European Overseas Empires Trivia

1. Which previously uninhabited archipelago was discovered by Portuguese sailors in service of Henry the Navigator and is often considered to be the first territorial claim made during the initial Age of Discovery?

From Quiz We Claimed It

Answer: Madeira

Although the islands may have been visited by Greek sailors in ancient times and later by Vikings in the 10th century it was the Portuguese who first laid claim to Madeira and thus kicked off the Age of Discovery in 1419. Today Madeira is still a semi-autonomous region of Portugal and has a rich economy based on wine production and tourism.

From Quiz International Quiz on Colonies and Colonialism

Answer: Indian Ocean

While the Austrian monarchy, the Habsburgs, reigned over a sizable land empire, they had almost no experience of sea exploration. The Nicobar Islands were colonized by Denmark in 1755, but in 1778 the Habsburgs - mistakenly under the impression that Denmark had abandoned its claims - attempted to colonize them in a bid to build a trade post between their Empire and Asia. They failed establish the facts of ownership, plan properly or equip the project, and after the leader of the expedition died in 1783, the project was abandoned. (Question by cairnster)

From Quiz An Empire in the Sun: I

Answer: Portugal

Henry the Navigator was a Portuguese patron of exploration; he was also the son of King John I of Portugal. His efforts were mainly concentrated in developing trade with Africa and exploring Africa's coastline.

From Quiz European Colonial Empires (1560-1835)

Answer: Jamestown

The ruling British monarch at the time was James I, after which the settlement was named. Roanoke was actually the first British settlement in America; however, it was abandoned by the Crown after the settlers there vanished.

From Quiz German Colonial History

Answer: Tanganyika, Ruanda, Urundi

The explorer Karl Peters made treaties with native chiefs in the area, which came under German control in 1884-85. The Germans had several conflicts with the Sultan of Zanzibar who also claimed Tanganyika.

From Quiz Independence Day

Answer: Jamaica

Originally occupied by the Spanish, the British under Sir William Penn, father of the founder of Pennsylvania, seized the island in 1655. Britain formally gained possession by the Treaty of Madrid in 1670.

From Quiz The Scramble for Africa

Answer: Berlin

The conference was hosted by Germany and was attended by Austia-Hungary, Belgium, Britain, Denmark, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Norway, Russia, Spain, Turkey and the United States. The agreement (which was ratified by all the attendees except the USA) held that when claiming a territory in Africa each signatory should inform the others of its intentions in advance and that actual occupation was required rather than just a claim on paper or the planting of a flag. The agreement was reached in response to rising tensions between the European powers over their claims in Africa. Despite the agreement, these "rules" were frequently disregarded.

From Quiz Former Colonial Territories in India

Answer: Jammu and Kashmir

Jammu and Kashmir is now divided in two parts, one Indian state and one area under Pakistani control.

From Quiz Colonial Forts

Answer: Fort Saint David

On this site there was previously small fort, Tegnapatam, built by a Hindu merchant. It became the possession of the Marathas in 1677 who sold it to the English in 1690.

From Quiz Countries and Their Colonization

Answer: Portugal

From Quiz We Claimed It

Answer: Spain

The oldest continuously inhabited European city in the Americas- the city of Saint Augustine was founded by the Spanish in 1565. The city still bears Spanish architecture and a Spanish era fortress known as Castillo de San Marcos built in 1672.

From Quiz Begin Again

Answer: Liberia

Liberia started out as a colony in West Africa for freed African slaves, in the area formerly known as the Pepper Coast; its capital of Monrovia was named after the US president James Monroe, who was a supporter of the colonisation of Liberia. The Society for the Colonisation of Free People of Colour of America, aka the American Colonisation Society, supported freed slaves moving to Africa; however, some African-Americans protested, preferring to stay in the US and fight for their rights there, and also seeing the concept as a means of getting rid of black American citizens. Slaveholders also saw freed slaves as a potential threat. Around 3/4 of immigrants to Liberia died of disease, and there were also clashes between indigenous people and the Americo-Liberians. The ACS gradually handed more power over to Liberia, with the new state declaring independence in 1847 and former slave Joseph Jenkins Roberts being appointed its first president. Liberia was also notably one of the few states to remain independent through the Scramble for Africa by European countries.

