World History MCQs

Notes:
Iran was invaded by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in 1941 through “Operation Countenance”. The Anglo-Soviet invasion of Iran or the Anglo-Soviet invasion of Persia was the joint invasion of the neutral Imperial State of Iran by the United Kingdom and the Soviet Union in August 1941. The invasion, codenamed Operation Countenance, was largely unopposed by the numerically and technologically inferior Iranian forces.

Notes:
Iran was the target location of the “Operation Eagle Claw” ordered by the United States of America in 1980. Operation Eagle Claw, known as Operation Tabas in Iran, was a United States Armed Forces operation ordered by U.S. President Jimmy Carter to attempt to end the Iran hostage crisis by rescuing 52 embassy staff held captive at the Embassy of the United States, Tehran on 24 April 1980.

Notes:
2003 corresponds to the first stage of the Iraq War. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq.

Notes:
The 14 July Revolution, also known as the 1958 Iraqi coup d’etat, took place on 14 July 1958 in Iraq and resulted in the overthrow of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq that had been established by King Faisal I in 1921 under the auspices of the British. King Faisal II, Prince Abd al-Ilah, and Prime Minister Nuri al-Said were killed during the uprising. As a result of the overthrow of the Iraqi Hashemite dynasty, the coup d’etat established the Iraqi Republic.

Notes:
Some parts of Kiribati were occupied by Japan during the period of Second World War. These parts were liberated during the Battle of Tarawa.

Notes:
In the past, voting in the Estates General had been conducted according to the principle that each estate had one vote. Louis XVI was determined to continue the same practice. But members of the third estate demanded that voting now be conducted by the assembly as a whole, where each member would have one vote. When the king rejected this proposal, members of the third estate walked out of the assembly in protest. On 20 June, 1789, they assembled in the hall of an indoor tennis court in the grounds of Versailles. They declared themselves a National Assembly and swore not to disperse till they had drafted a constitution for France that would limit the powers of the monarch. So, statement 1 is incorrect. The National Assembly completed the draft of the constitution in 1791. Its main object was to limit the powers of the monarch. These powers instead of being concentrated in the hands of one person, were now separated and assigned to different institutions – the legislature, executive and judiciary. This made France a constitutional monarchy. So, statement 2 is correct. The Constitution of 1791 vested the power to make laws in the National Assembly, which was indirectly elected. That is, citizens voted for a group of electors, who in turn chose the Assembly. Not all citizens, however, had the right to vote. Only men above 25 years of age who paid taxes equal to at least 3 days of a laborer’s wage were given the status of active citizens, that is, they were entitled to vote. The remaining men and all women were classed as passive citizens. So, statement 3 is incorrect.

Notes:
In March 1918, despite opposition by their political allies, the Bolsheviks made peace with Germany at Brest Litovsk. However, this peace treaty was very humiliating as Germany annexed almost one third of the total European territories of Soviet Russia in this treaty. Lenin agreed to this treaty so that the Bolshevik party could focus on internal consolidation and winning the civil war. So, statement 1 is correct. Soviet Russia soon became a one-party state as all the parties, other than the Bolshevik Party, were banned. Trade unions were kept under strict party control. The secret police (called the Cheka first, and later OGPU and NKVD) punished those who criticised the Bolsheviks. So, the statement 2 is correct.

Notes:
In Russia, the form of government was tyrannical. The Emperor, Czar, enjoyed unbridled power without any constitutional limit on his authority. Thus, statement 1 is correct. In the Revolution of 1905, Czar was forced to grant some concessions. He allowed formation of a parliament called Duma. However, it was soon filled by the cronies of czar and became toothless.It was eventually replaced in the Bolshevik revolution of 1917. So, statement 2 is correct. The term ‘Soviet’ means a council- mostly of industrial workers and locally stationed soldiers. During the Bolshevik revolution, local soviets were formed across Russia and these soviets sent delegates to a central Soviet. So, statement 3 is also correct.

Notes:
The peace treaty signed with the Germany after the WWI was known as the Treaty of Versailles. According to the provisions of the treaty, Alsace-Lorraine, which Germany had seized from France in 1871, was returned to France. The newly created State of Poland was provided with the access to the sea by giving it about 65 km of corridor which separated East Prussia from the rest of Germany. Danzig was made a free city under the political control of the League of Nations and economic control of Poland. Belgium, Denmark and Lithuania gained territories from Germany. The Saar- a strategically important coal mining area- was brought under the control of the League of Nations for fifteen years while the mines in the area were transferred to France as compensation. Germany was debarred from uniting with Austria. The Rhineland was to be permanently demilitarized and occupied by the allied troops for fifteen years. German military strength was severely curtailed.

Notes:
A new military alliance had come into being in April, 1949. The USA and most countries of Western Europe- Britain, France, Belgium, Luxemburg, Holland, Norway, Denmark, Portugal and Italy- and Iceland and Canada formed the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO). It is believed that the formation of NATO was stimulated by the Berlin blockade by USSR. So, statement 1 is correct. In 1955, when West Germany was admitted as a member of NATO, the Soviet Union and the East European countries ruled by communist parties formed their military alliance which is known as the Warsaw Pact. The Warsaw Pact countries, like the NATO countries, had a joint military command. So, statement 2 is correct. Germany was divided into the West and East Germany. While West Germany was admitted into the NATO, the East Germany was incorporated into the ‘Warsaw Pact’. Statement 3 is incorrect.