World History MCQs

Notes:
Japan was the first country in Asia to industrialize on a large scale. Industrialization began in Japan after the fall of the Tokugawa government in 1868. Japan industrialized faster than many European countries.
Japan’s industrialization was prompted by the need to improve the nation’s defenses against foreign threats. Local clans developed industrialization by copying Western examples and using traditional craft skills. Japan’s production included steel, machinery, metal goods, and chemicals, which were produced in quantities large enough for export.
Other Asian countries that have industrialized include: South Korea, Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong.

Notes:
Treaty of Portsmouth ended the Russo-Japanese War in 1905. The treaty was signed on September 5, 1905 at the Portsmouth Naval Shipyard in Kittery, Maine. The treaty was signed by Japanese and Russian diplomats after negotiations from August 6 to August 30. The treaty ended the war that began in 1904. The war was caused by Russian and Japanese expansionism in the Far East. The war contributed to domestic unrest in both countries, which led to the Russian revolution of 1905. U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt was instrumental in the negotiations and won the Nobel Peace Prize for his efforts.

Notes:
Apartheid was a system of racial segregation that existed in South Africa and South West Africa (now Namibia) from 1948 to the early 1990s. The National Party governed South Africa from 1948 until 1994. During this time, South Africa was a partial democracy because non-white people were barred from voting after 1958.
The Anti-Apartheid Movement (AAM) was a British organization that opposed the South African apartheid system. The AAM supported South Africa’s non-white population who were persecuted by the policies of apartheid.
Nelson Mandela was sworn in as President of South Africa in 1994. He was known for his internal resistance to apartheid.

Notes:
The attack on Pearl Harbor was a surprise military strike by by Japan on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Honolulu on December 7, 1941. Till that date, United States was neutral but entered into Second World War after this.

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.

Notes:
“Slave Coast” lies in the Western African Bight of Benin coast of Gulf of Guinea located between Volta River and Lagos Lagoon. This region witnessed massive Atlantic Slave Trade from the early 16t century to the late 19th century. Germans, Danes, French, Portuguese, Swedish and Spanish made all efforts to enforce their supremacy in this coast to get a larger chunk of the slave trade.

Notes:
Cape Verde gained independence from Portugal in 1975. Portuguese explorers discovered and colonized the islands of Cape Verde during the 16th century. The economy of Cape Verde flourished with Atlantic Slave Trade, which eventually declined with the abolishment of the slave trade in the 19th century. Among all of these, islanders continued to campaign for independence which found success in 1975.

Notes:
Brazzaville was the capital of “Free France” between 1940 and 1943 during the period of World War II when France was under the occupation of Germany, under Axis Powers. It was the decision of the Empire Defence Council to designate Brazzaville, the capital of French Equatorial Africa, as the administrative seat of Free France. It was ratified by the Barzaville Manifesto.

Notes:
The Democratic Republic of Congo gained its independence from Belgium in 1960. Belgian expedition under Sir Henry Morton Stanley received patronage from King Leopold II of Belgium to explore and administer Congo from 1870s. Belgians forced the local population of Congo to produce rubber and unleashed abuses through exploitation and diseases. In 1908, Belgian parliament annexed Congo as Belgian colony from King Leopold II of Belgium. In 1960, Mouvement National Congolais under Patrice Lumumba started the nationalist movement and won Parliamentary election. And in June 1960, Congo achieved independence and established as a republic of Congo or Congo-Leopoldville.

Notes:
Babylonia was a state in ancient Mesopotamia. The city of Babylon, whose ruins are located in present-day Iraq, was founded by Amorite king Hammurabi, who ruled from 1792 to 1750 B.C more than 4,000 years ago as a small port town on the Euphrates River.