World History MCQs

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:
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.

Notes:
The Kuomintang of China (KMT), also known as the Nationalist Party of China, was founded by Song Jiaoren and Sun Yat-sen shortly after the Xinhai Revolution of 1911.It played an instrumental role in the overthrow of the Qing dynasty during the years leading up to the Xinhai Revolution. Its guiding ideology was “Three Principles of the People” of Sun Yat Sen.

Notes:
Boxer Rebellionwas a violent anti-foreign, anti-colonial and anti-Christian uprising that took place in China in 1900. It attempted to drive all foreigners who had a privileged position in China. “Boxers” was a name that foreigners gave to a Chinese secret society known as the Yihequan (Righteous and Harmonious Fists) that practiced certain boxing and calisthenic rituals.

Notes:
The Reign of Terror (5 September 1793 – 28 July 1794) was a period of violence that occurred after the onset of the French Revolution, incited by conflict between rival political factions, the Girondins and the Jacobins, and marked by mass executions of “enemies of the revolution.” Robespierre, a French lawyer and politician, was an important figure during the Reign of Terror, which ended a few months after his arrest and execution in July 1794.

Notes:
In 1773, a new Tea Act was passed imposing a tax on import of tea. It was a symbol to show that the British Parliament had the right to tax the colonies. But Americans showed their protest. A group of Americans dressed as Red Indians, climbed on the ships and threw away the tea bundles into the sea at the Boston harbour. This event took place on 16th December 1773 and it was known as the Boston Tea Party. The offenders were punished. In 1774, the British Parliament passed the Intolerable Acts against the Americans in order to prevent such protests.

Notes:
Rousseau was the author of the famous book, Social Contract, which was considered the Bible of the French Revolution. He said that the real sovereignty rests with the people. His famous statement, “Man is born free and is everywhere in chains” kindled the revolutionary spirit of the masses.

Notes:
The political clubs sprang up in different quarters. The Jacobian Club was led by Robespierre, a radical democrat.

Notes:
The immediate cause was the assassination of Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand who was heir to the Austrian throne. Arch Duke Francis Ferdinand and his wife were assassinated by Serbians in the Bosnian capital Sarajevo when they paid a visit to this city on 28th June 1914. The news of this murder shocked many countries. Austria-Hungary was already sick of Serbia and she decided to take advantage of the new situation to crush her. The murder of their crown prince and his wife resulted in an ultimatum being sent to Serbia for immediate compliance of certain terms. Serbia’s reply did not pacify Austria-Hungary. Hence, Austria-Hungary backed by Germany declared war on Serbia. Russia mobilised her forces in favour of Serbia.

Notes:
The Portuguese were the first Europeans in the slave trade, completing their initial transatlantic voyage to Brazil in 1526. They primarily sourced slaves for labor on plantations in Atlantic Africa, Brazil, and the Caribbean, with a smaller number sent to Europe. The transatlantic slave trade, active from the 16th to 19th centuries, involved trading slaves among Europe, Africa, and the Americas, forming a triangular trade system.