World History MCQs

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Iran was the supply route in the “Persian Corridor” by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. The Persian Corridor was a supply route through Iran into Soviet Azerbaijan by which British aid and American Lend-Lease supplies were transferred to the Soviet Union during World War II. Of the 17.5 million long tons of U.S. Lend-Lease aid provided to Russia, 7.9 million long tons (45%) were sent through Iran.

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

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Kim Il Sung invaded South Korea in June 1950 with the help of USSR in an attempt to unify Korean Peninsula.

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Large sections of the population were convinced that the revolution had to be carried further. Political clubs became an important rallying point for people who wished to discuss government policies and plan their own forms of action. The most successful of these clubs was that of the Jacobins, which got its name from the former convent of St Jacob in Paris. Women too, who had been active throughout this period, formed their own clubs. The members of the Jacobin Club belonged mainly to the less prosperous sections of society. They included small shopkeepers, artisans such as shoemakers, pastry cooks, watch-makers, printers, as well as servants and daily-wage workers. So, statement 1 is correct. The leader of the Jacobin Club was Maximilian Robespierre. When the Jacobins proclaimed France as a republic, Robespierre presided over the new government. So, statement 2 is correct. A large group among the Jacobins decided to start wearing long striped trousers similar to those worn by dock workers. This was to set themselves apart from the fashionable sections of society, especially nobles, who wore knee breeches. It was a way of proclaiming the end of the power wielded by the wearers of knee breeches. These Jacobins came to be known as the sans-culottes, literally meaning ‘those without knee breeches’. ‘Sans-culottes’ men wore in addition the red cap that symbolised liberty. So, statement 3 is incorrect.

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.

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‘Atlantic Charter’ was a declaration issued jointly by the Prime Minister of Britain, Winston Churchill, and the President of USA, Franklin D. Roosevelt, in August 1941. It was an important document, even though, it did not imply any direct military commitment on the part of the US to take part in the war. The Charter set out certain common principles on which to base ‘a better future for the world’. The two parties committed themselves to these principles, and they became, in a sense, a statement of war aims. The two countries stated that they did not seek any territorial aggrandizement or any territorial changes that do not accord with the freely expressed wishes of the people concerned. The Charter also implicitly accepted the principle of ‘self-determinism’ for the colonies. So, option b is the correct answer.

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The first Opium War (1839–42) was fought between China and Britain, and the second Opium War (1856–60), also known as the Arrow War or the Anglo-French War in China, was fought by Britain and France against China. In each case the foreign powers were victorious and gained commercial privileges and legal and territorial concessions in China.

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The Treaty of Paris of 1856 settled the Crimean War between Russia and an alliance of the Ottoman Empire, the British Empire, Second French Empire, and the Kingdom of Sardinia. The treaty, signed on March 30, 1856 at the Congress of Paris, made the Black Sea neutral territory between the warring states.

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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.

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Mikhail Gorbachev became the President of the Soviet Union in March 1985. He instituted a number of political reforms under the name of “glasnost”.