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. Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen are related to which of the following countries?
[A] Britain
[B] USA
[C] France
[D] Italy
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [France]
Notes:
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen (Déclaration des droits de l’homme et du citoyen de 1789) was set by France’s National Constituent Assembly in 1789. It is a human civil rights document from the French Revolution. The document explains a list of rights, such as freedom of religion, freedom of speech, freedom of assembly and separation of powers.
3. Which of the following country was annexed into the Greater Germany by Nazi regime through Anschluss?
[A] Austria
[B] Poland
[C] Italy
[D] Liechtenstein
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Austria]
Notes:
Austria was annexed into Nazi Germany in 1938, an event known as the Anschluss. The annexation lasted until 1945, when the Allied Powers removed Austria from the Third German Reich. The provisional Austrian government, led by Karl Renner, declared the country’s independence after the fall of the Third Reich.
4. Why the Soviet Socialist Revolution on October is celebrated every year on November 7? (UPSC Prelims 1985)
[A] Lenin’s birthday falls on this date
[B] Russia’s victory over Germany coincides with this date
[C] The Provisional Government formed after the collapse of Czarist Government was overthrown on this day in 1917
[D] None of the above
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [The Provisional Government formed after the collapse of Czarist Government was overthrown on this day in 1917]
Notes:
During October Revolution, urban workers began to organize into councils wherein revolutionaries criticized the provisional government and its actions. Bolshevik Red Guards forces under the Military Revolutionary Committee began the occupation of government buildings on 7 November 1917.
5. 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.
6. From which one of the following nations Armenia got its independence in 1991?
[A] United Kingdom
[B] Portugal
[C] Soviet Union
[D] Netherlands
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Soviet Union]
Notes:
Armenia became independent in 1991 during the dissolution of Soviet Union. On 21 September 1991, Armenians voted a referendum favouring independence of Armenia from the Soviet Union or USSR. Armenia gained independence formally on 26 December 1991.
7. Which two nations were involved in “Ping-pong Diplomacy”?
[A] China and North Korea
[B] North Korea and United States of America
[C] China and United States of America
[D] Japan and United States of America
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [China and United States of America]
Notes:
The diplomatic relations between China and the United States of America of the early 1970s were known as “Ping-pong Diplomacy”. Ping-pong is the Chinese word of Table Tennis. It involves the exchange of table tennis players between the United States of America and China in the early 1970s. This particular gesture boosted the Sino-American Relations with the visit of President Richard Nixon to Beijing in 1972.
8. The “Prague Spring” was a period of introduction of decentralisation, political liberalisation and democratisation measures happened in which nation/s?
[A] Italy
[B] Austria-Hungary
[C] Czech Republic-Slovakia
[D] Russia
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Czech Republic-Slovakia]
Notes:
From the late 9th century to the early 11th century the Dutchy of Bohemia (present-day the Czech Republic) were under the control of Great Moravian Empire. In 1198, the Holy Roman Empire undertook the control and established the Kingdom of Bohemia with Prague as its capital. In 1526, through Battle of Mohacs, it got annexed to Habsburg Monarchy under the Holy Roman Empire. In 1806, following the dissolution of the Holy Roman Empire, the Bohemian Czech got annexed into the Austrian Empire. In 1918, the First Czechoslovak Republic got established following the collapse of the Austro-Hungarian Empire after World War II. It became the only democracy in Central Europe during the interwar period. And, from 1938 till the end of World War II, Nazi Germany annexed Czechoslovakia. After World War II, Germans got expelled and established Communist Party of Czechslovakia under Soviet influence. They unleashed a one-party Communist state through a coup in 1948 and ruled with lots of restrictions, dissatisfaction and curbs on basic freedoms. This lead to the Prague Spring of 1968, a movement to enforce and introduce basic reforms of decentralisation and democratization. This attracted the ire of the Soviet Union and they invaded Czechoslovakia. Czechoslovakia remained controlled by the Soviet Union until the 1989 Velvet Revolution for Gentle Revolution. The Velvet Revolution of 1989 was a non-violent peaceful transition of power which ended the Communist Rule and re-established democratic-capitalist state which finally culminated in the partition or dissolution of Czechoslovakia in 1993 into two independent states of the Czech Republic and Slovakia. This dissolution or self-determined split is informally known as the Violet Divorce.
9. The tomb of which of the following taught us much about Egyptian burial practices and beliefs, discovered in 1922?
[A] Ramses the Great
[B] Ahmose of Thebes
[C] Queen Hatshepsut
[D] King Tutankhamen
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [King Tutankhamen]
Notes:
The tomb of which of King Tutankhamen taught us much about Egyptian burial practices and beliefs, discovered in 1922. Tutankhamun ascended the throne and became Pharaoh around the age of 9, taking the throne name Nebkheperure. He reigned for about 9 years.
10. The upper part of Mesopotamia was known as __:
[A] Assyria
[B] Akkad
[C] Babylon
[D] Sumer
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Assyria]
Notes:
Some of the major Mesopotamian civilizations include the Sumerian, Assyrian, Akkadian, and Babylonian civilizations. The upper part of Mesopotamia was known as Assyria whereas the lower part was called Babylon which consisted of Sumer and Akkad. The Mesopotamian civilization flourished almost at the same time as the Egyptian civilization.