Which Sunni Islamic state arose in the Turkish areas of Central Asia in the 1300s and ultimately spread throughout the Middle East and North Africa, before its collapse after World War I?
Ottoman Empire
Which powerful French king, known as the Sun King, ruled in the 17th and 18th centuries and strongly believed in the divine right of kings?
Louis XIV
(1638 - 1715)
Louis XIV reigned for more than 70 years. During his reign France was the leading European power, and he helped create a centralized state by pacifying the aristocracy by inviting many nobles to live at his palace at Versailles.
Which 17th- and 18th-century Russian czar expanded Russia into a large empire and transformed its medieval sociopolitical system into a more modern and Western science-based one?
Peter the Great
(1672 - 1725)
He established the new capital, St. Petersburg (which was temporarily renamed Leningrad in the 20th century).
What period during the 17th and 18th centuries was characterized by a predominantly secular world view among leading intellectuals in the Western world?
The Enlightenment
(The great ‘Age of Reason’)
Previously, Catholics and Protestants had controlled most knowledge and had contended that all true knowledge came from the Church.
The “light” of the Enlightenment came from man’s own ability to reason outside of the Church.
In what country did The Seven Years’ War primarily take place?
(1756-1763)
Prussia
(modern-day Germany and Austria)
With the financial aid of Great Britain, Frederick the Great of Prussia was able to defeat the combined armies of France, Russia, and Sweden.
Which 18th century Empress of Russia reigned for over thirty years, during which time she encouraged the cultural influences of the West, leading to the Russian Enlightenment?
Catherine the Great
(1729 - 1796)
Under her rule Russia grew larger and stronger than ever and became one of the great powers of Europe.
She is known for her many romantic affairs, many of them with members of her court and government.
Which invention displaced rivers and streams as the main power source for British factories in the early 1800s?
the steam engine
Patented by James Watt in 1769, the modern steam engine allowed British textile production to skyrocket, ushering in the Industrial Revolution.
In addition to textile manufacturing, the steam engine had all sorts of other applications ranging from mining to shipping.
What type of combustible sedimentary rock powered the early steam engines?
coal
Britain possessed an abundance of coal, providing the country with cheap fuel with which to ignite the Industrial Revolution.
Due to coal’s dirty nature, rivers, streams, and cities became extremely polluted during the Industrial Revolution, leading countries to enact the first major environmental regulations.
What invention transformed the U.S. south’s economy in the early 1800s, massively increasing the demand for slavery?
the cotton gin
Invented by Eli Whitney in 1794, cotton gin shaped the economy of the Antebellum South.
By transforming cotton into a profitable crop, the demand for slavery increased and ultimately strengthened slavery as an economic foundation in the U.S.
What 1800s invention allowed, for the first time, instant communication across large physical distances?
the telegraph
Invented by Samuel Morse, the telegraph transformed how wars were fought and how journalists and newspapers sent and received news.
The telegraph sends electrical current pulses along a wire with Morse code encoding. Morse code uses two different signal durations, called dots and dashes, to encode text characters.
Popular between the 16th and 19th centuries, what foreign policy seeks to gain control of territories, markets, and raw materials through colonialism, military force, or other means?
Imperialism
Countries in the 1500s through early 1900s strove to build empires by conquering and acquiring more colonies.
Which ideological and political war freed 13 North American colonies from British rule, which then came together to form the United States of America?
American Revolution
(also known as the United States War of Independence)
The Declaration of Independence was submitted to the British government in 1776, causing Britain to declare war.
With the help of the French, the American colonists defeated the British in 1783.
In France, what 1789 political and philosophical movement saw the overthrowing of the absolute monarchy and subsequent shift to more democratic forms of government?
the French Revolution
Lasting roughly from 1789 to 1799 and inspired by the new government in America, the French Revolution marked the end of the Ancien Régime, the absolute monarchy that had lasted for centuries.
It facilitated several important philosophies such as the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen.
Who was the last king of France before the French Revolution?
He was beheaded in 1793
Louis XVI
(1754 - 1793)
The reign by Louis XVI is typically associated with the beginning of the French Revolution and the end of Versailles’ royal era.
Although he first accepted a change from absolute monarchy to constitutional monarchy, he and his family, including his wife Marie Antoinette, eventually tried to flee the country.
They were caught and returned to Paris as traitors and prisoners. Marie Antoinette was also sent to the guillotine in 1793.
Which French statesman largely led the Reign of Terror, during which 40,000 “enemies of the French Revolution” were executed?
Maximilien Robespierre
(1758 - 1794)
The Reign of Terror (1793-1794) was a period of violence and mass executions during the French Revolution.
An enormously important figure in the early years of the Revolution, Maximilien Robespierre was executed in 1794 after public opinion of him and his extreme policies shifted.
Which French military and political leader rose to prominence during the French Revolution and conquered much of Europe in the early 19th century?
Napoleon Bonaparte
Napoleon sought to promote the ideals of the French Revolution, most notably via the Napoleonic Code, a greatly influential legal code that allowed freedom of religion and forbade privileges based on birth.
His armies were eventually stopped by a combination of British naval power, an ill-advised invasion of Russia, and a guerrilla war in Spain. Defeated by a six-nation army at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815, Napoleon was exiled from Europe.
What Caribbean nation won independence from France in 1804?
Haiti
In 1801, Napoleon dispatched troops to retake Haiti. The French troops captured Haitian leader Toussaint L’Ouverture and sent him to France, but eventually many French troops died of yellow fever.
After losing the Battle of Vertières to the Haitian rebels, the French returned home and Haiti became an independent nation.
