This is a document that includes the Key Vocabulary needed for the French wars part of the Warfare section in A-Level History. These Words are accompanied with their definitions. This key vocabulary is great for your understanding but also for gaining extra marks in your final exam if you use the c...
Agrarian revolution- term used to describe various improvements in crop growing and
livestock breeding in the 1700s
Bayonet- short sword fixed to the end of a musket or rifle that is used by infantry in close
combat
Broadsides- the firing of all the guns on one side of a ship simultaneously
Carronade- a short, large-calibre cannon of naval use
Cat-O’nine-tails- a whip with nine knotted tails
Comptroller of the navy- the person who headed the Navy Board and was responsible for
building and maintaining ships
Conscript- recruit serving in the army not by choice but obliged when ordered by
government
Continental system- a blockade designed by Napoleon to paralyse Britain
Convoys- groups of merchant ships sailing in formation and protected by warships
Coppering- covering a ship’s hull with copper sheeting to protect it from wear and tear
Cylon- modern day Sri Lanka
French revolution- used to describe the period 1789-94. These years saw the overthrow and
execution of King Louis XVI and an attempted destruction of the aristocracy
Flintock- a gunlock or gun with a flint from which a spark is struck to ignite gunpowder
Frigate- a warship in size and armament just below a ship of the line
Forecastle- the raised deck at the front of a ship
Government stocks- a bold sold by the government sold to offset its national debts-
regarded as a safe investment
Grapeshot- iron shot in a canvas bag that scattered widely when it was fired
Gunlock- the mechanism in some gun by which the charge is exploded
Hansard- the printed reports of debates in Parliament
Habeas Corpus- the legal procedure that prevents authorities from imprisoning people
indefinitely without trial
Headquarters- central planning and supply base where the commanding general laid plans
with his senior officers
Luddites- the people who destroyed Labour-saving machinery, 1811-12. They took their
name from a mythical leader- Ned Ludd
Marines- soldiers on board ships
Martello towers- small coastal forts built along the southern and eastern coasts of England
(and in Ireland and the Channel islands) against the threat of a French invasion
Mutiny- an open rebellion against authority, especially sailors or soldiers aginst their offices
Ordnance board- the government agency responsible for arms, armaments and munitions
Patronage- the process of bestowing jobs and offices
Pell-mell- an aggressive, confused head-to-head brawl
Petty officers- seamen who were not commissioned officers but had some authority
Privateers- private vessels commissioned to seize and plunder an enemy’s ships in wartime
Prize money- captured enemy ships were sold and money made allotted to the men.
Officers took the largest share but ordinary crewmen did receive some too
Reargued action- a defensive engagement by a small force of soldiers to hold off and delay a
pursuing enemy while the main army withdraws
Scurvy- a disease caused by Vitamin C deficiency
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