western Arabian peninsula. Birthplace of Mohammed and most important holy city of Islam. Today in Saudi Arabia.
Meso-America: Region including Mexico and Guatemala.
Mesopotamia: Old name for what is now Iraq. Literally means ‘between two rivers’ – ie valley of Euphrates and Tigris.
Mohenjo-dero: Third-millennium BC city on Indus.
Nanking: Chinese city on Yangtze, upriver from Shanghai.
New Lanark: Town near Glasgow where Robert Owen managed ‘model’ factories.
Nubia: Region of southern Egypt and northern Sudan.
Palatine: Area of western Germany, principality during Holy Roman Empire.
Phoenicia: Name for coast of Lebanon in ancient world.
Piedmont: Area in northern Italy around Turin, ruled by king who became king of Italy in late 1860s.
Prussia: Kingdom in eastern Germany centred on Berlin, whose ruler became emperor of Germany in 1870. Biggest state in Germa
ny until 1945.
Rhineland: Area of south west Germany, adjacent to French and Belgian borders.
Ruhr: Area in Germany, north of Rhineland and close to Belgian border, main centre of German industrial revolution.
Saint-Domingue: Name for Haiti before slave revolt of 1790s.
Samarkand: Important trading city in central Asia throughout Middle Ages.
Saqqara: Few miles south east of modern Cairo, where first pyramids and tombs built.
Silesia: Area in south of present-day Poland. Disputed between Poles and Germans until end of Second World War.
Sparta: City state on southern mainland of ancient Greece, historic rival of Athens.
Sumer: Name for Mesopotamian civilisation of third century BC.
Tenochtitlan: Aztec capital, rebuilt as Mexico City by Spanish conquerors.
Teotihuacan: City and name of civilisation built in first centuries AD close to present-day Mexico City.
Thebes: Ancient Egyptian city, capital in Middle and New Kingdoms, close to present-day Luxor (also, confusingly, name of an ancient Greek city state).
Third World: Term used after 1950s to describe former colonial and semi-colonial countries.
Thuringia: Region of central Germany.
Transylvania: Mountainous region between modern Hungary and Romania, claimed by both.
Ulster: Northern nine counties of Ireland, used by pro-British Loyalists to describe six-county statelet established in 1921.
Uruk: City state in third-millennium BC Mesopotamia.
Valley of Mexico: Area around present-day Mexico City, centre of Teotihuacan and Aztec civilisations.
Valmy: Place in northern France where revolutionary army won first great victory against royalist invaders in 1792.
Versailles: Town outside Paris where Louis XIV established great palace. Centre of force directed against Paris Commune in 1871. Meeting place of conference which carved up world at behest of Britain and France in aftermath of First World War.
Waterloo: Village in France where Napoleon suffered final defeat in 1815. Not to be confused with London railway station of same name.
Yangtze: Great river running west to east across middle of China. Enters sea near Shanghai.
Yellow River: Great river running southwards then west to east across northern China. Centre of first Chinese civilisations. Has changed course with catastrophic results historically.
Terms
Abbasids: Dynasty that ruled Islamic Empire in Middle East from mid-eighth to thirteenth century, without real power after tenth century.
Absolutism/absolutist monarchy: Powerful monarchic regimes that existed in countries like France, Spain, Prussia, Austria and Russia from mid-seventeenth century onwards.
Acropolis: Hill overlooking Athens on which stands the Parthenon, a temple built in sixth century BC.
Active citizens: Men with votes under property franchise in France 1790–92.
Ahimsa: Non-violence in Buddhism and some versions of Hinduism.
Anarcho-syndicalism: Movement combining trade union methods of struggle with anarchist notions.
Ancien régime: French for ‘old regime’, name often given to social order in Europe prior to French Revolution.
Arianism: Version of Christianity very influential in fifth century AD which disagreed with Catholicism on interpretation of trinity.
Artisan: Slightly archaic term referring to someone, usually self-employed, skilled in handicraft production.
Aryans: People who invaded north India around 1500 BC. Spoke an Indo-European language. Not be confused with ‘Arian’ heresy prevalent in fifth-century AD Christianity.
Auto da fé: Place of execution for ‘heretics’, victims of the Inquisition.
Bantu: Family of languages spoken in west, central and southern Africa.
Barbarians: Old term for purely agricultural form of society, used by Morgan, Engels and Gordon Childe.
Battle of White Mountain: Where Bohemian forces suffered first big defeat in Thirty Years War.
Boer War 1899–1902: War over British annexation of mineral-rich Boer territory in southern Africa.
Boers: Dutch-speaking white settlers in southern Africa, also called Afrikaners.
Bourbon: Family name of French monarchs of seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, and of Spanish monarchs after early eighteenth century.
Bourgeoisie: Originally French term for middle-class town dwellers, used since early nineteenth century to mean members of capitalist class.
