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 of the following is known as the Third Arab-Israeli War?
[A] Six-Day War
[B] Yom Kippur War
[C] War of Attrition
[D] Gulf War
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Six-Day War]
Notes:
The Six-Day War, also known as the June War, 1967 Arab–Israeli War, or Third Arab–Israeli War, was fought between 5 and 10 June 1967 by Israel and the neighbouring states of Jordan and Egypt and Syria (known at the time as the United Arab Republic). The Six-Day War was a brief but bloody conflict fought in June 1967 between Israel and the Arab states of Egypt, Syria and Jordan. Following years of diplomatic friction and skirmishes between Israel and its neighbours, Israel Defense Forces launched preemptive air strikes that crippled the air forces of Egypt and its allies. Israel then staged a successful ground offensive and seized the Sinai Peninsula and the Gaza Strip from Egypt, the West Bank and East Jerusalem from Jordan, and the Golan Heights from Syria. The brief war ended with a U.N.-brokered ceasefire, but it significantly altered the map of the Mideast and gave rise to lingering geopolitical friction. The war resulted in Israeli victory and Israel occupied the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula, the West Bank (including East Jerusalem), and the Golan Heights.
22. The “Denshawai Incident of 1906” happened in which country?
[A] Iraq
[B] Iran
[C] Syria
[D] Egypt
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Egypt]
Notes:
Denshawai Incident of 1906 was a dispute between the British military officers, the then colonial power of Egypt, and locals of Denshawai village of Egypt. Britishers unleashed severe consequences to retaliate against the incident on the Egyptian locals, which marked the turning point for the Egyptians to turn against the British presence in their country. Denshway Museum was constructed to commemorate the incident. This incident provoked Egyptian nationalist sentiment against British occupation.
23. Which countries struggle for independence from the Soviet Union was the “Singing Revolution”?
[A] Albania, Macedonia and Serbia
[B] Georgia, Armenia and Azerbaijan
[C] Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania
[D] Romania, Moldova and Bulgaria
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania]
Notes:
In its early period, Estonia was under the colonial subjugation of Germans, Danes, Swedes, Poles and Russians. In 19th and early 20th centuries, Estonia witnessed a movement promoting and propagating “Estonian National Awakening” in which Estonians started acknowledging themselves as a nation deserving the right to govern themselves. This lead to the Estonian War of Independence from 1918 to 1920 which lead to the Estonian victory and the signing of the Tartu Peace Treaty, finally proclaiming the independence of Estonia from Russia. After independence, initially, Estonia followed a democratic political system which got culminated into an authoritarian rule post-Great Depression period from 1934 to 1940. This period was known as the Era of Silence. During World War II from 1939 to 1945, Estonia was under German and Soviet Union occupation, which finally ended with Soviet Union subjugation of Estonia through a puppet government, so as to continue the de jure status of Estonia. Annoyed with the subjugation of Soviet Rule, Estonians started “Singing Revolution” from 1987 to 1991 seeking the restoration of independence of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania from Soviet Rule. This lead to the formal restoration of independence of Estonia from the Soviet Union in 1991.
24. Which country was the location of the event “Storming of the Bastille”?
[A] Canada
[B] Russia
[C] Germany
[D] France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [France]
Notes:
“Storming of the Bastille” event was the major turning point of the French Revolution, which happened on 14 July 1789 in Paris, the capital city of France. Bastille was a medieval armory, fortress, and political prison which represented royal authority and a symbol of the French monarchy’s abuse of power. Revolutionaries saw the fall of the Bastille as a flashing point of the French Revolution. France celebrates every year on 14 July as the Bastille Day, which is their national day. The French National Day is the anniversary of the Storming of Bastille (Bastille Day) on 14 July 1789.
25. Which country’s naval sailors revolted in the “Kiel Mutiny”?
[A] France
[B] Russia
[C] Germany
[D] Denmark
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [Germany]
Notes:
Germany’s naval sailors revolted in the “Kiel Mutiny”. The Kiel mutiny was a major revolt by sailors of the German High Seas Fleet on 3 November 1918. The revolt triggered the German revolution which was to sweep aside the monarchy within a few days. It ultimately led to the end of the German Empire and to the establishment of the Weimar Republic.
26. Which of the following is correct regarding the period of “Nazi Germany”?
[A] 1933-1941
[B] 1933-1943
[C] 1933-1945
[D] 1933-1947
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C [1933-1945]
Notes:
The period of Nazi Germany, also known as the Third Reich, began with the rise of the Nazi Party to power in 1933 and ended with the defeat of Germany in 1945. The Nazi Party, led by Adolf Hitler, came to power through a combination of political maneuvering, propaganda, and repression. Once in power, the Nazis implemented their vision of a totalitarian state based on their ideology of National Socialism, which combined elements of racism, militarism, and anti-Semitism.
27. Who was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana and also credited with the independence of Gold Coast from Britain in 1957?
[A] Thomas Sankara
[B] Paul Kagame
[C] Patrice Lumumba
[D] Kwame Nkrumah
Show Answer
Correct Answer: D [Kwame Nkrumah]
Notes:
Kwame Nkrumah was a Ghanaian politician and revolutionary. He was the first Prime Minister and President of Ghana, having led the Gold Coast to independence from Britain in 1957. An influential advocate of Pan-Africanism, Nkrumah was a founding member of the Organization of African Unity and winner of the Lenin Peace Prize from the Soviet Union in 1962.
28. The “Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, 1943” was a joint effort of Hungary and Italy, as part of World War II, against which country?
[A] Germany
[B] Soviet Union
[C] France
[D] United Kingdom
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B [Soviet Union]
Notes:
The “Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive, 1943” was a joint effort of Hungary and Italy, as part of World War II, against the Soviet Union. The Ostrogozhsk–Rossosh Offensive was an offensive of the Voronezh Front on the Eastern Front of World War II against the Hungarian 2nd Army and partially Italian 8th Army as part of the Voronezh–Kharkov Offensive. The offensive is better known as part of Operation Little Saturn.
29. 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.
30. Which country was the location of the Shah and People Revolution?
[A] Iran
[B] Iraq
[C] Afghanistan
[D] Turkey
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A [Iran]
Notes:
Iran was the location of the Shah and People Revolution. The White Revolution or the Shah and People Revolution was a far-reaching series of reforms in Iran launched in 1963 by the Shah, Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, which lasted until 1979. He reformed the program which was built specially to weaken those classes that supported the traditional system. It consisted of several elements, including land reform, sale of some state-owned factories to finance the land reform, construction of an expanded road, rail, and air network, a number of dam and irrigation projects, the eradication of diseases such as malaria, the encouragement and support of industrial growth, enfranchisement of women, nationalization of forests and pastures, formation of literacy and health corps for rural isolated areas, and the institution of profit-sharing schemes for workers in the industry.