World History MCQs
World History Multiple Choice Quiz Questions (MCQs) on Ancient World History, Medieval World History and Modern World History for various UPSC, PCS and other Competitive Examinations.
1. Territorial claims and disputes over navigation rights of which of the following territories between Iran and Iraq was the main factor for the Iraq-Iran War?
[A] Abu Musa
[B] Zubarah
[C] Murair
[D] Shatt al-Arab
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Shatt al-Arab]
Notes:
The Shatt al-Arab waterway was the main factor in the Iran-Iraq War. The Shatt al-Arab is formed by the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The southern end of the river forms the border between Iran and Iraq. The Shatt al-Arab was an important channel for oil exports for both countries. The dispute over the Shatt al-Arab lasted from 1936 until 1975. Iran rejected the demarcation line established in the Anglo-Ottoman Convention of Constantinople of November 1913. Iran wanted the border to run along the thalweg, the deepest point of the navigable channel. The Iran-Iraq War lasted from September 1980 until August 1988. The war was also called the First Persian Gulf War or the Imposed War in Iran.
2. Kemal Ataturk is known as founder and builder of Modern_______?
[A] Turkey
[B] Georgia
[C] Syria
[D] Kuwait
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Turkey]
Notes:
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk also known as Mustafa Kemal Pasha (died 1938) was a Turkish leader and founder of Republic of Turkey. He is known for numerous progressive reforms that modernized Turkey into a secular, industrializing nation.
3. Who among the following wrote “The Communist Manifesto” along with Karl Marx? (UPSC Prelims 2006)
[A] Emile Durkheim
[B] Friedrich Engeles
[C] Robert Owen
[D] Max Weber
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Friedrich Engeles]
Notes:
On February 21, 1848, The Communist Manifesto, written by Karl Marx with the assistance of Friedrich Engels, is published in London by a group of German-born revolutionary socialists known as the Communist League.
4. Falkland Islands Sovereignty Dispute is a territorial dispute between two nations. Which among the following are those two nations?
[A] Argentina and Chile
[B] Argentina and United Kingdom
[C] Argentina and United States of America
[D] Argentina and France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Argentina and United Kingdom]
Notes:
Both Argentina and United Kingdom raise their claim of sovereign rights over the Falkland Islands. Since 1833, the UK is exercising control over the islands in practical terms. The dispute escalated in 1982 when Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands. This lead to a war when the UK retaliated which lead to its victory. Present-day Falkland Islanders prefer to identify themselves as British.
5. Which one of the following time-periods is associated with the infamous “Armenian Genocide”?
[A] 1914-1923
[B] 1936-1943
[C] 1948-1951
[D] 1989-1991
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [1914-1923]
Notes:
Armenian Genocide or Armenian Holocaust is the mass murder of 15 lakhs of ethnic Armenians carried out in Turkey by the then Ottoman Empire between 1914 and 1923. The genocide involved physical destruction, deportation and displacement of the civilian population.
6. The “1989 Tiananmen Square Protests” happened in which nation?
[A] Japan
[B] North Korea
[C] South Korea
[D] China
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [China]
Notes:
The “1989 Tiananmen Square Protests” happened in China. It is also known as the June Fourth Incident. This protests happened in Tiananmen Square of Beijing. The protest’s major goals were to end the corruption of the Communist Party of China; to bring democratic reforms such as freedom of the press, freedom of speech, freedom of association and to bring economic-free market reforms in China. But, these protests were brutally suppressed by the Chinese Government which lead to the Tiananmen Square Massacre.
7. The ‘ziggurats’ in Sumerian Civilization refers to which of the following?
[A] Prison
[B] Meeting hall
[C] Schools
[D] Temples
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Temples]
Notes:
The ‘ziggurats’ in Sumerian Civilization refers to temples. The temples were even storeyed and pyramidical in structure. The Sumerians knew the art of constructing the arch and the’ dome.
8. Diemens means which of the following?
[A] Land in control of the King
[B] Land in control of the lord
[C] Land in control of the peasants
[D] Land in control of the soilders
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Land in control of the lord ]
Notes:
During the age of Feudalism in Europe, the Lords lived in castles and the vast stretch of land along the castle was called the manor whereas the land in control of the lord was known as diemens.
9. Which of the following was the first English sailor who went round the world?
[A] William Adams
[B] John Cook
[C] Francis Drake
[D] Magellan
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Francis Drake ]
Notes:
Sir Francis Drake was an English sea captain, privateer, naval officer and explorer. He was also the first English sailor who in his ship the Golden Hind went around the world from 1577 to 1580.
10. Which of the following was the first industrialized city of England?
[A] London
[B] Manchester
[C] Liverpool
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Manchester]
Notes:
Manchester’s unplanned urbanization was brought on by a boom in textile manufacture during the Industrial Revolution, which resulted in it becoming the world’s first industrialized city in 1853.