What foreign policy, declared by a U.S. president in 1823, stated that only the U.S.—and no European nations—should be allowed to interfere in the Western Hemisphere?
Monroe Doctrine
(named for president James Monroe)
This policy was largely successful. Most of the Western Hemisphere remained free of direct European control over the second half of the 19th century, as the growing United States increased its sphere of influence.
With the exception of Cuba, Puerto Rico, and Brazil, from which empire did all the Latin American colonies win their independence between 1810 and 1826?
Spain
The Spanish American wars of independence began after when France first invaded Spain during the Napoleonic Wars. This lead to a desire of liberty throughout the Spanish empire.
It began with the battle of Chacaltaya in 1809 and ended with the battle of Tampico in 1829.
Which 18th- and 19th-century Venezuelan military leader and politician successfully fought the Spanish Empire for the independence of several South American countries?
Simón Bolívar
(1783 - 1830)
Simón Bolívar helped lead Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia (named in his honor) to independence.
One of the most important politicians in Latin American history, he helped lay the foundation for democracy in much of the region.
Between 1846 and 1848, Mexico fought a war with which country, eventually losing much of its territory?
The United States
Mexico fought the Mexican-American War against the United States. Mexico sued for peace after U.S. forces captured Mexico City. In the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, Mexico gave up most of what is today the Western United States.
Which German economist, philosopher, and socialist founded communism, a political theory that calls for a classless society where all land, property, and means of production are commonly owned?
Karl Marx
(1818 - 1883)
Working closely with his friend Friedrich Engels, Karl Marx his two most famous works are Das Kapital and The Communist Manifesto.
His ideology contributed to the creation of socialist states like the Soviet Union and the People’s Republic of China in the 20th century.
What cultural movement between 1800 and 1850 emphasized the ideal classical beauty of nature, art, music, and literature?
Romanticism
In the 1850s, Realism began as a reaction against Romanticism. Realists attempted to portray subject matter truthfully and accurately, without artificiality, and sought to avoid exotic and supernatural elements.
Which British monarch, whose reign was characterized by great industrial and cultural growth, ruled the British Empire from 1837 until her death in 1901?
Queen Victoria
(1819 - 1901)
The Victorian Era was a period of great industrial and cultural development in Great Britain, and is also associated with a certain strict sense of morality.
When was the Federal Dominion of Canada formed?
Three British colonies formed four provinces of the new dominion.
July 1, 1867
The Canadian Confederation (the federal union of colonies in British North America) extended the dominion of Canada into regions with Indigenous people, significantly influencing these communities.
The province of Quebec remained predominantly French because of the many French communities. About 80% of the people there speak French as their first language.
It had positive effects for Canada, including creating new markets and making the railway companies more profitable.
Considered the mother of modern nursing, which English nurse founded the world’s first secular nursing school in 1860 in London?
Florence Nightingale
(1820 - 1910)
Florence Nightingale helped to improve hygiene and sanitation within hospital wards which led to a much higher rate of patient recovery.
She is also the creator of the Nightingale Graph, a way to visualize statistics and data which allows a much larger group of people to understand complex numbers.
Which three countries were the primary colonizers of Africa between 1880-1914?
- Britain
- France
- Germany
The main players were Britain, France, and Germany, with Belgium and Italy playing a smaller role. Both the Portuguese and Spanish had existing colonies on the continent as well.
Although only 10% of Africa had been under European control in 1880, by 1914 only two African states remained independent: Ethiopia and Liberia.
What global conflict resulted from a chain of events sparked by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand on June 28, 1914?
World War I
Due to a complex interwoven set of alliances, this assassination started a chain reaction that led many countries to declare war against each other, thereby igniting World War I.
What document formally ended World War I in 1919?
The Treaty of Versailles
Signed on June 28, the treaty ended the fighting between Germany and the Allied Powers. More significantly, it stipulated that Germany should repay heavy financial reparations to the victors of the war.
These debts crippled the German economy for the ensuing decades and inspired national angst that facilitated the rise of fascism, and Adolf Hitler, by the 1930s.
What international organization did U.S. President Woodrow Wilson propose to resolve disputes between nations after World War I?
The League of Nations
The League later proved ineffectual to prevent the rising militarism of the 1930s, and the outbreak of World War II by 1939. These lessons were later taken seriously when the United Nations charter was drafted in the late 1940s.
Ironically, due to Congressional resistance, the United States was the only major nation that never joined the League of Nations.
The minority of __________ that lived in the Ottoman Empire were largely exterminated in a widespread genocide between 1915 and 1923.
Armenians
The Armenian Genocide resulted in up to 1.5 million deaths. Armenians were subjected to forced labor and death marches, as well as executions.
Other ethnic groups were targeted as well as the Armenians. The Turkish government does not recognize the massacre as a genocide.
In office from 1923 to 1938, who was the first President of Turkey and whose surname meant “Father of the Turks”?
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
(1881 - 1938)
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk helped found modern-day Turkey in the 1920s after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, leading the Turkish National Movement in the Turkish War of Independence against the Allies.
He then helped establish a secular government and oversaw the modernization of Turkey’s schools, political infrastructure, and civil rights system.
Who led the Russian Revolution of 1917 and established the Soviet Union?
Vladimir Lenin
(1870 - 1924)
A member of the Bolshevik party, Vladimir Lenin oversaw Soviet industrialization, the implementation of state capitalism, the transfer of land to workers’ soviets, and the country’s exit from World War I.
He served as the chief of government until his death in 1924, whereby he was succeeded by Joseph Stalin, whom he had not trusted.
What event is known as the start of the Great Depression?
the stock market crash
(October, 1929)
After a booming 1920s, the stock market crash inspired a panic that spiraled into a global economic depression until the end of the 1930s.
