The Last Straw Trivia Quiz

Answer: Battle of Hastings

Edward the Confessor died in January of 1066 without an obvious heir. With the support of the Witenagemot (Council), Harold Godwinson ascended to the throne. Meanwhile, William, Duke of Normandy was a little upset because his cousin Edward had verbally promised the English throne to him in 1051.

In 1064, Edward had ordered Harold Godwinson to go to Normandy to reaffirm Edward's commitment to William. Of course, William saw Harold's coronation as a personal affront and an act of war. William recruited an army from all over Europe promising lands and titles to anyone who would fight for him. Almost 700 ships and 20,000 men sailed for England and landed at Pevensey on September 28th 1066. Meanwhile, Harold was forced into quelling a Viking invasion in the North led by his brother Tostig Godwinson and the Norwegian King Harald Hardrada. King Harold beat the invaders at Stamford Bridge then immediately scurried south to meet the Norman invaders.

The battle took place at Senlac Hill, 10km northwest of Hastings.

It was a decisive battle for the Norman invaders. Harold was killed when an arrow pierced his eye (at least that is what legend suggests), and William was dubbed "The Conqueror" and crowned King of England.

Answer: Thomas Becket

In January 1155, King Henry II appointed Thomas Becket to the post of Lord Chancellor. Thomas flourished in this post and found favor and friendship with the King. King Henry also entrusted Thomas with the occasional tutelage of his son Henry, who became fond of Thomas. In 1162, Thomas Becket was recommended to the post of Archbishop of Canterbury. Thomas took his new religious responsibilities very seriously which often put him at odds with the King. The King sought to extend traditional rights of the Royal government to secular jurisdiction over the English clergy. Every bishop agreed to sign the Constitutions of Clarendon (giving the King certain powers over the clergy) in 1164, except Thomas Becket. Thomas was called to an audience with the king and found guilty of contempt against the Royal court. He fled for his life finding refuge in France under King Louis VII. He would not return to England until 1170 at which time the King had forgiven the offenses against him.

In June of 1170, the Bishop of London (Gilbert Foliot), the Archbishop of York (Roger de Pont L'Eveque), and the Bishop of Salisbury (Josceline de Bohon) all participated in the coronation of the younger King Henry at York. This breach of the Archbishop's perceived right and privilege to direct the coronation caused Becket to excommunicate all three Bishops who fled to Normandy where King Henry II was in residence. Upon hearing of Becket's actions, tradition suggests that the King stated aloud, "will no one rid me of this turbulent priest?" Four knights, Hugh de Morville, William de Tracy, Richard le Breton, and Reginald Fitzurse, interpreted this as a royal command and traveled directly to Canterbury. On December 29th 1170 they found Thomas Becket alone in the cathedral and slew him with their swords.

Answer: Magna Carta

King John was not a popular monarch. The frequent dramatizations of "Robin Hood and his Merry Men" stealing from the rich and giving to the poor during John's reign are not actually too improbable a legend. King John fought unnecessary wars that often led to barons losing their lands and privileges. Extreme taxation to fund the wars was hurting both the commoner and the wealthy landowners. Finally, a group of barons united to revolt against King John.

Many wanted to put a new king on the throne, others wanted to see changes made in the laws governing the king.

In early 1215, the barons took an oath that they would protect the liberty of the church and the kingdom. They demanded John agree to a document called the "Charter of Liberties." John continued to resist and so on June 10th, 1215, the barons with the support of the French king and Scottish king entered London by force. John was forced to agree to a document called the "Articles of the Barons." In return, the Barons swore fealty to King John on June 19th, 1215.

The formal document to record this agreement, called the "Magna Carta," was created by the Royal Chancery on July 15th.

Answer: Ming

Zhu Yuanzhang, also known as Taizu of Ming, was indeed the first Emperor of the Ming Dynasty. In the early years of the 14th Century, the Yuan Dynasty ruled China. Life was hard and thousands of people were dying from famine, plagues, and fighting in the peasant revolts. Zhu began life as a wandering beggar after his family were wiped out by the plague. For a time he became a novice Budhist monk and learned how to read and write at the Huangjue Temple. He lived at the Temple until he was almost 24 years of age. The Temple was destroyed by an army and in 1352 Zhu joined the insurgent forces fighting against the Yuan Dynasty. Zhu was a natural-born leader and soon became a commander within the Red Turbans organization. These defenders of Confucianism had a powerful following and Zhu rose in rank to become their leader. In 1356, Zhu Yuanzhang's army took Nanjing and installed the city as the official capital of the Ming Dynasty. Vast hordes of people converged upon Nanjing and the city's population increased tenfold. In 1368, Zhu marched on the Yuan capital and took Beijing. On the 14th of September he was installed as the new Emperor of China and the forefather of the Ming Dynasty. Zhu Yuanzhang's story is legendary. In just 10 years, a penniless wandering beggar with no family rose to become the most powerful warlord in all of China. Then several years later he was being revered as the Emperor of the country.

