For pupils and teachers

Visual glossary

Simple, child-friendly definitions of the key words we use in Black history lessons. Every example links back to something you can see on the platform.

Empire
A group of countries or lands ruled over by one government or ruler, often from far away.
Example: The Mali Empire in West Africa ruled a large area rich in gold and salt.
Civilisation
A large group of people living together with shared cities, writing, laws, art and ways of life.
Example: Ancient Egypt was one of the earliest civilisations in the Nile Valley.
Sourced image NASA. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons (NASA) · Public Domain.
Trade route
A path or set of paths that traders travel along to move goods from place to place.
Example: The trans-Saharan trade routes linked West Africa to North Africa across the desert.
Sourced image Map: T L Miles, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Manuscript
A book or document written by hand, often before printing was invented.
Example: Scholars in Timbuktu wrote thousands of manuscripts on astronomy and mathematics.
Sourced image Photo via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Archaeology
The study of the past through the objects, buildings and bones people left behind.
Example: Archaeologists study the stone walls at Great Zimbabwe to learn how people lived.
Migration
When people move from one place to live in another.
Example: The Windrush generation migrated from the Caribbean to Britain after the Second World War.
Sourced image Royal Navy official photographer. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain.
Independence
When a country becomes free to govern itself and is no longer ruled by another country.
Example: Ghana gained independence from Britain in 1957.
Sourced image Flag of Ghana: public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Internal — designed timeline card · Public Domain.
Colony
A country or area controlled and often settled by another country.
Example: For many years, several Caribbean islands were British colonies.
Sourced image Rigobert Bonne / Geographicus, 1780. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons (Library of Congress) · Public Domain.
Decolonisation
The process of colonies becoming independent countries, often across many years.
Example: Between 1957 and the 1990s, most African countries went through decolonisation.
Sourced image Map: Wikimedia Commons contributor (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Mineral resource
A useful material found in the ground, such as gold, copper or cobalt, that can be mined.
Example: The Democratic Republic of the Congo has large amounts of the mineral resource cobalt.
Sourced image Photo: Rob Lavinsky / iRocks.com, via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0). Wikimedia Commons · CC BY-SA 3.0.
Primary source
A piece of evidence made at the time of an event — a photograph, letter, object or map.
Example: A photograph of HMT Empire Windrush arriving in 1948 is a primary source about migration.
Sourced image Royal Navy official photographer. Public domain via Wikimedia Commons. Wikimedia Commons · Public Domain.
Secondary source
Something made later that studies, explains or retells what happened, like a school textbook.
Example: This lesson page is a secondary source: it explains events using primary sources.