Bronze Age: Term sometimes used to describe period of urban revolution in Eurasia and Africa.
Burghers: Full citizens of medieval and early modern towns, usually merchants or independent craftsmen. Sometimes called ‘burgesses’ in England. Origin of French word ‘bourgeois’.
Carlists: Supporters of rival dynasty to Spanish monarchy, bitter opponents of even mildest schemes for modernisation or liberalisation, from 1830s to fascist victory in 1939.
Carmagnole: French revolutionary dance.
Caste: Form of social organisation in which people are born into a specific social category from which they cannot (in theory) escape. Associated with Hinduism. Hierarchy of castes often, in practice, cuts across hierarchy based on class power, so that today not all upper-caste Hindus are rich, although the great majority of the members of the lowest castes are poor.
Cavaliers: Name given to royalist troops in English Civil War.
CGT: Main French trade union federation, founded by syndicalists before First World War, run by Communist Party since Second World War.
Ch’in: Empire that united northern China in 221 BC.
Chieftainship: Anthropologists’ term for society in which some people have higher standing than others but there is no clear division into class and no separate state.
Chin: Turkic Dynasty that ruled northern half of China in twelfth century.
Chou: Dynasty that ran a loose ‘feudal’ empire in China after about 1100 BC.
Clan: See Lineage.
CNT (Confederación Nacional de Trabajo): Anarcho-syndicalistled union in Spain.
Communards: Participants in Paris Commune of 1871.
Commune: Term often used for a medieval town, or for the council which ran it. Used for city council of Paris during revolution of 1789–95. Used to describe elected revolutionary committee which ran city for workers in 1871. Used to describe ‘collective’ (effectively state-run) farms in China in late 1950s and 1960s.
Communist International (Comintern): Centralised international organisation of revolutionary parties established in 1919, dominated by Stalin from mid-1920s until dissolved during Second World War.
Concessions: European- or Japanese-governed enclaves within Chinese cities.
Confucianism: Ideology dominant among bureaucratic and landowning class in China through most of last 2,000 years.
Constituent assembly: Elected parliamentary-type body that exists simply to establish new constitution.
Convention: Name for France’s elected national assembly during revolutionary years 1792–96.
Council of Trent: Council of Catholic church used to launch Counter-Reformation against Protestantism.
Crown prince: Heir to throne.
Duma: Parliament in pre-revolutionary Russia, elected on undemocratic basis.
East India Company: Monopoly set up by English crown for trading with south Asia in early seventeenth century. Conquered and ran much of India between 1760s and 1850s. Replaced by direct British government rule after mutiny of 1857.
Eastern Question: Problem posed to major powers by long-drawn-out weakening and fragmentation of Turkish Empire in Balkan and Black Sea regions.
Elector: Term for some princes of Holy Roman Empire in Germany.
Émigrés: Term used to describe aristocrats who fled and plotted against revolution in France.
Enclosures: Fencing of formerly open farm and common land by landowners and capitalist farmers, so forcing poorer peasants either to abandon
the land for life in the towns or to become agricultural labourers.
Enlightenment: Eighteenth-century intellectual current which attempted to replace superstition by scientific reasoning – associated with Voltaire, Diderot, Rousseau, Hume, Gibbon.
Equites: Name for groups of new rich excluded from power in first-century BC Rome by Senatorial families.
Estates: Term for legally defined social strata with different legal rights and responsibilities – lords, knights and burghers, for instance, in medieval Europe, and nobility, clergy and others in pre-revolutionary France. Also sometimes used to describe parliamentary-type bodies which contained representatives of different groups (eg in Bohemia at time of Thirty Years War).
Estates-General: Assemblies from representatives of three sections of French population under pre-revolutionary monarch – nobles, clergy and others – met in 1789 for first time in 175 years.
Falange: Name given to movements inspired in Spain and Lebanon by Italian fascism.
Fatimids: Dynasty that ruled Egypt in eleventh and twelfth centuries.
FBI (Federal Bureau of Investigation): Federal US police and secret police organisation.
Fédérés: Volunteers from outside Paris who marched to the city to defend the French Revolution in 1792.
Feudal dues: Payment which peasants had to make to feudal lords, even when no longer serfs.
Foraging: Better term for hunting and gathering.
Franciscans: Christian religious order based on teachings of St Francis in early thirteenth century. Stressed virtues of poverty but safely incorporated by feudal church.
Fratelli: Thirteenth-century Christians whose doctrines were similar to St Francis’s but drew near-revolutionary conclusions from them. Persecuted by church.
Freikorps: Right-wing mercenary force used against German workers in 1919–20.
Fronde: Short period of political turmoil in mid-seventeenth-century France which only briefly interrupted the strengthening of the domination of the aristocracy by the monarchy.
Gens: See Lineage.
Gentry: Well-to-do landowners, as distinct from great aristocrats.
Used in relation both to Sung China and to seventeenth- and eighteenth-century England.
