Abolition The end of the slave trade. Slavery was abolished across most of the British Empire in 1833 and by the USA in 1865.

British Empire The overseas colonies ruled by Britain from the 1600s to the 20th century. It built up to become the largest empire ever seen. At its peak in the 1920s, Britain had colonies in every continent.

Brunel, Isambard Kingdom (1806–1859) A British engineer, made famous by the creation of the Great Western Railway, several important tunnels and bridges, and steamships such as the SS Great Britain.

Canal A manmade waterway used to transport goods and people by boat. As industry grew, it was vital to transport goods from place to place. This led to a period of intense canal-building in Europe in the late 18th and early 19th century.

Coal A fuel dug out from the ground. In the 19th century, coal was used to heat furnaces where iron was produced and to provide fuel for steam engines. Coalmining became an important industry.

Crimean War The war fought from 1853 to 1856 between Russia on one side and Britain, France and the Ottoman Turks on the other. It was fought to decide who should control Palestine and other territories within the Ottoman Empire. The Russians were defeated in 1856.

East India Company A British company set up in 1600 to trade with colonies in Asia. It also governed India from 1757 to 1858.

Factory town A town built around one or more factories to house workers and their families. Housing was built as quickly and cheaply as possible. Conditions were overcrowded and unsanitary, and diseases spread rapidly through the population.

Franco-Prussian War The war fought from 1870 to 1871 between France and Prussia. It broke out when the French emperor Napoleon III declared war, largely because France feared the power of a united Germany. France was defeated and Prussia united with the states around it to form the modern country of Germany.

Industrial Revolution The period from the late 18th to 19th century when industry was transformed by the development of new machinery. Factories were built to accommodate the machinery. Towns and cities grew up around the factories and many people moved to them looking for work. Poverty, overcrowding and poor sanitation in the cities became serious problems. During the 19th century, industrialization spread across Europe from England, soon reaching Belgium, France and Germany. It arrived in the USA in the mid-1800s, and countries such as Japan later in the century. The development of the railways made transport quicker and easier than ever.

Imperialism The policy of extending a nation’s rule and creating an empire.

Iron A strong, heavy metal. In the 19th century, iron was used to make engines, machines, bridges and railways.

Mining The removal of precious materials, such as coal, tin, iron and gold, from under the ground. Early mining was very dangerous. There was constant risk of flooding, explosions, tunnel collapse and lethal gases. Children worked in the mines until laws put an end to the practice.

Opium Wars The battles fought between Britain and China in the mid-19th century (First Opium War 1839–42, Second Opium War 1856–60). British merchants, backed by their government, tried to bypass China’s trading restrictions by illegally importing a drug called opium. The wars forced China to accept European trade within its territories.

Railway Age The period from the late 1820s to the early 20th century, during which extensive railway networks spread across Europe, America and the Far East. The railways enabled goods, raw materials and people to be moved quickly.

Raj The British rule over India between 1858 and 1947. The word raj comes from the Hindu word for “ruler”.

Scramble for Africa The rush by European nations to lay claim to African territory. In 1884, a conference was held in Berlin to decide how Africa was to be divided up. By 1900, Europe had colonized all of Africa except for Ethiopia and Liberia.

Steam engine An engine that uses pressurized steam from a boiler to operate its moving parts. The first steam engine was built in 1698 by Thomas Savery (1650–1715). In the 1770s, James Watt (1736–1819) made improvements to the original designs, and engines became popular for powering industrial machinery. The first steam-powered locomotive (train) was built by Richard Trevithick (1771–1833) in 1804.

Steamship A boat powered by steam. Steamships with iron hulls and screw propellers were used to transport goods around the world. The first ship of this kind, the SS Great Britain, built by Isambard Kingdom Brunel, was launched in 1843.

Suez Canal A canal that created a shortcut between the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea. The Suez Canal opened in 1869 and provided a huge boost for world trade.

Trade union An organization that campaigns for better pay and conditions for the workers it represents. The first trade unions appeared during the Industrial Revolution. Machinery meant that workers did not need to be skilled and could be easily replaced. Trade unions gave some power back to the workers.

Victorian era The time of Queen Victoria’s reign over England, from 1837 to 1901. During that period, Britain became the world’s first industrial nation and acquired a huge empire.

Workhouse A building where people too poor or old to care for themselves were sent to live and work. Workhouses were built across Europe in the 19th century, though they were especially dominant in Britain. The workhouses had strict rules and were very tough places to live.

Consultant: Philip Parker