Place is understood as in many modes: as a geographical and physical location, as landscapes and townscapes, and as sense of place developed from the subjective experience people have of a social arena for everyday life.
Historical context is the political, social, cultural, and economic setting for a particular idea or event. In order to better understand something in history, we must look at its context--those things which surround it in time and place and which give it its meaning. In this way, we can gain, among other things, a sense of how unique or ordinary an event or idea seems to be in comparison to other events and ideas.