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.
21. Which country’s historical period was “Belle Epoque”?
[A] France
[B] Netherlands
[C] Italy
[D] Germany
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [France]
Notes:
Belle Epoque or La Belle Epoque is the term used to define a period of French history from 1880 to 1914 until the outbreak of World War I. This marked the era of the French Third Republic. This period was characterized by optimism, regional peace, economic prosperity, colonial expansion, and technological, scientific, and cultural innovations.
22. Which country’s independence got formalized through the “Evian Accords”?
[A] Mexico
[B] Algeria
[C] Sudan
[D] Zimbabwe
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Algeria]
Notes:
The Evian Accords was a treaty signed on 18 March 1962 in France, by France and the Provisional Government of the Algerian Republic, which sought Algeria’s independence from France. This Accords ended the 1954-1962 Algerian War and formalized the idea of a cooperative exchange between the two countries, as well as the full independence of Algeria from France.
23. Which country’s military junta was known as the “Regime of the Colonels”?
[A] Italy
[B] Austria
[C] Greece
[D] Spain
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Greece]
Notes:
The Greek junta or Regime of the Colonels was a series of far-right military juntas that ruled Greece from 1967 to 1974. On 21 April 1967, a group of colonels overthrew the caretaker government a month before scheduled elections which Georgios Papandreou’s Center Union was favoured to win. The dictatorship was characterised by right-wing cultural policies, restrictions on civil liberties, and the imprisonment, torture, and exile of political opponents. An attempt to renew its support in a 1973 referendum on the monarchy and gradual democratisation was ended by another coup by hardliner Dimitrios Ioannidis. The junta’s rule ended on 24 July 1974 under the pressure of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus, leading to the Metapolitefsi (“regime change”) to democracy and the establishment of the Third Hellenic Republic.
24. What was “Amilcar Cabral” famous for?
[A] As a nationalist from Guinea-Bissau
[B] As a nationalist from Ethiopia
[C] As a nationalist from Kenya
[D] As a nationalist from Angola
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [As a nationalist from Guinea-Bissau]
Notes:
Amilcar Cabral was a Bissau-Guinean and Cape Verdean agricultural engineer, pan-Africanist, intellectual, poet, theoretician, revolutionary, political organizer, nationalist and diplomat. He was one of Africa’s foremost anti-colonial leaders. Also known by the name Abel Djassi, Cabral led the nationalist movement of Guinea-Bissau and Cape Verde Islands and the ensuing war of independence in Guinea-Bissau. He was assassinated on 20 January 1973, about eight months before Guinea-Bissau’s unilateral declaration of independence. He was deeply influenced by Marxism and became an inspiration to revolutionary socialists and national independence movements worldwide.
25. Which of the following was the period of the event “Haitian Revolution”?
[A] 1791 – 1804
[B] 1791 – 1805
[C] 1791 – 1806
[D] 1791 – 1807
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [1791 – 1804]
Notes:
1791 – 1804 was the period of the event “Haitian Revolution”. The Haitian Revolution was a successful insurrection by self-liberated slaves against French colonial rule in Saint-Domingue, now the sovereign state of Haiti. The revolt began on 22 August 1791 and ended in 1804 with the former colony’s independence.
26. Which of the following are the participants of the “Reykjavik Summit, 1986”?
[A] Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev
[B] George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev
[C] Ronald Reagan and Boris Yeltsin
[D] Bill Clinton and Boris Yeltsin
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev]
Notes:
Ronald Reagan and Mikhail Gorbachev are the participants of the “Reykjavik Summit, 1986”. The Reykjavik Summit was a summit meeting between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union Mikhail Gorbachev, held in Reykjavik, Iceland, on 11–12 October 1986. The talks collapsed at the last minute, but the progress that had been achieved eventually resulted in the 1987 Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union.
27. Which of the following was the period of the “Iranian Revolution”?
[A] 1958-1959
[B] 1968-1969
[C] 1978-1979
[D] 1988-1989
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [1978-1979]
Notes:
1978-1979 was the period of the “Iranian Revolution”. The Iranian Revolution, locally known as the Islamic Revolution (or the 1979 Revolution), was a series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, and the replacement of his government with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, a leader of one of the factions in the revolt. The revolution was supported by various Islamist and leftist organizations and student movements.
28. Which following year corresponds to the first stage of the Iraq War?
[A] 2001
[B] 2002
[C] 2003
[D] 2004
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [2003]
Notes:
2003 corresponds to the first stage of the Iraq War. The 2003 invasion of Iraq was the first stage of the Iraq War. The invasion phase began on 19 March 2003 (air) and 20 March 2003 (ground) and lasted just over one month, including 26 days of major combat operations, in which a combined force of troops from the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia and Poland invaded Iraq.
29. Which of the following leaders played a great role in the Italian Unification?
[A] Biscmark
[B] Garibaldi
[C] Nelson Mandela
[D] Martin Luther King Jr
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Garibaldi]
Notes:
The Unification of Italy was an event of great importance in world history. Garibaldi was the prominent figure who paid contribution to the Italian Unification.
30. Consider the following statements with respect to the Sykes-Picot Agreement:
- It was signed between Britain and France.
- It was related to the West Asian territories of Ottoman Empire.
- It contained a declaration of intent to constitute a Jewish Homeland in the Palestine area.
Which of the above is / are correct?
[A] Only 1
[B] Only 1 and 2
[C] Only 1 and 3
[D] Only 2 and 3
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Only 1 and 2]
Notes:
During the WWI, Britain and France, were fomenting the dormant Arab nationalism in West Asia, which was under the control of Ottoman Turks at the time. They made promises that if the Arabs helped in war, they will be rewarded with a separate nation of their own. But, Britain and France arrived at a secret arrangement between themselves regarding the future division of Ottoman West Asia territories between themselves after the war. This arrangement is known as the Sykes-Picot agreement which was decided in 1916. So, statement 1 is correct. Under this agreement, Transjordan, Iraq and Palestine were to go to Britain and Syria and Lebanon were to be awarded to France under the guise of ‘Mandate’ system. So, statement 2 is also correct. In a separate case, British government also committed itself to the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people. This pledge was contained in a letter famously known as the ‘Balfour Declaration.’ So, statement 3 is incorrect.