Many countries experienced unemployment of over 25%, and the resulting angst helped some fascist leaders rise to power in Europe throughout the decade.
What is the political term for a nationalist authoritarian regime, where the state has absolute power over its people?
fascism
Opposed to both Marxism and capitalism, fascism advocates an economic policy of corporatism, where employers and employees form syndicates that are joined together and guided by the government to advance national economic policies and production.
The most notable proponents of fascism in the 1930s were Benito Mussolini (Italy) and Adolf Hitler (Germany).
Which Austrian-born German dictator, who came into power in 1933 and ruled until his death in 1945, was responsible for the Holocaust and World War II?
Adolf Hitler
(1889 - 1945)
Wishing to create a master race of Aryans, Adolf Hitler supervised the systematic murder of 11 million people, including 6 million Jews (the Holocaust).
In late April 1945, the Soviet Red Army had surrounded Berlin, and Hitler and his commanders finally faced the reality that the war was lost.
On April 29, Hitler married Eva Braun and dictated his will to his secretary. On April 30, he and Braun committed suicide: Braun poisoned herself and Hitler shot himself.
Who succeeded Lenin as head of the Soviet Union in 1924?
Joseph Stalin
(1878 - 1953)
Jospeh Stalin’s policies of collectivization and industrialization displaced millions and contributed to a famine, and they were followed by the Great Purge, a period of brutal repression against those seen as opponents of the government.
To whom was the Good Neighbor Policy directed after President Franklin Roosevelt announced it in 1933?
Latin America
After many decades of direct interventions in Latin American affairs, including the occupation of Haiti and the protectorate placed over Cuba, Roosevelt proclaimed the Good Neighbor Policy in order to minimize the United States’ direct presence in Latin America.
In 1939, which military general led Nationalist rebels to victory in the Spanish Civil War, and then became Spain’s dictator?
General Francisco Franco
(1892 - 1975)
Supported by the Spanish aristocracy and the clergy, Franco’s Nationalist forces had revolted against the control of Spain’s Republican government.
In 1939, Franco’s Nationalist forces succeeded in beating the Republicans. Franco’s government lasted until Franco’s death in 1975, when a constitutional monarchy was proclaimed.
Known as the Anschluss, which country did Hitler’s Germany annex (occupy) in 1938, violating of the terms of the Versailles Treaty?
Austria
The League of Nations, the European powers, and the United States did little to prevent this annexation, except to conduct some mild diplomatic protests. This empowered Hitler to later annex parts of other countries.
What laws, announced during the Nazi Party’s rally in 1935, revoked the citizenship of all German Jews and prohibited marriage and sexual intercourse between Jews and Germans?
Nuremberg Laws
At the 1938 Munich Conference, European leaders imprudently agreed to “appease” Hitler’s demands to annex the ______ region of Czechoslovakia.
Sudetenland
Claiming that this region contained native German speakers who rightly belonged in Germany, Hitler justified the annexation and promised not to make any further territorial demands.
Ultimately, however, this concession only emboldened Hitler’s thirst for increased territorial expansion. Germany would soon occupy additional Czech lands and eventually invade Poland in 1939, formally igniting World War 2.
Most modern western political theorists now view appeasement as a dangerous strategy when dealing with an aggressor.
On the night of November 9th, 1938, Nazi troops and civilians throughout Germany and Austria launched a coordinated series of attacks on Jews and Jewish businesses known as ________.
Kristallnacht
Kristallnacht, German for “Crystal Night,” refers to the broken glass from Jewish store windows, which covered the streets the next morning.
The event marked a symbolic increase in public opinion against Jews and increased the momentum of deportation to concentration camps.
Which British author and statesman served twice as Prime Minister, most notably during World War II?
Winston Churchill
(1874 - 1965)
Winston Churchill formed an alliance with Franklin D. Roosevelt (USA) and Joseph Stalin (Soviet Union) against Hitler’s Germany and came to epitomize British resistance to conquest by the Nazis.
Which four countries composed the Allied Powers in World War II?
- U.S.
- Britain
- France
- The USSR
The main Axis Powers, on the other hand, were Germany, Italy, and Japan.
What was the name given to the genocide of European Jews and other minority groups during World War II?
The Holocaust
The Holocaust took place under the direction of Hitler’s German government, and is estimated to have killed 6 million Jews.
Some 3 million other persons, including gypsies, homosexuals, and communists, are estimated to have lost their lives in concentration camps dedicated to using industrial methods to kill as rapidly as possible.
Which German-born Jewish girl is remembered as one of the most prominent victims of the Holocaust due to her posthumously published diary?
Anne Frank
(1929 - 1945)
Anne Frank’s diary documents her experiences hiding from Nazis during the German occupation of the Netherlands. She and her family were discovered in 1944, and she died in 1945 after being sent to a concentration camp.
What was the main reason for Japan to invade the Chinese province of Manchuria in 1931 which eventually led to the Second Sino-Japanese War in 1937?
To acquire raw materials and land
Japan mostly sought coal, iron, and salt. They were also interested in claiming more land.
In 1937, the invasion escalated after China began a full-scale resistance to the expansion of Japanese influence in their territories.
The Second Sino-Japanese War would later become part of the Second World War’s Pacific War.
In 1945, which Japanese island did American forces take, leading to a turning point in favor of the Americans in the WW2 fight against Japan?
Iwo Jima
Iwo Jima, which was taken between February 19 and March 26, 1945, had belonged Japan before the War and was the first Japanese territory to fall to the Allies. Some 27,000 American casualties resulted from the attack.
