World History MCQs

Notes:
During the WWI, Britain and France, were fomenting the dormant Arab nationalism in West Asia, which was under the control of Ottoman Turks at the time. They made promises that if the Arabs helped in war, they will be rewarded with a separate nation of their own. But, Britain and France arrived at a secret arrangement between themselves regarding the future division of Ottoman West Asia territories between themselves after the war. This arrangement is known as the Sykes-Picot agreement which was decided in 1916. So, statement 1 is correct. Under this agreement, Transjordan, Iraq and Palestine were to go to Britain and Syria and Lebanon were to be awarded to France under the guise of ‘Mandate’ system. So, statement 2 is also correct. In a separate case, British government also committed itself to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. This pledge was contained in a letter famously known as the ‘Balfour Declaration.’ So, statement 3 is incorrect.

Notes:
The Great Depression, which had its origin in USA, affected the whole world. It was basically a deep economic recession that chipped away a significant portion of GDP of the European states and USA. But, in USA, some of the worst effects of the economic recession began to be remedied after 1933. This happened during the presidency of Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was first elected in 1932 and won three subsequent elections. The programme of reform which he started is known as the ‘New Deal’. A large program of welfare was initiated which alleviated the misery of many sections of the population. The New Deal was inspired from the Keynesian economic model, in which expansionary fiscal and monetary policies were used to spur the demand in the economy. This increased demand could boost production and employment. So, both the statements are correct.

Notes:
Soviet Russia always suspected that the capitalist countries of Western Europe were siding with the Fascist forces to undermine Russia. Still, realizing the rising threat from Nazi Germany, Britain and France started negotiations with Soviet Russia for an alliance with Germany. But, the talks broke down. Soviet Union was now looking for some sort of strategic protection. So, on 23rd August 1939, Germany and the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact. Under this pact, both were not supposed to attack one another. On 1st September, Germany invaded Poland and started WWII. So, option ‘a’ is the correct answer.

Notes:
Even though the Soviet Union- which was already directly fighting the Nazi Germany across Eastern Europe- had been demanding opening of a second front against the Nazi Germany in the Western Europe, allied powers did not agree to it for a few years. Eventually, in June 1944, the Allied troops opened the ‘Second Front’ in Western Europe. On 6th June 1944, known as the ‘D Day’, the first allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy, on the north coast of France. By the end of June, the number of the Allied troops which had landed in France had gone up to 1600000. So, option c is the correct answer.

Notes:
The First World War involved all the world’s great powers, which were assembled in two opposing alliances: the Allies (based on the Triple Entente of the United Kingdom, France and Russia) and the Central Powers (originally the Triple Alliance of Germany, Austria-Hungary and Italy). These alliances were both re-organized and expanded as more nations entered the war: Italy, Japan and the United States joined the Allies, and the Ottoman Empire and Bulgaria the Central Powers.

Notes:
Most historians describe late 1950s as the era of decolonization. It was in this decade that large-scale decolonization in Africa first began. In 1951 Libya became the first African country to gain independence in the decade, and in 1954 the Algerian War began. 1956 saw Sudan, Morocco, and Tunisia become independent, and Ghana became the first sub-saharan African nation to gain independence in 1957.

Notes:
Hiroshima is the capital of Hiroshima Prefecture, and the largest city in the Chugoku region of western Honshu, the largest island of Japan. It is best known as the first city in history to be targeted by a nuclear weapon when the United States Army Air Forces (USAAF) dropped an atomic bomb on it at 8:15 A.M. on August 6, 1945, near the end of World War II. Its name means “Wide Island”.

Notes:
The Wall Street Crash of 1929 led to the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. Also known as Black Tuesday, the Great Crash, or the Stock Market Crash of 1929, it began on October 24, 1929 (“Black Thursday”), and was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States.

Notes:
The Ottoman Turks captured Constantinople in 1453. As a result, the Byzantine-Greek scholars fled from Constantinople to Rome. They brought with them the Greek and Roman heritage. With this revival of classical learning in Italy, a spirit of enquiry developed.

Notes:
In England, Sir Thomas Moore wrote his famous book Utopia in Latin. Hakluyt wrote excellent travel accounts during this period.