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Interesting Questions, Facts and Information
- There are a total of 715 general entries. We are selecting 30 for display.
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 Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information
 World History
the Rock of Gibraltar. Loosely meaning 'go beyond at your peril'. What was beyond the Rock was of course unknown at that time. Strategically important, Gibraltar was ceded to Great Britain by Spain in the 1713 Treaty of Utrecht. In a 1967 referendum, Gibraltarians ignored Spanish pressure and voted overwhelmingly to remain a British dependency.
9 years. The impeachment proceeding was started by Edmund Burke in 1786, following the return of Hastings from his post as Governor-General of India the year before. Finally, in 1795 the House of Lords acquitted {Hastings;} out of 29 members voting the most the House Managers could muster for conviction on any of the charges was 6 votes.
Northwest. Panama lies roughly in the shape of a semi-circle with the opening to the South. At the point where the Panama canal cuts through it, the Atlantic side is actually Northwest of the Pacific side. In fact, when a ship exits the Canal on the Atlantic side, it is 22 miles WEST of where it was when it entered the Canal on the Pacific side.
8. It is surprising that this many countries border Turkey, given that 75 per cent of its border is water. The 8 countries, along with the length of the common borders, are: Armenia (268 km), Azerbaijan (9 km), Bulgaria (240 km), Georgia (252 km), Greece (206 km), Iran (499 km), Iraq (331 km), and Syria (822 km).
She was displeased with Raleigh's love affair with one of her maids of honor.. After his release from the Tower, he married the lady involved, Bessie Throckmorton. It was later, during the reign of James I, that he was framed for plotting against the throne, and he was eventually beheaded in 1618.
35 per cent. Out of the 17,000 islands in the archipelago that is Indonesia, about 6,000 are inhabited. This seems an amazingly high number of inhabited islands, and accounts for Indonesia now being the 4th-most populated country in the world. How in the world would you govern a country spread out over that many islands?
Iceland. The Althing, the Icelandic parliament, was established in 930.
Libya. In November of 1949 the UN General Assembly approved a resolution stating that Libya should become independent as soon as possible. A United Nations Commissioner was appointed for the purpose of assisting the people of Libya in the formation of the constitution and the establishment of an independent government. Historically, the administration of Libya had been united for only a few years, and those under Italian rule, so forming a unified nation out of the three provinces of Libya was a daunting task. However, in due course a National Constituent Assembly was created, in which each of the three provinces was equally represented, and the assembly offered the throne to Idris, who on December 24, 1951, proclaimed the independence of the United Kingdom of Libya as a sovereign state.
Gilgamesh. The Gilgamesh epic is the world's oldest. In this ancient story, the hero, an ancient king named Gilgamesh, is involved in several adventures. The story also featured the world's first sidekick...and no, it wasn't Robin. Gilgamesh's best friend in this epic was called Enkidu, and their adventures are simply the stuff of legend.
The Analects. The Analects is a collection of very short exchanges and pithy statements that can be found nowhere near fortune cookies, though they are easy to understand. Confucius did not write this work, but rather his disciples did. The ideas and philosophy expressed in this work is said to have come from the master himself, however.
Vandals. The term 'vandal' obviously was drawn from the name of this particularly tough Germanic tribe. Rome was not only sacked by the Vandals, though. The Visigoths and Ostrogoths had their turns as well on different dates.
| The Eastern and Western Roman empires were restored for a time under a great Byzantine emperor who lived from 483-562 A.D. What was his name? | Survey of World History
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Justinian. During Justinian's reign the Eastern Roman Empire was rejoined, for a time, with what portions of the former Western Empire could be wrested from the 'barbarian' tribes now in control. Justinian's reign was also characterized by the law code developed therein.