What project, led by American theoretical physicist J. Robert Oppenheimer, innovated the first atomic weapons?
The Manhattan Project
As Oppenheimer watched the first detonation of his nuclear weapon, Oppenheimer reflected upon a Hindu scripture and said: “Now I am become Death, the destroyer of worlds”.
On which two Japanese cities did American forces drop atomic bombs in August 1945?
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
President Truman ordered the attacks out of concern that attempting to conquer Japan would result in hundreds of thousands more American casualties.
To provide an opportunity for mercy, he had requested an immediate Japanese surrender before giving the order to drop the bombs.
Some 200,000 Japanese civilians died as a result of the bombings, and Japan surrendered on August 15.
What were VE Day and VJ Day?
- VE Day: Victory in Europe Day
- VJ Day: Victory over Japan Day
Victory in Europe Day was on May 8th, 1945, which marked Nazi Germany’s surrender and the end of WWII in Europe.
Victory over Japan Day was on August 15th, 1945, the date of Japan’s surrender, signaling the end of WWII. (In the U.S., VJ Day is September 2, since the surrender document was officially signed on that date.)
In the spring of 1945, while World War II was still raging, representatives from 50 nations met in San Francisco to draft the charter of what international organization?
The United Nations
(The U.N.)
Today, the United Nations is based in New York, and the permanent members of the United Nations Security Council are the same countries that led the fight against the Axis Powers: the United States, the Soviet Union (Russia), France, Great Britain, and China.
At which 1945 conference did representatives from the Soviet Union, the United States, and the United Kingdom divide Germany into four roughly equal zones of occupation?
Potsdam Conference
At the Potsdam Conference, the British, French, Americans, and Soviets each agreed to occupy roughly a quarter of Germany. In addition, the parties divided Berlin (which lay within the Soviet Zone) into four quarters, each assigned to one of the four powers.
What name was given to the longstanding state of political and military tension between the Warsaw Pact nations and the NATO nations from 1947 to 1991?
The Cold War
Considering that the nations on each side (with the U.S. and USSR as the main opposing powers) had defense arrangements with many other nations across the globe, there was considerable global anxiety that a World War III could break out at any moment.
What was the name of metaphorical barrier dividing Western Europe and the countries of Eastern Europe under Communist control from 1945 to 1991?
Iron Curtain
How was the State of Israel created?
sanctioned by the United Nations
(1948)
In late 1947, the UN adopted a resolution to implement a partition plan that would split the territory of Palestine into two states – one Jewish state and one Arabic state – in order to give Jews their own (ancestral) home.
Beyond causing joy in the Jewish community and discontent in the Arab community, this UN resolution brought a civil war, in which the Jews prevailed.
What organization emerged in 1964 to contest the existence of the Jewish state of Israel?
The Palestinian Liberation Organization
(PLO)
Led by Yasir Arafat, the PLO was seen by Israel and the U.S. as a terrorist organization up until the 1990s.
The ______ ______ was the $13 billion U.S. campaign to rebuild Europe after the devastation of World War II.
Marshall Plan
The Soviets did not agree with U.S. policy of rebuilding Germany - they wanted to spread communism and use Germany as a puppet state to help postwar Soviet recovery.
The Soviets responded with what was known as the Berlin Blockade in 1948 in which railroads, waterways, and roads were blocked so that none of the Allied nations could reach their sectors of Berlin.
This left 2.5 million civilians without food, medicine, fuel, and other basic goods.
What was the name of the 1949 humanitarian aid campaign to deliver cargo by air, rendering the Soviet blockades ineffective?
Berlin Airlift
Nearly 9,000 tons of supplies had been delivered to Berlin, rendering the ground blockades ineffective and leading the Soviet Union to drop its blockade.
The United States granted independence to _______ in 1946, 48 years after initially seizing the territory from Spain.
the Philippines
The United States had seized the Philippines from Spain in 1898 and promised the country independence during the 1930s.
Which large Asian country split into two countries following Britain’s withdrawal of power in 1947?
India
The dominions of India and Pakistan were established in 1947. The former colony split along religious lines, with Pakistan being mostly Muslim and India being mostly Hindu. Both dominions became republics in the 1950s, with Bangladesh splitting off from Pakistan in 1971.
Which famous nonviolent protester was leader of the movement for Indian independence from Britain and a lifelong activist for many human rights and religious issues?
Mahatma Gandhi
(1869-1948)
Ghandi is one of the twentieth century’s greatest spiritual and political leaders. He is labeled the father of India and practiced Satyagraha, which is a form of resistance to tyranny through mass nonviolent civil disobedience.
Which communist revolutionary led China from 1949 until his death in 1976, overseeing the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, a program to weed out and purge all capitalist culture?
Mao Zedong
(1893 - 1976)
Mao Zedong seized control over many aspects of Chinese society, including land, agriculture, and industry; some of his changes were met with opposition and resulted in national tragedies, such as widespread famine.
He is also credited with modernizing China and improving its healthcare and education systems.
Which defense organization was formed by the United States, Canada, Great Britain, France, and several other (European) nations to counter the threat posed by the Soviet Union at the time?
NATO
(North Atlantic Treaty Organization)
The purpose of the NATO is to guarantee the freedom and security of its members through political and military means.
What economic and political union of 12 member countries effectively came into being with the signing of the Maastricht Treaty in 1993?
EU
(The European Union)
The organization actually began with 6 original members of the ECSC, and gradually added other members and policies until the Maastricht Treaty brought more formality.
Since the Maastricht Treaty was ratified, the number of countries in the EU has more than doubled, although not all use the common currency, the euro.
