World History MCQs

Notes:
The July revolution, also known as the French Revolution of 1830 or the Second French Revolution, happened from 26 July to 29 July 1830 in France. This led to the overthrow of King Charles X, the French Bourbon monarch, and the ascent of his cousin Louis Philippe, Duke of Orléans, who himself, after 18 precarious years on the throne, would be overthrown in 1848. It marked the shift from one constitutional monarchy, under the restored House of Bourbon, to another, the July Monarchy; the transition of power from the House of Bourbon to its cadet branch, the House of Orléans; and the replacement of the principle of hereditary right by popular sovereignty. Supporters of the Bourbon would be called Legitimists, and supporters of Louis Philippe Orléanists.

Notes:
The Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, set by France’s National Constituent Assembly in 1789, is a human civil rights document from and inspired by the French Revolution. The Declaration was drafted by the Abbe Sieyes and the Marquis de Lafayette, in consultation with Thomas Jefferson. Influenced by the doctrine of “natural right”, the rights of man are to be held to be universal: valid at all times and in every place.

Notes:
Germany was the location of the “Spartacist Uprising”. The Spartacist uprising, also known as the January uprising, happened as part of German Revolution of 1918–1919, was a general strike (and the armed battles accompanying it) in Berlin from 5 to 12 January 1919. The uprising was primarily a power struggle between the moderate Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) led by Friedrich Ebert and the radical communists of the Communist Party of Germany (KPD), led by Karl Liebknecht and Rosa Luxemburg, who had previously founded and led the Spartacist League. The revolt was improvised and small-scale and was quickly crushed by the superior firepower of government troops.

Notes:
Germany was the location of the “Beer Hall Putsch”. The Beer Hall Putsch, also known as the Munich Putsch or the Hitlerputsch or the Hitler–Ludendorff-Putsch, was a failed coup d’etat by the Nazi Party (NSDAP) leader Adolf Hitler to seize power in Munich, Bavaria, which took place on 8–9 November 1923. Approximately two thousand Nazis were marching to the Feldherrnhalle, in the city centre, when they were confronted by a police cordon, which resulted in the deaths of 16 Nazi party members and four police officers. Hitler, who was wounded during the clash, escaped immediate arrest. After two days, he was arrested and charged with treason. The putsch brought Hitler to the attention of the German nation and generated front-page headlines in newspapers around the world. His arrest was followed by a 24-day trial, which was widely publicised and gave him a platform to express his nationalist sentiments to the nation. Hitler was found guilty of treason and sentenced to five years in Landsberg Prison, where he dictated Mein Kampf to his fellow prisoners Emil Maurice and Rudolf Hess. On 20 December 1924, having served only nine months, Hitler was released. Once released, Hitler redirected his focus towards obtaining power through legal means rather than revolution or force, and accordingly changed his tactics, further developing Nazi propaganda.

Notes:
The Austro-Prussian War or Seven Weeks’ War, also known as the German Civil War or the Unification War or the War of 1866 or the Fraternal War or the Brother’s War, happened as part of the wars of German unification, was a war fought in 1866 between the Austrian Empire and the Kingdom of Prussia, with each also being aided by various allies within the German Confederation. Prussia had also allied with the Kingdom of Italy, linking this conflict to the Third Independence War of Italian unification. The Austro-Prussian War was part of the wider rivalry between Austria and Prussia and resulted in Prussian dominance over the German states. The major result of the war was a shift in power among the German states away from Austrian and towards Prussian hegemony. The war also resulted in the Italian annexation of the Austrian province of Venetia.

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The “Second Schleswig War” was fought as a part of the wars of German unification. The Second Schleswig War was the second military conflict over the Schleswig-Holstein Question of the nineteenth century. The war began on 1 February 1864, when Prussian and Austrian forces crossed the border into Schleswig. Denmark fought the Kingdom of Prussia and the Austrian Empire. Like the First Schleswig War (1848–1852), it was fought for control of the duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Lauenburg. The war started after the passing of the November Constitution of 1863, which integrated the Duchy of Schleswig into the Danish kingdom in violation of the London Protocol. The war ended on 30 October 1864, with the Treaty of Vienna and Denmark’s cession of the Duchies of Schleswig, Holstein and Saxe-Lauenburg to Prussia and Austria.

Notes:
Post-World War II reorganization of Germany and Europe was the subject-matter/agenda of the “Yalta Conference”. The Yalta Conference, also known as the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the World War II meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union to discuss the postwar reorganization of Germany and Europe. The three states were represented by President Franklin D. Roosevelt, Prime Minister Winston Churchill, and Premier Joseph Stalin, respectively. The conference was held near Yalta in Crimea, Soviet Union. The aim of the conference was to shape a post-war peace that represented not just a collective security order but a plan to give self-determination to the liberated peoples of post-Nazi Europe. The meeting was intended mainly to discuss the re-establishment of the nations of war-torn Europe.

Notes:
1940-1941 was the period of the Battle of Greece. The Battle of Greece (also known as Operation Marita) is the common name for the invasion of Allied Greece by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany in April 1941 during World War II. The Italian invasion in October 1940, which is usually known as the Greco-Italian War, was followed by the German invasion in April 1941. German landings on the island of Crete (May 1941) came after Allied forces had been defeated in mainland Greece. These battles were part of the greater Balkan Campaign of Germany.

Notes:
The “Hungarian Revolution of 1956” was a nationwide revolution against the Soviet Union. The Hungarian Revolution of 1956, or the Hungarian Uprising, was a nationwide revolution against the Hungarian People’s Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies, lasting from 23 October until 10 November 1956. Leaderless at the beginning, it was the first major threat to Soviet control since the Red Army drove Nazi Germany from its territory at the End of World War II in Europe. The revolution was crushed by the Soviet Union which leads to its victory.

Notes:
In 1918, Iceland signed an agreement with Denmark to recognize Iceland as a fully independent and sovereign state. The Danish–Icelandic Act of Union, a December 1, 1918 agreement signed by Iceland and Denmark, recognized Iceland as a fully independent and sovereign state – the Kingdom of Iceland – freely associated with Denmark in a personal union with the Danish king.