Answer: Christopher Columbus

Christopher Columbus met with Queen Isabella and King Ferdinand of Spain on May 1st, 1486. His request was for three ships, funding for three full crews, and that he receive the title "Great Admiral of the Ocean." He also wanted to be appointed governor of all the lands he discovered and be able to keep one-tenth of the revenue from those lands. After several years of negotiations, the Spanish monarchs agreed to fund the expedition. Columbus was made "Admiral of the Seas" and an agreement was made that he would receive profits from the venture if successful. The crown did not really expect him to return when he sailed out of port with the Nina, the Pinta, and the Santa Maria. However, he did return and lengthy courtcases occurred as he and his family attempted to hold the Spanish monarchs to their word.

Answer: Selling of Indulgences by order of Pope Leo X

Martin Luther's actions of writing and publicizing his 95 theses against the practice of Indulgences gave birth to the Protestant Reformation in Europe. Pope Leo X was in great need of finances for the renovation and building that was needed for St. Peter's Basillica in Rome. One of his fund-raising strategies was the selling of indulgences which essentially gave people a free pass from their sins and an opportunity to slide into Heaven through the back door. Martin Luther, a German monk and a theologian, believed that no man could buy his way into Heaven or pay money to the Pope in order to side-step God's punishment for sins committed while on Earth.

In 1520, Pope Leo X called Luther to retract his statements. Luther refused and in 1521 he was excommunicated by the Roman Catholic Church and became an outlaw while living out the remainder of his days in Eisleben, Germany.

Answer: Gunpowder Plot

King James I of England (James VI of Scotland) was elevated to the British throne on the death of the childless Queen Elizabeth I in 1603. His mother was Mary Queen of Scots, a Catholic sympathizer and legitimate heir to the throne of Scotland. Mary was executed by Queen Elizabeth for plots against the English crown. James, a staunch Protestant, wanted to secure peace. On March 19th, 1604, in his first speech to parliament he talked of securing peace but only through profession of the true Protestant religion.

His continued antagonism and persecution of Catholic interests led Robert Catesby to gather co-conspirators in a plan to blow up the Houses of Parliament during the State Opening on November 5th, 1605. Fellow plotters included Thomas Bates, Everard Digby, John Grant, Robert Keyes, Thomas Percy, Ambrose Rookwood, Francis Tresham, Robert Wintour, Thomas Wintour, Christopher Wright, John Wright, and Guy Fawkes. An anonymous tip-off letter led to the discovery of Guy Fawkes guarding 36 barrels of gunpowder in the basement of the Parliament building at midnight on November 4th.

The surviving conspirators (those that made it to trial) were found guilty of treason and were sentenced to be hung, drawn, and quartered.

Answer: Stamp Act

The Stamp Act was introduced by the Right Honorable George Grenville, the Prime Minister, Chancellor of the Exchequer, and Leader of the House of Commons. The Act was given royal assent on March 22nd, 1765 and began to be enforced on November 1st of the same year. Basically, the purpose of this legislation was to collect taxes on printed materials such as magazines, newpapers, legal documents, and other types of paper products. Such products had to carry an embossed revenue stamp.

The purpose of the tax was to raise revenue to pay for British troops stationed in the American colonies.

The colonists revolted against the Stamp Act largely because they rejected the idea of taxation without representation. Hefty resistance to this Act caused it to be ultimately repealed on March 18, 1766.

Unfortunately, the damage had been done and the American Revolutionary War was inevitably joined in 1775.

Answer: Fort Sumter

At 4.30 a.m. on April 12th, 1861, Confederate forces on the Charleston Battery initiated canon fire against Fort Sumter. There were 82 soldiers on Fort Sumter who fired back but surrendered quickly after being vastly outnumbered. This was the first battle of the American Civil War that would last from 1861 until 1865.

In the South, church bells rang to celebrate the Fort Sumter victory. Virginia almost immediately ceded from the Union and the Confederacy of Southern states immediately began to mobilize militia.

In the Northern states, men rushed to heed the call of the new President who recruited troops to quell the Southern uprising. Four years later, over 700,000 Americans had given their lives to the conflict.

Answer: Attack on Pearl Harbor

In the early morning hours of December 7th, 1941 the Japanese Imperial Navy carried out a surprise bombing strike on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu, Hawaii. Over 350 Japanese airplanes attacked the base, severely damaging all eight U.S. Navy battleships, four of which were effectively sunk. Other casualties included 188 U.S. aircraft, 3 destroyers, 3 cruisers, 1 minelayer, an anti-aircraft ship and over 2,400 American military personnel. Japanese losses were minor in comparison with only 29 aircraft and 65 soldiers lost. Franklin D. Roosevelt declared December 7th, 1941 "a date that will live in infamy." The United States immediately declared war on Japan. On December 11 Germany and Italy, as two of Japan's allies, declared war on the US.