From Quiz Claimed

Answer: The torture of Kenyan prisoners suspected of involvement in the Mau Mau Uprising

The Mau Mau Uprising was a revolt against British colonisers in Kenya, led by Kikuyu, Meru and Embu people, though some Kikuyu were on the side of the British and members of the Kenya Regiment. Both the Mau Mau insurgents and the British and their supporters, committed war crimes, the most extreme case on the part of the Mau Mau was the Lari Massacre, where Mau Mau insurgents herded Home Guard members and their families into huts and set them on fire, attacking anyone who escaped with machetes. The British and African soldiers on their side carried out retaliation attacks, killing at least 400 Mau Mau. The British also responded to the uprising by detaining and torturing confirmed and suspected Mau Mau members, including US President Barack Obama's grandfather. Sexual assault and bodily mutilation were used as a form of torture against men and women; many detainees were hanged, choked to death by having mud forced into their mouths, burned alive or beaten to death. Although Griffith-Jones compared the detention camps to Nazi Germany, he still allowed insurgents to be tortured, suggesting they be beaten on the upper part of the body, avoiding damaging the internal organs. See the above quote about 'sinning quietly'. Former Mau Mau members who had been tortured or castrated later made claims against the British government, and five of them were chosen to prosecute a test case, though one of them, Susan Ciong'ombe Ngondi, died. Of the remaining four, two men had been castrated, one woman was a survivor of the Hola Massacre - in which 11 prisoners in the Hola detention camp were killed, and 77 more injured - and another woman had been tortured and sexually assaulted. Kenya became independent in 1963, and was declared a republic a year later.

From Quiz An Empire in the Sun: I

Answer: Bartolomeu Dias

At the time the Cape of Good Hope, originally called the Cape of Storms, was mistakenly thought to be the southernmost point of Africa. (That is in fact Cape Agulhas, which Dias also passed). Though Bartolomeu Dias never reached India, his goal, he did prove to Europeans that there was a possible maritime route to India, which would allow Europeans to bypass taxes imposed by the Safavid and Ottoman authorities the overland route to India.

From Quiz European Colonial Empires (1560-1835)

Answer: The Netherlands

Ceylon is now known as Sri Lanka; its capital is Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte - often shortened to Kotte.

From Quiz German Colonial History

Answer: Togoland and Cameroon

The colony existed as a unit for a few years (German West Africa) but was split due to the distance between the two parts.

From Quiz British Territorial Acquisitions 1600-1920

Answer: Senegal

Britain also obtained Florida from Spain.

From Quiz Colonial Forts

Answer: Fort Duquesne

Because of its strategic location Fort Duquesne was a major objective in the last of the French and Indian Wars.

From Quiz History of Colonialism

Answer: Portugal

India annexed or repossessed the territories, along with Goa, which was also Portuguese.

From Quiz Countries and Their Colonization

Answer: France

From Quiz Early European Exploration

Answer: Portugal

Portugal was the first European country to acquire an overseas empire.

From Quiz International Quiz on Colonies and Colonialism

Answer: Scotland

Between 1698 and 1700, Scotland tried to set up a colony on the Isthmus of Darien, also known as the Isthmus of Panama. The intention was to give Scotland enhanced access to foreign trade, because of the supposed strategic importance of the Panamanian position. This ambitious scheme failed, due to sickness, lack of food and attacks by Spaniards. The scheme had been backed by something between a quarter and a half of all the money in the country. The devastation to the Scottish economy is said to have been a major factor in the 1707 Act of Union. (Question by Upstart3)

From Quiz An Empire in the Sun: I

Answer: Vasco da Gama

Vasco de Gama reached India and despite heavy sacrifice (one ship and around half the men on the expedition). He returned to Portugal with spices and other exotic goods that were worth sixty times the cost of the expedition.

From Quiz European Colonial Empires (1560-1835)

Answer: Russia

Over the years, Alaska was claimed by Spain, France, Britain, and the United States, but in 1835, the Russian Empire was the governor of the region.

From Quiz German Colonial History

Answer: South-West Africa & South West Africa & Namibia

The country is today called Namibia. Walvis Bay, though, was never under German control but was an exclave under the Cape Province, South Africa.

From Quiz British Territorial Acquisitions 1600-1920

Answer: Heligoland

Malta was acquired from the Knights of St.John, Heligoland from the Danes, Ceylon and the Cape Colony from the Dutch.

From Quiz Former Colonial Territories in India

Answer: Hyderabad

When India gained independence in 1947, the Nizam of Hyderabad made an unsuccessful attempt to retain autonomy. The original state of Hyderabad was reorganized and divided between Andhra Pradesh, Mysore and Maharashtra in 1956.

From Quiz History of Colonialism

Answer: Oman

It was a slave trade post and part of the (small) Omani Empire.

From Quiz Countries and Their Colonization

Answer: Spain

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Last Updated Nov 01 2025 5:47 AM

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