The Balance of Power: Europe, 1492-1914 Quiz

Answer: Portugal - Religion, gold

France and Spain, as leading Catholic nations, sought to spread their religion to the New World, while also gaining leads in trade and gold, respectively. England focused on gaining an edge in trade and did also seek gold (it was believed at the time of original settlement and exploration that America contained rich gold deposits throughout). Portugal, though Catholic, was much more intent on establishing a trade route to the Orient without depending on expensive caravans or foreign intermediaries.

Answer: Britain

Following the decline of Spain, Britain emerged as the leading naval power. British naval supremacy was further consolidated during the Napoleonic Wars. Britain retained this status until the end of the 19th century, when it was challenged by Germany from about 1897 onwards. (Britain's economic role was challenged earlier, from about 1875 onwards by Germany and the U.S.).

Answer: None of these

As a result of the War of the Spanish Succession, the French royalty were removed from the Spanish line of succession, thus preventing a Franco-Spanish union and therefore weakening France's potential. The War of Austrian Succession, though not an official loss for France, was costly and ineffective, and is best considered a victory for Prussia.

The Seven Years' War resulted in France losing nearly its entire western empire to Britain. Therefore, no one nation won all three of the wars.

Answer: Both of these

It also used relatively large peasant armies for the first time. It was one of the costliest European wars up until its time, mainly because it relied on the strategy of the opposing armies lining up and shooting at each other, using continually improving weaponry.

Answer: Liberty and equality

The beliefs led to the American Revolution (1775-1783) and the French Revolution (1789-1799). The use of colonies to house dissenting or oppressed groups had existed since the early 17th century, and cooperation between monarchies did not largely emerge until after the end of the French Revolution.

Answer: France

Under the leadership of Napoleon, France successfully began a military campaign which overtook most of its neighbors (including Spain, Prussia, and Austria), threatened others (Russia), and took an alliance of all major European powers to halt its advance.

Answer: Consolidate the power of the monarchies to prevent uprisings similar to the French Revolution

In the wake of the French Revolution, European nations aimed to prevent future similar revolutions by creating cooperation between their respective monarchies. In order to do so, it created a "balance of power" between the major powers in Europe in order to ensure that no nation could overtake all the others again.

Answer: 1848

1848 saw attempted revolutions by a dissatisfied middle and lower class in France, Germany, Italy, the Hapsburg areas (Austria), Poland, and other nations. Britain was the only major western power not affected by the discontent. Other major uprisings also occurred in 1820, when revolutions rocked much of southern Europe (Italy, Greece, and the Balkans, for example) and in 1830, with France, Belgium, and Poland.

Answer: The unification of Germany

Although formally acknowledged by the Congress of Vienna, the German Confederation had not been able to function as a European power. Unification led to a serious shift in power on Continental Europe due to the presence of a strong new nation in a key central location. Further, Germany soon rivaled Britain in terms of industrial development.

Answer: Weakening of monarchies and dynasties

The alliances created a network of nations to fight for and against one another should something occur, and were intensified by a growing split between Germany and Britain. Nationalists brought political agitation to domestic affairs for each country and helped spark the war (with the assassination of Archduke Ferdinand).

The weakening of dynasties was actually a result of the war; World War I saw the overthrow of four major monarchies: the Hapsburgs, the Romanovs, the Ottomans, and the Hohenzollerns.