World History MCQs

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The first king of United Italy was King Victor Emmanuel II of Sardinia who was proclaimed King of Italy in 1861. He remained the King until 1946 when civil discontent led an institutional referendum to abandon the monarchy.

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The USSR finally collapsed in 1991. On December 25, 1991, the Soviet hammer and sickle flag was replaced by the Russian tricolor. Mikhail Gorbachev also resigned his post as President of the Soviet Union.

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Joseph Vissarionovich Stalin was a Georgian revolutionary and Soviet politician. He was the leader of the Soviet Union during World War II. Under Stalin, the Soviet Union was transformed from a peasant society into an industrial and military superpower.

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The Great Depression was the worst economic downturn in the history of the industrialized world. It lasted from 1929 to 1939. It began after the stock market crash of October 1929. It wiped out millions of investors.

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Italy was the first Axis power which give up in World War II. It surrendered to the Allies on September 8, 1943, six weeks after leaders of the Italian Fascist Party deposed Benito Mussolini who was Fascist leader and Italian dictator.

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An anti-communist front known as, the Rome-Berlin- Tokyo Axis. was formed by Germany, Italy and Japan. They were known as the Axis Powers. It was a military alliance that fought in World War II against the Allies. 

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The Portuguese established outposts in Timor and Maluku islands of Lesser Sunda Islands of Malay Archipelago. Effective European occupation of a small part of present-day East Timor began in 1769 when the city of Dili was founded and the colony of Portuguese Timor declared. For the Portuguese, East Timor remained little more than a neglected trading post until the late nineteenth century, with minimal investment in infrastructure, health, and education. Sandalwood continued to be the main export crop with coffee exports becoming significant in the mid-nineteenth century. At the beginning of the twentieth century, a faltering home economy prompted the Portuguese to extract greater wealth from its colonies, which was met with East Timorese resistance. Following the 1974 Portuguese Revolution, Portugal effectively abandoned its colony in Timor and civil war between East Timorese political parties broke out in 1975. The Revolutionary Front for an Independent East Timor (Fretilin) resisted a Timorese Democratic Union (UDT) coup attempt in August 1975, and unilaterally declared independence on 28 November 1975. Fearing a communist state within the Indonesian archipelago, the Indonesian military launched an invasion of East Timor in December 1975. Indonesia declared East Timor its 27th province on 17 July 1976. The UN Security Council opposed the invasion and the territory’s nominal status in the UN remained as “non-self-governing territory under Portuguese administration”.The 1991 Dili Massacre was a turning point for the independence cause and an East Timor solidarity movement grew in Portugal, the Philippines, Australia, and other Western countries. The Santa Cruz Massacre (also known as the Dili Massacre) was the shooting of at least 250 East Timorese pro-independence demonstrators in the Santa Cruz cemetery in the capital, Dili, on 12 November 1991, during the Indonesian occupation of East Timor and is part of the East Timorese genocide. Following the resignation of Indonesian president of Suharto, an UN-sponsored agreement between Indonesia and Portugal allowed for an UN-supervised popular referendum in August 1999. A clear vote for independence was met with a punitive campaign of violence by East Timorese pro-integration militia supported by elements of the Indonesian military. With Indonesian permission, an Australian-led multinational peacekeeping force (INTERFET) was deployed until the order was restored. On 25 October 1999, the administration of East Timor was taken over by the UN through the United Nations Transitional Administration in East Timor (UNTAET), headed by Sergio Vieira de Mello. The INTERFET deployment ended in February 2000 with the transfer of military command to the UN. On 30 August 2001, the East Timorese voted in their first election organised by the UN to elect members of the Constituent Assembly. On 22 March 2002, the Constituent Assembly approved the Constitution. By May 2002, over 205,000 refugees had returned. On 20 May 2002, the Constitution of the Democratic Republic of East Timor came into force and East Timor was recognised as independent by the UN.

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Egypt gained independence from the United Kingdom in 1922. Local dissatisfaction against Khedivate rule leads to the European invasion. In 1822, the United Kingdom invaded Egypt at the Battle Tell El Kebir and occupied the territory militarily. The Denshawai incident of 1906 turned the sentiment of Egyptian against the Britishers. Finally, the Egyptian Revolution of 1919 overthrew Britishers from Egypt and Egypt declared independent in 1922.

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After the second Italo-Ethiopian war, Italy occupied and annexed Ethiopia in 1936 and made Italian Ethiopia. Italy unleashed a ruthless administration in Ethiopia. The infamous Yekatit 12 Massacre sanctioned by Italian administration happened during this period. During World War II, the British Empire defeated the Italian rulers of Ethiopia and restored the full sovereignty of Ethiopia in 1941. In 1947, Italy recognized the sovereignty and independence of Ethiopia.

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The coup of 18 Brumaire was happened on 9 November 1799 in France, which brought General Napolean Bonaparte to power as First Consul of France and in view of most historians ended the French Revolution. This bloodless coup overthrew the Directory, replacing it with the French Consulate.