IB History Experiences of Marginalized Groups Key Definitions

A supporter of the abolition (ending) of slavery and the extension of equal rights to formerly enslaved people.

A national advocacy organisation representing First Nations peoples in Canada. It was established in 1982 as the successor to the National Indian Brotherhood. The AFN represents over 630 First Nations communities and advocates for Indigenous rights, treaty obligations and self-governance.

To remove rights and privileges, such as the right to vote. In Rhodesia, the white government used property and wealth restrictions to disenfranchise the Black majority.

The granting of the right to vote. In the context of the suffrage movement, it refers to extending voting rights to women. In the Canadian Indigenous context, it had a different meaning: the process by which an Indigenous person gave up their legal status and rights as an Indigenous person in exchange for Canadian citizenship.

A political system where democratic rights and participation are limited to one dominant racial or ethnic group, while other groups are excluded or oppressed. The term was used by historian George Frederickson to describe systems like late-Victorian Britain, where parliamentary democracy coexisted with imperialism and the exclusion of women and colonised peoples.

A Canadian federal law that governs matters relating to First Nations peoples and their reserves. It defined who qualified as "Indian," imposed the band council system, restricted cultural practices and controlled nearly every aspect of Indigenous life. It has been amended many times but remains in force.

Founded in 1885, the INC was the main political organisation leading India's independence movement. Initially moderate and dominated by educated elites, it became a mass movement under Gandhi's leadership in the 1920s. After independence in 1947, it became India's dominant political party.

An Islamist political organization founded in Egypt in 1928. Initially supportive of the Free Officers, it was banned by Nasser in 1954 after an assassination attempt, and its members were imprisoned or exiled.

A 78-day standoff between Mohawk protesters, Quebec police and the Canadian army over the proposed expansion of a golf course onto Mohawk burial grounds and sacred pine groves near Oka, Quebec. It resulted in one police officer's death and drew national and international attention to Indigenous land rights in Canada.

A British law that extended voting rights to all men over 21 and to women over 30 who met certain property qualifications. It enfranchised about 8.5 million women, roughly two-thirds of the female population. It was the first time women could vote in British parliamentary elections.

A system of boarding schools in Canada, funded by the federal government and run mostly by churches, that operated from the 1880s to 1996. Indigenous children were forcibly removed from their families, forbidden from speaking their languages or practising their cultures, and subjected to widespread abuse. The Truth and Reconciliation Commission called it "cultural genocide."

A philosophy and practice of non-violent resistance developed by Mahatma Gandhi. The term combines the Sanskrit words for "truth" (satya) and "holding firmly" (agraha). It involves enduring suffering without retaliation to expose injustice and win over opponents through moral persuasion rather than force.

A major public square in central Cairo that became the focal point of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution. Hundreds of thousands of protesters gathered there from 25 January 2011, and the sustained occupation became a symbol of popular resistance to Mubarak's regime. The name means "Liberation Square" in Arabic.

A Latin term meaning "land belonging to no one." It was used by European colonial powers to justify claiming territories inhabited by Indigenous peoples, on the grounds that the land was not being "used" according to European standards of agriculture and settlement.

A policy proposal by Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau's government that recommended abolishing the Indian Act, eliminating "Indian" status and assimilating Indigenous peoples as ordinary Canadian citizens. It was strongly opposed by Indigenous leaders, notably Harold Cardinal, and was withdrawn in 1970. It became a catalyst for Indigenous political mobilisation.

Founded in 1903 by Emmeline Pankhurst and her daughters in Manchester, the WSPU was the most militant wing of the British suffrage movement. Its members, known as "suffragettes", used tactics ranging from disruption and civil disobedience to arson and window-smashing. Its motto was "Deeds, not words."