Medina. Medina's ancient name was Yathrib, and it became a mecca (forgive the pun) for Muhammed and his followers after they were driven out of Mecca by enemies.
| The Mongols finally withdrew from Europe in the year 1241. This was as a result of the death of what Mongol leader? | Survey of World History
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Ogedai. It is possible that the Mongols could have continued along into Europe in their relentless period of conquering. However, after Ogedai's death they receded from mainland Europe, though they held the Russian motherland under the name 'Golden Horde' for a number of years afterward.
| In 1532, the leader of the Incan empire, Atahualpa, was killed. Who was the leader of the Spanish expedition that marched on the Incan empire and caused Atahualpa's death? | Survey of World History
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Pizarro. Pizarro was perhaps the most influential conquistador in Spanish history, though one could argue for Cortez as well. Pizarro used a very small number of troops (a couple hundred), who had the advantage of guns and horses, to take control of an entire empire. This achievement is staggering when compared to the forces that were required to overcome other world empires.
| The end of the 30 years war in Europe occurred in 1648. What was the peace that ensued called? | Survey of World History
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Peace of Westphalia. The Thirty Years War lasted from 1618 to 1648 and involved fundamentally the growth of Calvanism in Switzerland and France.
Louisiana Purchase. Thomas Jefferson was President when the United States made this coup! I'll bet Napoleon really regretted having sold such a large chunk of land at such a bargain price...actually, I don't think he cared.
| What country of the Western hemisphere declared its independence, becoming the first black nation to gain freedom from European colonial rule? | Survey of World History
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Haiti. The Haitian revolution for independence was instigated by a former slave named Toussaint L'Ouverture. Thank you for having tried this quiz...I hope you enjoyed it and were able to learn a thing or two!
Adrian IV. Adrian was pope from 1154 until his death in 1159. His birthname was Nicholas Breakspear.
Islam. Islam also spread throughout the Middle East during this period, reaching eventually into Central and South Asia and as far as Spain to the west.
| During his reign (1398-1353 B.C.), an Egyptian pharaoh denied the numerous gods of Egypt and became the first monotheistic Egyptian king. What was this pharaoh's name? | Captivating World History
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Akhnaten. Akhnaten, also known as Amenhotep IV, revered only the god Aten, which meant 'brightness and heat of the sun'.
| During the Chinese Sui dynasty, a canal system was constructed that linked the Yellow river with the Yangtze river. What was this canal system called? | Captivating World History
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Grand Canal. Five and a half million workers were brought together for this project. It is estimated that over two million died while building the grand canal.
Simon Bolivar. Bolivar was a native of Venezuela, and liberated that country from Spanish rule in 1821. He subsequently did the same for Colombia, Ecuador, Peru and Bolivia, a country that was named for him (it was formerly called 'Upper Peru').
| What was the name of the moated capital of the Khmer empire, built around 900 to 1200 A.D. in dedication to the God-King Suryavarman II? | Captivating World History
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Angkor Vat. The remains of Angkor Vat can still be visited today, in modern day Cambodia.
| What is the name of the first landing place on the east coast of Australia (in 1770) of Captain James Cook? | Captivating World History
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Botany Bay. Botany Bay was named in honor of Sir Joseph Banks, a botanist on board Captain James Cook's ship the Endeavor, that first landed there in April of 1770.
Austria. Anschluss is German for union or joining together. Austria is also a primarily German speaking country, and the native country of Hitler.
| Alexander the Great was forced to return back to his capital after his troops mutinied following a battle near the Indus river in India. What was the name of this battle that occurred in 326 B.C.? | Captivating World History
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Hydaspes. This was the last major battle of his career. He died 3 years later while planning the conquest of Arabia.
Paris. The Treaty of Paris ended a hard-fought 8 year war between England and its rebellious lower colonies on the North American mainland. Paris has been the sight of several other treaties as well, but perhaps none as significant as this? Anyhow...thank you for your patronization of this quiz and please look out for my many other history quizzes, mostly in the Asian and Ancient history sub-categories...cheers!
Edmund Barton. Edmund Barton came from Sydney to become the first Prime Minister of Australia in 1901. He was one of the leaders in the push for Federation.
Russia. The victory in this war elevated Japan to world power status. Japan gained southern Sakhalin island and Russia's port and rail rights in Manchuria, as well.
| What Portuguese explorer became the first European to reach the area now occupied by Brazil in 1500 A.D.? | General World History
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Pedro Cabral. He was, however, not the first European explorer to reach the South American mainland, or Brazil...which was why I was careful to say 'Portuguese'...ah ha!
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