SAT II World History : SAT Subject Test in World History

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #411 : Sat Subject Test In World History

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations argues passionately in favor of __________.

Possible Answers:

Mercantilism 

Imperialism and nationalism 

state-owned property 

Christian theocratic absolutism 

free-market Capitalism

Correct answer:

free-market Capitalism

Explanation:

Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations is the seminal economic text of the Enlightenment era. In it, Smith presents his arguments in favor of laissez-faire economics, or free-market Capitalism. The book was widely influential among the governments and thinkers of his era and continues to be influential to this day.

Example Question #13 : Historic Figures Of The Enlightenment Era

The Encyclopedie is the seminal work of __________.

Possible Answers:

Jean Jacques Rousseau

Voltaire

Diderot

Montesquieu

David Hume

Correct answer:

Diderot

Explanation:

The Encyclopedie is one of the most famous works of the Enlightenment period. It was written by Diderot, with the help of many other famous writers of his era. The aim of the Encyclopedie was to collate all the knowledge of the Enlightenment into one book that could be widely disseminated around Europe. It was read by the Enlightened despots Catherine the Great and Maria Theresa, among others. 

Example Question #14 : Historic Figures Of The Enlightenment Era

Which Enlightenment philosopher was known primarily for condemning the use of torture and the death penalty?

Possible Answers:

John Locke

Voltaire

None of these

Denis Diderot

Cesare Beccaria

Correct answer:

Cesare Beccaria

Explanation:

Cesare Beccaria was an Italian thinker of the Enlightenment who is best known for his treatise On Crimes and Punishments, in which he condemned torture and the death penalty. John Locke and Voltaire were philosophers whose works covered a greater variety of ideas, such as natural and civil rights, religion, and political philosophy. Denis Diderot was a French Enlightenment philosopher best known for leading the effort to compile the Encyclopedie, a massive general encyclopedia that was meant to incorporate all of the world's knowledge.

Example Question #43 : The Enlightenment Era

Tsar Alexander II of Russia is best remembered for doing which of the following?

Possible Answers:

Modernizing the Russian army

Establishing St. Petersberg as the Russian capital

Gaining control of the Crimea by defeating the French and the British

Ushering in the Russian Revolution by being murdered

Emancipating the serfs

Correct answer:

Emancipating the serfs

Explanation:

Alexander II is often called "Alexander the Liberator" because in 1861, he ended the centuries long economic system of serfdom by emancipating the serfs. Serfdom was effectively slavery by another name. A serf was the property of his or her landowner and could not move without the landowner's permission. Serfs were expected to work the land and provide for their master's prosperity.

Example Question #44 : The Enlightenment Era

In what century were the Russian serfs emancipated?

Possible Answers:

The twentieth century

The sixteenth century

The seventeenth century

The nineteenth century

The eighteenth century

Correct answer:

The nineteenth century

Explanation:

The Russian serfs were emancipated in 1861 by Tsar Alexander II. The institution of serfdom was very similar to the institution of slavery and underpinned the whole feudal system of economic and social life throughout much of Europe from the fall of the Roman empire until the Industrial Revolution. It is worth noting that the emancipation of the serfs in Russia and the slaves in the United States happened at very much the same time. Clearly there was a global movement away from forced labor.

Example Question #191 : 1500 C.E. To 1900 C.E.

In pre-revolution France, the First Estate was comprised of __________.

Possible Answers:

The press

The clergy 

The peasants 

Nobility 

Royalty 

Correct answer:

The clergy 

Explanation:

In France, under the Old Regime (before the French Revolution), France was partially governed by the Estates-General. This was a form of political representation where various classes of people, or “estates,” were represented as a group. The First Estate was composed of clergymen; the Second Estate was made up of noblemen; and the Third Estate was comprised of the common man (everyone else).

Example Question #192 : 1500 C.E. To 1900 C.E.

Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great, and Maria Theresa of Austria are all examples of __________.

Possible Answers:

Protestant supporters 

constitutional monarchs 

enlightened despots 

Holy Roman Emperors 

All of these answers are correct.

Correct answer:

enlightened despots 

Explanation:

Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Maria Theresa of Austria are three well-known examples of "enlightened despots." During the Enlightenment era, many absolute rulers came to embrace the practices and ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers. These rulers did little to encourage democracy or constitutionalism in their countries and still ruled in an autocratic style, but they were more likely to favor freedom of speech, along with freedom of religion and expression.

Example Question #193 : 1500 C.E. To 1900 C.E.

Which of these statements about the "Grand Tour" is NOT true? 

Possible Answers:

A Grand Tour involved an organized trip around Europe.

Only aristocrats were able to undertake a Grand Tour.

It only became practical with the advent of the railroad.

It was primarily undertaken by young men, after finishing university.

It was meant to serve as an education in art and the origins of western civilization.

Correct answer:

It only became practical with the advent of the railroad.

Explanation:

Throughout the Enlightenment period, it was common for young aristocratic men, particularly from Britain or Northern Europe, to undergo a "Grand Tour." This involved a months-long trip around the major sites of Enlightenment Europe. It was particularly focused on Italy and France. The purpose was to gain a greater understanding of art history and the history of western civilization. The only one of these statements that is not true is that it only became practical with the advent of the railroad—the railroad merely made it easier; people had been doing it since the early-seventeenth century. 

Example Question #194 : 1500 C.E. To 1900 C.E.

The War of Austrian Succession began with challenges to which ruler? 

Possible Answers:

Joseph I

Leopold II

Joseph II

Marie Antoinette

Maria Theresa

Correct answer:

Maria Theresa

Explanation:

The War of Austrian Succession was fought in the 1740s over the issue of whether Maria Theresa was fit to inherit the Hapsburg throne of Austria from her father. Those contending that she was unfit were doing so on the premise that, as a woman, she was ineligible for the throne. The war ended with Maria Theresa victorious and sitting on the throne of Austria, which she would continue to do for the next several decades.

Example Question #4 : Other Enlightenment History

How did the declining influence of the Catholic Church most directly contribute to the commercial and banking revolution?

Possible Answers:

All of these answers are correct.

None of these answers are correct; the decline of the Catholic Church had no influence on the commercial and banking revolution.

It allowed investors to lend money and charge interest in return.

It opened up the New World to European colonialism and flooded the European economy with gold and silver specie.

It freed individuals in Northern Europe to pursue a more academic and secular life.

Correct answer:

It allowed investors to lend money and charge interest in return.

Explanation:

Under Catholic tradition, it is forbidden to lend money with the expectation that the loanee will then pay back the money plus interest. This is called usury. When Catholicism was the dominant expression of Christianity in Europe, any type of business venture (as we understand them now) was largely impossible, or relied on one incredibly wealthy patron making himself slightly more wealthy. The rise of Protestantism and the decline of Catholicism allowed many of the Northern European countries in particular to start funding colonizing missions, explorations, and long-distance trading ventures through lending money. This radically altered the direction of European history and inspired the commercial and banking revolutions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.

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