Q. Consider the following statements:

1. The British Empire was the biggest in the world in terms of number of people over whom it ruled, but the French Empire was biggest in the world in terms of the area under its rule.
2. Liberia was the only country in Africa that was free from the colonial rule at the end of WWI.

Which of the above is / are correct?
Answer: Neither 1 nor 2
Notes: At the end of 19th century, the British Empire was the biggest in the world, both in terms of the number of people over whom it rules and the area under its rule. The population of her colonial possessions extending over an area of 23 million square kilometer was about 400 millions. France ruled over an empire of over 10 million square kilometer inhabited by over 50 million people. So, statement 1 is incorrect. Within a short period of time after the beginning of  ‘Scramble for Africa’, European imperial powers had carved it out among themselves. In the Berlin Congress, entire Africa was divided between different European powers. At the end of WWI, only Liberia and Ethiopia were free from any sort of colonial control. So, statement 2 is incorrect.