After the Second World War, which U.S. general took charge of implementing a democratic system of government in Japan?
General Douglas MacArthur
(1880 - 1964)
U.S. General MacArthur initially set up a parliamentary democracy, but retained the Japanese Emperor as a figurehead.
The new Japanese constitution limited Japan’s army and barred Japan from participation in anything but a defensive war. Japan would, by necessity, rely on the United States for protection.
Which Japanese emperor reigned during World War II?
Emperor Hirohito
(Showa)
After the war, Hirohito was not prosecuted for war crimes and was forced to give up the claim to divine status. He then became the symbol of Japan’s recovery, and when he died in 1989, his nation’s economy was the second largest in the world.
In 1950, a war broke out between the USSR and China and the United Nations, which led to the division of which Asian country in 1953?
Korea
Near the end of WWII, Korea was split along the 38th parallel during the Korea War, with the USSR occupying the north and the U.S. occupying the south.
Two separate governments were established, both claiming to be the legitimate government of all of Korea.
Which Egyptian colonel and statesman overthrew the monarchy of Egypt and Sudan in the Revolution of 1952?
Gamal Abdel Nasser
(1918 - 1970)
Gamal Abdel Nasser was the second President of Egypt from 1956 until his death in 1970, and promoted socialist reform and modernization.
A series of conflicts with Israel, including the 1956 Suez Crisis, occurred during his administration, and his strong emphasis of pan-Arab nationalism made him a hero in the Arab world.
Which country was the first to put an artificial satellite in space in 1957?
the Soviet Union
The launch of Sputnik I triggered the Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union, as each nation worked to send increasingly sophisticated systems into outer space.
In response to the Soviet launch, Congress established the National Air and Space Agency (NASA), Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), and the National Defense and Education Act, which included massive funding for scientific research at the university level.
In 1959, Communists seized control of which country, only 90 miles (145 km) from U.S. territory?
Cuba
Led by Fidel Castro, the Communists deposed Fulgencio Batista, the U.S.-backed president of Cuba.
Eisenhower immediately gave the Central Intelligence Agency permission to begin training Cuban dissidents, who would participate in the failed Bay of Pigs invasion in 1961.
Which Cuban communist leader led the 1959 revolution that overthrew the United States-backed dictator of Cuba?
Fidel Castro
(1926 - 2016)
Fidel Castro oversaw Cuba’s transformation into a communist state, serving first as prime minister then as president. Due to his alliance with the USSR, the U.S. implemented an economic blockade of Cuba and unsuccessfully invaded the island in 1961.
In 1962, he allowed the Soviets to place nuclear weapons in Cuba, leading to the Cuban Missile Crisis, at the end of which the missiles were removed.
Which Argentine Marxist revolutionary figured prominently in the Cuban Revolution that saw Fidel Castro rise to power?
Che Guevara
(1928 - 1967)
Che Guevara later became a guerrilla leader in Latin America, and was eventually captured and killed in Bolivia in 1967. His visage has since become a countercultural symbol of rebellion.
What famous structure did the Soviet Union direct the East German government to erect in November 1961?
The Berlin Wall
The Berlin Wall was erected to prevent East Germans from escaping into West Germany, where economic opportunities and political liberties abounded.
What war did France fight from 1954 to 1962 in Northern Africa to maintain control of its long-time colony?
the Algerian War
The Algerians ultimately won independence from France, after French president Charles de Gaulle realized that public opinion had turned against the war. This led to a massive wave of Algerian refugees fleeing to France in subsequent years.
By 1962, how many Middle Eastern and North African states were controlled by former colonial powers?
None
Driven by decolonization during the 1950s and 1960s, Egypt and the other North African countries had become independent.
Independence was sometimes achieved peacefully (Jordan) and sometimes with a great degree of violence (Algeria).
In 1961, what intergovernmental organization—largely consisting Middle Eastern states—was formed to co-ordinate and unify petroleum policies among its members?
OPEC
(Org. of Petroleum Exporting Countries)
The organization has the power to affect the global price of petroleum. Their artificially-set high prices were widely blamed for the widespread gasoline shortages in the U.S. during the 1970s.
In which country in 1975 did a civil war break out between Palestinian refugees and Christians, lasting until 1990 and claiming more than 100,000 casualties?
Lebanon
Fighting began in 1975 and continued for 15 years, with many political and religious factions involved.
In 1989, the Taif Agreement, which accommodated the shift to a Muslim majority, helped bring an end to the fighting.
As part of the ______ Doctrine, U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War (1955-1975) was meant to contain the spread of communism into South Vietnam.
Truman Doctrine
The United States vowed to stop the spread of communism from the North and began to increase its military activities in Vietnam, which slowly escalated into the Vietnam War.
The war was fought in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos, and the South Vietnamese capital, Saigon, fell on April 30, 1975, signaling victory for the Soviet- and Chinese-backed North Vietnamese and Viet Cong communist forces.
Which Vietnamese revolutionary helped found the communist Democratic Republic of Vietnam in 1945, and remained leader of North Vietnam until his death in 1969?
Ho Chi Minh
(1890 - 1969)
Ho Chi Minh’s forces helped drive out Japanese forces in the 40s, defeated the French in 1954, and helped fight guerilla wars against U.S. forces in South Vietnam.
Although he died during the Vietnam War, he served as an inspiration for the People’s Army of Vietnam and the Viet Cong fighting for a united, communist Vietnam. Saigon was renamed ‘Ho Chi Minh’ in his honor.
What infamous 1968 attack on Saigon by the Viet Cong and North Vietnamese is considered the turning point of the Vietnam war?
