European History : Political History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for European History

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Example Questions

Example Question #2 : Political Protest; Reforms; Revolution

During the French Revolution, the ___________________ were considered the most radical left-wing political group.

Possible Answers:

Girondins

Monarchiens

Cordeliers

Jacobins

Feuillants

Correct answer:

Jacobins

Explanation:

The Jacobins most strongly embodied feelings for revolution against the French monarchy. Although the Cordeliers were left-leaning, they were not as confrontational or radical as the Jacobins. The other answers were centrist or right-wing groups, and are therefore incorrect.

Example Question #3 : Political Protest; Reforms; Revolution

The French Revolution was primarily carried out by members of which group?

Possible Answers:

None of these

The Third Estate

The Second Estate

The First Estate

The Huguenots 

Correct answer:

The Third Estate

Explanation:

Before the French Revolution, France was divided into three political classes, or estates. Members of the First Estate (the clergy) and the Second Estate (the nobility) enjoyed many privileges denied to the Third Estate, which made up most of the population, had few rights, and paid higher taxes. The Third Estate, increasingly dissatisfied with these unfair conditions, rebelled and overthrew the established monarchy.

Example Question #4 : Political Protest; Reforms; Revolution

Kristallnacht, meaning The Night of Broken Glass, was ______________.

Possible Answers:

a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1941, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust

a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1932, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust

a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1935, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust

None of these

a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1938, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust

Correct answer:

a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1938, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust

Explanation:

Kristallnacht was a coordinated attack on Jewish people living in Germany in 1938, widely considered to be the beginning of The Final Solution and The Holocaust. The event was carried out by German military authorities as well as German citizens. Over 1,000 synagogues were burned, as were 7,000 Jewish businesses and homes. The word Kristallnacht means "Night of Broken Glass", a name given because of the plethora of glass shards following Jewish property being vandalized.

Example Question #5 : Political Protest; Reforms; Revolution

Put the following in chronological order: Bolshevik Revolution, World War I, formation of the Soviet Union, and World War II.

Possible Answers:

Bolshevik Revolution, World War I, World War II, formation of the Soviet Union

Bolshevik Revolution, formation of the Soviet Union, World War I, World War II

World War I, World War II, formation of the Soviet Union, Bolshevik Revolution

None of these

World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, formation of the Soviet Union, World War II

Correct answer:

World War I, Bolshevik Revolution, formation of the Soviet Union, World War II

Explanation:

The correct chronology of these events is:

World War 1, Bolshevik Revolution, formation of the Soviet Union, World War II

The Bolshevik Revolution was enabled by Russia's participation in World War 1, which resulted in much of the Russian army being in a state of open mutiny. Following a brief period of dual leadership, the Soviet Union was formed in 1922 and lasted until 1991. The Soviet Union participated in World War 2 as an ally to the United States.

Example Question #1 : Rights; Liberties; Persecution

Which of these political figures spearheaded the movement to abolish the practice of slavery in Great Britain and its colonies in the late 18th century?

Possible Answers:

Samuel Pepys

William Wilberforce

Sir William Garrow

John Locke

Samuel T. Coleridge

Correct answer:

William Wilberforce

Explanation:

William Wilberforce (1759 - 1833) was an early leader of the movement to end slavery in the British empire. He became a politician early in his life and would go on to campaign tirelessly against the practice of slavery.

His actions in part led to the Slave Trade Act of 1807 abolishing the Atlantic slave trade, and later on the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833, abolishing slavery in most of the British empire. He died only days after the Act was passed.

Example Question #2 : Rights; Liberties; Persecution

"Over One Million Armenians Salughtered by Turks"

"Death Camp discovered at Auschwitz"

"Slobodan Milosevic, 'Butcher of the Balkans,' Convicted of War Crimes"

Which issue are all of the above headlines most closely related to?

Possible Answers:

The Cold War

Human trafficking

Islamic terrorism

Genocide

Popular sovereignty

Correct answer:

Genocide

Explanation:

Genocide, sometimes called "Ethnic cleansing," is the attempt to cause the extinction of a particular group of people.

During World War I, Turkish soldiers slaughtered more than half the population of Armenians in the country.

Auschwitz was the most notorious of the Nazi death camps in what was known as the Holocaust, the systematic slaughter of more than 11 million civilians, half of whom were Jewish, during World War II.

Milosevic was the president of Yugoslavia in the 1990's and but was deposed and convicted of genocide and other war crimes against his own people by the United Nations.

Example Question #3 : Rights; Liberties; Persecution

The original purpose of the Spanish Inquisition was to ___________________.

Possible Answers:

enforce religious orthodoxy, particularly among newly converted Muslims and Jews

remove priests who were not loyal to the crown

persecute Protestant reformers in Spain

censor publications that were considered heretical

undermine political opponents

Correct answer:

enforce religious orthodoxy, particularly among newly converted Muslims and Jews

Explanation:

After the Reconquista, King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella issued royal decrees declaring that Jews and Muslims had to convert to Christianity or leave Spain. The original purpose of the Spanish Inquisition was to enforce religious orthodoxy among these new converts.

Example Question #4 : Rights; Liberties; Persecution

What did the Nuremberg Laws do?

Possible Answers:

Prohibited strikes and replaced unions with the Nazi Labor Front

Established concentration camps in Germany and Poland

Deprived German Jews of their citizenship

Seized property from opponents of the Nazi government

Authorized the Gestapo to use force against citizens

Correct answer:

Deprived German Jews of their citizenship

Explanation:

The Nuremburg Laws were passed by the Nazi government in 1935. They stripped German Jews of their citizenship and prohibited marriages or other relationships between Jews and other Germans. 

Example Question #1 : The Modern State

Which of these nations is not a member of the European Union as of 2016?

Possible Answers:

Bulgaria

Norway

Malta

Croatia

Cyprus

Correct answer:

Norway

Explanation:

A majority of Norwegians voted "No" in two separate referendums to join the EU. The referendums occurred in 1972 and 1994.

Example Question #31 : Political History

The War of the Spanish Succession was a major European war that took place in the early eighteenth century. It was triggered when Charles II of Spain, the last Habsburg monarch, died without an heir.

Who ultimately claimed the Spanish crown?

Possible Answers:

George I 

Philip, Duke of Anjou

Leopold I

Archduke Charles

Louis XIV

Correct answer:

Philip, Duke of Anjou

Explanation:

The war resulted in Austria, Great Britain and the Dutch Republic recognizing Philip, Duke of Anjou as Philip V of Spain. In return, Philip V had to renounce any claim to the throne of France and cede Spain's European territories.

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