Twentieth-Century History Trek Quiz

Answer: Angola

The FNLA (National Front for the Liberation of Angola) grew out of earlier anti-colonial organizations led by Holden Roberto and became one of the three main movements fighting Portuguese rule in Angola. After independence in 1975, it fought the rival MPLA for power, with backing at various times from the United States, Zaire, and China, but was quickly and militarily defeated and faded as a major armed force.

The MPLA (Popular Movement for the Liberation of Angola) was founded in 1956 as a nationalist movement against Portuguese colonial rule and became the strongest of the three liberation movements. Led by Agostinho Neto and later José Eduardo dos Santos, it took power at independence in 1975, and then fought a long civil war against UNITA (and initially the FNLA). During the Cold War, it was backed by the Soviet Union and Cuba and adopted Marxist-Leninist ideology for a period.

UNITA (National Union for the Total Independence of Angola) was founded in 1966 by Jonas Savimbi after breaking with the FNLA, and it presented itself first as a liberation movement against Portugal and then as the main armed opponent of the MPLA government. In the civil war, it became one of the best-known Cold War proxy forces in Africa, receiving outside support from South Africa and the United States at different times while fighting the MPLA for decades.

Answer: Andorra

As per a medieval arrangement, the Principality of Andorra has two co-princes as heads of state: the president of France and the bishop of Urgell (a Catholic bishop based in Spain). In the Middle Ages, Andorra was a tiny mountain territory caught between powerful lords on the French and Iberian sides of the Pyrenees. Control over it was disputed between the Bishop of Urgell (in what is now Spain) and the Count of Foix (in what is now France).

To end the conflict, they signed agreements called the Paratges in 1278 and 1288, which established shared sovereignty over Andorra. In other words, instead of one ruler defeating the other, they agreed to rule it jointly.

Over time, the Count of Foix's rights passed to the French crown, and later to the French head of state, explaining why the president of France is now one co-prince. The other side remained attached to the bishop of Urgell, so the bishop still serves as the second co-prince of Andorra. Andorra adopted a modern constitution in 1993, which turned it into a parliamentary democracy and reduced the co-princes' powers to mostly constitutional and ceremonial roles.

So the bishop remains one of Andorra's heads of state mainly because of historical continuity, not because the church directly rules the country.

Answer: Albania

Albania became an independent monarchy in 1928 under King Zog I (Ahmet Muhtar Bey Zogolli), who declared himself king after having previously served as prime minister and president. His rule was marked by efforts to centralize power, modernize the state, and maintain independence.

In 1939, Fascist Italy invaded and occupied Albania, forcing King Zog into exile and ending the monarchy. After World War II, communist partisans led by Enver Hoxha took control, establishing the People's Republic of Albania in 1946.

Hoxha ruled as a hardline Stalinist dictator for decades, isolating the country from both the Western bloc and later even the Soviet Union and China over ideological breakups. His regime was characterized by strict authoritarian control, collectivization, political repression, and extreme isolationism until he died in 1985.

Answer: Austria

Hitler used the term 'Ostmark' (meaning 'Eastern March' or 'Eastern Borderland') to refer to the Republic of Austria after its annexation by Nazi Germany in March 1938, an event known as the Anschluss.

Answer: Blythe

Bill was born on August 19, 1946, as William Jefferson Blythe III, about three months after his father, William Jefferson Blythe Jr., died in a car accident.

In 1950, his mother, Virginia Dell Cassidy, married Roger Clinton Sr., and although the family dynamics were difficult at times, Bill grew up using the Clinton household name. At age 15, while preparing to enter high school, Bill chose to legally adopt the surname "Clinton" because his younger half-brother had been born with the Clinton surname and Bill wanted the family to share the same last name. It was his decision, and his stepfather never adopted him legally.

Answer: Shot, killed and thrown overboard from a cruise ship

Leon Klinghoffer was a 69-year-old American businessman killed during the hijacking of the Italian cruise ship "Achille Lauro" in October 1985. Four members of the Palestine Liberation Front took over the ship while it sailed the Mediterranean with many passengers and crew on board.

The hijackers demanded the release of Palestinian prisoners in Israel. Klinghoffer, who used a wheelchair, was singled out and shot by one of the hijackers, who had his body thrown into the sea along with his wheelchair.

His murder drew international condemnation and became a notable case of maritime terrorism.

Answer: Jean Bedel Bokassa

Bokassa came to power in the Central African Republic after a military coup in 1966, overthrowing President David Dacko. On December 4, 1976, he declared the country an empire, becoming Emperor Bokassa I. His 1977 coronation was an extravagant event, inspired by Napoleon's, which cost around $20 million.

However, the empire was short-lived, as French forces intervened in September 1979 to support Dacko's return to power, reverting the country from empire back to the Central African Republic after less than three years.

Answer: Admiral Wilhelm Canaris

Wilhelm Franz Canaris (1887-1945) was a German admiral and head of the Abwehr, Nazi Germany's military intelligence service, from 1935 to 1944. Initially loyal to the Nazi regime, he became disillusioned with Hitler and supported the German resistance, helping some Jews escape persecution.

After the failed July 20th assassination plot against Hitler, Canaris was arrested and transferred to Flossenbürg concentration camp. On April 9, 1945, he was tried by an SS court along with other resistance figures and executed by hanging on Hitler's orders, just weeks before Germany's surrender. Hitler himself committed suicide three weeks later.

Answer: True

W. T. Cosgrave (William Thomas Cosgrave, 1880-1965) was an Irish revolutionary, statesman, and the first head of government of the Irish Free State. He played a central role in establishing the institutions of the new Irish state after independence. He was born in Dublin, where he joined the nationalist movement and became active in Sinn Féin. He took part in the Easter Rising and was imprisoned by the British.

After his release, Cosgrave was elected a member of the revolutionary Irish parliament, the Dáil, and supported the Anglo-Irish Treaty, which created the Irish Free State but also led to the partition of Ireland. Following the assassination of Michael Collins in August 1922, Cosgrave became head of the Provisional Government and later became the first president of the Executive Council (the equivalent of prime minister) of the Irish Free State. He served from 1922 to 1932.

Answer: Armenia

Armenia and Azerbaijan were involved in a conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh, a mountainous area recognized as part of Azerbaijan but mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians. Tensions escalated into war in the late 1980s after the Soviet Union collapsed. The First Nagorno-Karabakh War ended in 1994, leaving Armenian forces in control of most of the region and displacing hundreds of thousands.

The Second Nagorno-Karabakh War occurred in 2020 and lasted 44 days, during which Azerbaijan, backed by Turkey, regained much of its lost territory. In September 2023, Azerbaijan launched a swift military operation, taking the remaining Armenian-controlled areas. The Armenian authorities agreed to disband, and most ethnic Armenians fled to Armenia.