Tet Offensive
Although U.S. forces were able to drive their adversaries back and deliver a victory, Walter Cronkite, the most trusted news reporter in America, declared the war lost. This led to a collapse of popular support for the Vietnam War, and an ultimate pullout in 1973.
What four nations were together known as the Little Tigers or Asian Tigers in the 1960s and 70s?
- South Korea
- Hong Kong
- Taiwan
- Singapore
They were branded as such because they were capitalist countries with strong economies that industrialized quickly in the 1960s and 1970s.
The “Great Tiger” was Japan, which became one of the world’s leading economies after World War II.
Which country did Juan Perón became president of in 1946 and, together with his wife “Evita”, inspired a wave of populist sentiment across much of Latin America?
Argentina
Along with his charismatic wife Eva (“Evita”), Perón was popular among Argentina’s lower class and inspired a wave of popularist sentiment across much of Latin America.
Overthrown in a military coup in 1955, Perón was exiled but returned to the presidency in 1973. After his death in 1974, the country was dominated by yet another military dictatorship.
Which country was ruled by an authoritarian military dictatorship until 1985, which began in 1964 with military coup against democratically-elected President João Goulart’s government?
Brazil
The military regime laid the foundation for subsequent regimes throughout Latin America. It opposed communism, promoted nationalism and national security, restricted freedom of speech, and censored media.
Who seized control of Chile in 1973?
Augusto Pinochet
(1915 - 2006)
With the assistance of the United States, Pinochet seized power in Chile in 1973, deposing the country’s democratically elected Marxist government.
Pinochet was strongly right-wing and kept power through control of Chile’s military, which he maintained until the late 20th century.
Which former South African president and civil rights advocate dedicated his life to fighting for equality, ultimately toppling the oppressive system of Apartheid?
Nelson Mandela
(1918 - 2013)
As a member of the African National Congress (ANC), which struggled against apartheid, Mandela was arrested and convicted of sabotage in 1962 and sentenced to life imprisonment by the white minority government.
His guerilla efforts with the ANC eventually gained the attention of the United Nations who created international pressure resulting in a threat of civil war.
After his release in 1990, Mandela helped with the establishment of democracy in 1994, and was then elected South Africa’s president in the country’s first fully representative, all-race democratic election. The newly written constitution eventually ended apartheid.
What was the term for the attempted political liberalization of Communist Czechoslovakia between January and August 1968?
Prague Spring
Calling for “socialism with a human face,” First Secretary Alexander Dubček called for economic and administrative decentralization, greater democratization, and the lifting of restrictions on the press and free speech.
In August, however, the Soviet Union and almost all the Warsaw Pact countries invaded Czechoslovakia; Dubček was deposed and the attempted reforms were cut off.
Who was Prime Minister of the UK from 1979 to 1990 and earned the nickname the “Iron Lady”?
Margaret Thatcher
(1925 - 2013)
Thatcher was a member of the Conservative Party where she emphasized deregulation and privatization.
A Soviet journalist would eventually give her the name “Iron Lady”, which became synonymous with her leadership style.
Which Albanian-born Roman Catholic nun won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1979 for her humanitarian work in Calcutta?
Mother Teresa
(1910 - 1997)
Mother Teresa dedicated her life to caring for the poor and dying in the slums of Calcutta.
She eventually founded the order of “The Missionaries of Charity” to help the poorest of the poor. This led to more awareness about the street dwellers in Calcutta and in all of India.
During her lifetime, Mother Teresa opened soup kitchens, ran open-air schools, and helped those of any faith. She eventually became a role model of charity, selflessness, and compassion.
Which religious revolutionary leader became Iran’s dictator in 1979?
Ruhollah Khomeini
(1902 - 1989)
Following the overthrow of Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Khomeini wished to rid Iran of foreign influences, and supported the Iranian militants who took American hostages during the Iran hostage crisis from 1979-81.
Considered a major Cold War crisis, in which country did Soviet-backed forces fight the U.S.-backed Mujahideen from 1979 to 1989?
Afghanistan
The Soviet-Afghan War resulted in the deaths of up to 1.5 million civilians, and millions fled the country. The Soviets withdrew in the late 80s, but civil war continued.
Ironically, many U.S.-trained Afghan soldiers later became leaders of al-Qaeda and remain enemies of the United States.
Shortly after President Ronald Reagan began his second term, which new Soviet leader came to power in the USSR?
Mikhail S. Gorbachev
(1931 - 2022)
In 1986, Gorbachev announced glasnost (greater political freedom) and perestroika (moderate economic freedoms). To achieve these twin goals, Gorbachev had to severely curtail military spending and remove Soviet troops from Afghanistan.
In Nov. 1989, the demolition of what man-made structure became a global symbol of the fall of the Soviet Union?
The Berlin Wall
This event was the culmination of several years of growing democratic resistance among Soviet nations in Eastern Europe, partly inspired by U.S. president Ronald Reagan and his famous “tear down this wall” speech in 1987.
As communist governments in Hungary and Austria continued to lose power, many East Germans had begun to escape to the West by 1989, setting off a chain of reactions culminating in the destruction of the Berlin Wall.
What Shi’a Islamist political party and militant group based in Lebanon was founded in the early 1980s?
Hezbollah
Supported by Iran and Syria, Hezbollah was mainly formed to offer Lebanese resistance to Israel’s invasion of Lebanon, which lasted from 1982 to 2000.
Its military might has grown significantly since then, and Hezbollah has considerable political influence in Lebanon.
Which Palestinian Islamic organization was founded in the late 1980s and is designated a terrorist organization by several Western countries, including the U.S.?
Hamas
Hamas was founded to liberate Palestine and to establish an Islamic state in Israel’s place. Their religious, extremist, and violent focus is a direct parallel to the largely non-violent, secular Palestine Liberation Organization who seeks a political approach to peace.
Over the years the military wing of Hamas has attacked Israelis using both rockets and suicide bombings.
In 1990, Saddam Hussein’s Iraqi Army invaded what country, igniting the Gulf War?
Kuwait
The Iraqi Army was the world’s fourth largest army, and its invasion threatened Saudia Arabia, a key U.S. ally and petroleum supplier. With the full support of the United Nations, the U.S. assembled 35 allies into a military force based in Saudi Arabia.
After warning the Iraqis to withdraw, the U.S. led a massive ground war, dubbed Desert Storm, which destroyed the Iraqi military in less than 100 hours. The Iraqis then withdrew from Kuwait.
In which country were an estimated 500,000 to 1 million Tutsis (and moderate Hutus) killed by the Hutu-led government during a roughly 100-day period from April to July 1994?
Rwanda
The armed conflict ignited after a group of Tutsi exiles formed a rebel group named the “Rwandan Patriotic Front (RPF), and invaded the Hutu-dominated Rwanda in 1990.
On the 6th of April 1994, the Hutu President Habyarimana died when his plane was shot down. The Hutus blamed the RPF, but the RPF claimed the Hutus shot the plane down themselves to provide an excuse for the resulting genocide.
The RPF eventually claimed control of Rwanda with the backing of the Ugandan army on July 4, 1994.
Which member of the British Royal Family was Princess of Wales and first wife of Charles, then Prince of Wales?
Princess Diana
(1961 - 1997)
One of the most famous women in the world in the late 20th century, Princess Diana was well known for her grace, beauty, and charity work. She died in 1997 in a car accident in Paris.
What is the name of the informal association of the world’s largest economic powers, which meet regularly to discuss trade and economics?
The G-7
(Group of Seven)
The G-7 countries are: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom and the United States.
The Group of Eight (G8) was then formed from incorporating Russia into the Group of Seven, or G7, and returned to its previous name after Russia was expelled in 2014.
Which organization of over 100 countries is dedicated to increasing economic integration and facilitating international trade?
World Trade Organization
(WTO)
China’s notable (and late) entry into the WTO in the year 2001 is largely credited for its explosive growth in the years since then.
In 2002, what common currency was adopted by the nations of the European Union?
euro
The European Union (EU), which also consists of some cooperative military and political organizations, adopted the euro in part to facilitate international trade among the nations of Western Europe.
Some members of the EU, such as Great Britain and Switzerland, have opted out of the euro. Great Britain decided to leave the EU on the 31st of January 2020 after a referendum.
On September 11, 2001, which Islamic terrorist organization crashed hijacked commercial airplanes into the World Trade Center and U.S. Pentagon, killing nearly 3,000 Americans, and igniting the War on Terror?
al-Qaeda
The attacks took place in September, 2001 and were a series of four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks by al-Qaeda, a militant Islamic extremist network, against the United States.
In the 1990s, al-Qaeda declared a holy war against the U.S. The motivations for the attack were specified in bin Laden’s ‘Letter to America’, highlighting Western support for various attacks on Muslims (i.e. supporting Russian atrocities against Muslims in Chechnya).
In October 2001, President Bush dispatched U.S. forces to invade which country in response to the 9-11 attacks?
Afghanistan
The purpose of invading Afghanistan was that the ruling Taliban had been fostering al-Qaeda training grounds. Many of the NATO nations contributed troops and material support to the campaign.
The U.S. tried and failed to implement and maintain democracy for 20 years in Afghanistan, before finally withdrawing troops in 2021.
Which Iraqi dictator who ruled from 1979 to 2003, invaded Iran in 1980 and Kuwait in 1990, sparking the Persian Gulf War?
Saddam Hussein
(1937 - 2006)
Noted for the brutality of his dictatorship, namely his suppression of Shi’ite Muslims and Kurds, he nationalized Iraqi oil and sought to make his nation the dominant force in the Persian Gulf.
In 2003, British and American forces invaded Iraq to depose him and institute a transition to a republic. Under the interim Iraqi government, he was tried and sentenced to death for the killing of Iraqi Shi’ites in 1982; he was executed in 2006.
Which Pope of the Catholic Church held the position from 1978 until his death in 2005 and improved the Church’s standing with other religions?
Pope John Paul II
(1920 - 2005)
Regarded as one of most influential leaders of the 20th century, he sought to improve the Church’s standing with other world religions such as Islam and Judaism.
Which North Korean dictator ruled from 1994 until his death in 2011, and was known for having a personality cult and terrible human rights record?
Kim Jong-il
(1942 - 2011)
Kim Jong-il was succeeded by his son, Kim Jong-Un, in 2011.
Which Islamic terrorist founded al-Qaeda, the jihadist network that bombed the American embassies in Tanzania and Kenya in 1998 and attacked the World Trade Center and Pentagon in September 2001?
Osama bin Laden
(1957 - 2011)
After a decade of being the major target of the War on Terror, Osama bin Laden was killed by American forces in Pakistan in May 2011.
In 2011, president Ben Ali of _______ was overthrown, thereby sparking the democratic movement known as the Arab Spring.
Tunisia
The Arab Spring was a democratic movement that spread to several other Arab nations and resulted in large conflicts or leadership transitions in Libya, Egypt, Yemen, Syria, and Bahrain.
Which Libyan leader, who governed 1969 to 2011, was captured and killed in October 2011?
Muammar Gaddafi
(1942 - 2011)
An Arab nationalist, Colonel Gaddafi pushed Libya toward socialism and championed anti-imperialism, but was also seen as a dictator who oversaw many humans rights abuses.
In 2011, an uprising (with NATO and EU support) broke out and he was captured and executed by rebel militia.
Which President of Syria ordered military attacks on Arab Spring protesters in 2011, leading to the Syrian Civil War?
Bashar al-Assad
(1965 - present)
The Assad regime has since been accused of both crimes against humanity and war crimes.
Which President of Venezuela (1999 - 2013) worked to implement socialist reforms as part of his Bolivarian Revolution?
Hugo Chávez
(1954 -2013)
Which British Queen began her 70-year reign in 1952, after King George VI?
Elizabeth II
During the reign by Elizabeth II, many former British territories gained independence.
Her husband was Prince Phillip, Duke of Edinburgh, and she had four children: Charles, Prince of Wales, Anne, Princess Royal, Andrew, Duke of York, and Edward, Earl of Wessex.
The Queen passed away on September 8, 2022.
Who was head monk in the Gelug branch of Tibetan Buddhism and won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989?
the 14th Dalai Lama
The 14th Dalai Lama assumed the position when he was 15 in 1950.
He is known as a charismatic speaker, as an advocate for Tibetans, and for emphasizing the importance of compassion and its relationship to happiness.
Which politician became President of Russia after Yeltsin in 2000, with a commitment to restoring Russia’s prestige on the world stage?
Vladimir Putin
A former officer in the KGB, he is credited with helping to return Russia to political and economic stability. Accused at times of being a dictator, he is a generally popular figure within Russia, namely for his adventurous image.
From which continent do most anthropologists believe the first homo sapiens (humans) originated?
Africa
The Out of Africa Thesis posits that Homo sapiens first arose in Africa and began migrating to other parts of the Earth approximately 125,000 years ago.
The alternative Multiregional Thesis contends that Homo sapiens arose more or less simultaneously in different parts of the globe, and are descended from earlier pre-human groups that left Africa.
The mastery of which crucial element allowed early man to migrate to the colder regions of the planet, such as Northern Europe?
fire
Fire played a crucial role in mankind’s settling of the colder regions of the planet. The controlled use of fire dates back to the Middle Paleolithic Era, some 100,000 to 400,000 years ago.
So crucial was the discovery of fire that the Greeks claimed it descended from the gods and was revealed to man by the Titan Prometheus.
For giving the gods’ secret away, Prometheus was chained to a rock where an eagle would eat his liver for all eternity.
Where did the first civilization arise?
Sumeria in Mesopotamia
This is the region between the Tigris and the Euphrates Rivers in the south of modern-day Iraq.
Sumeria was a collection of city-states and dates from around 4000 B.C.
The five hallmarks of a civilization are:
- Advanced cities dependent in part on trade
- Specialized workers
- Recordkeeping, usually in the form of writing
- Complex institutions, like religion and government
- Advanced technologies, such as metalworking
Which ancient culture invented the alphabet?
Phoenicians
They were small empire on the coast of the Mediterranean in modern-day Lebanon and Israel.
The Phoenicians were a prominent maritime empire, establishing a far-flung trading network that ranged as far as Spain and North Africa.
Which empire was the first to introduce coined money?
Lydian Empire
The Lydian Empire was located in western Anatolia from the 700s B.C. to the 500s B.C.
Coins would prove a handy medium of exchange, both because they replaced barter and were easier to transfer from place to place. The Lydians fell to the Persians in 546 B.C.
What two prominent inventions highlighted the innovations of China’s Tang Dynasty (618-907 A.D.)?
paper money and gunpowder
Paper money first appeared in the form of letters of credit to be used by merchants.
Gunpowder was originally used in fireworks.
Although China’s prominent trade good remained silk, China also began large-scale tea cultivation during the Tang Dynasty, and the practice of drinking tea soon spread to Korea and Japan.
One of the most influential scientists of all time, who proposed the Universal Law of Gravitation?
Isaac Newton
1642 - 1726/27
Newton published his Principia in 1687, one of the most important works in the history of science.
His mathematically derived theories led to the development of calculus and physics.
Newton’s primary achievement was to take all the scientific advances of his day and tie them into a single united theory backed by mathematical proof, which was known as Newtonian physics.
Newton’s theory prevailed until Einstein developed his theories of relativity in the early 1900s.
Which English Renaissance scientist is credited with the creation of the scientific method?
Francis Bacon
The scientific method can be described as an empirical technique using inductive methodology for scientific inquiry.
In addition to being a scientist, Bacon was a legal reformer, philosopher, and novelist. Later scientists, such as Isaac Newton, would draw on Bacon’s techniques in their own scientific pursuits.
What German invention ensured the rapid dissemination of Martin Luther’s 95 Theses, and therefore played an important role in the Protestant Reformation?
the printing press
The printing press had been invented by Johannes Gutenberg in the mid-1400s, and it was first used to print Bibles.
Who commanded the first fleet to circumnavigate the globe?
Ferdinand Magellan
Magellan was a Portuguese explorer who sailed under the Spanish flag.
Magellan did not live to accomplish the entire trip; he was killed in the Philippines during a battle with a native tribe. The trip took four years, beginning in 1519 and returning to Spain in 1522.
Which colony in 1607 was the first permanent English outpost in the New World?
Jamestown
Originally known as James Fort, Jamestown founded to search for gold, the colonists were ill-suited for agriculture and, to make matters worse, had chosen a poor location in which to settle.
The timely arrival of relief ships saved some of the colonists from starvation long enough to discover the lucrative pleasures of tobacco, which gave the colony a viable cash crop for export to England.
