World History Quiz

Before independence in 1971, Bangladesh was known as East Pakistan, part of Pakistan created during the 1947 partition of British India. It was separated from West Pakistan by over 1,600 km of Indian territory.

Vasco Núñez de Balboa was the first European to sight the Pacific Ocean in 1513, crossing the Isthmus of Panama. This was a major milestone in the Age of Exploration, proving the existence of a vast ocean to the west of the Americas.

The Islamic calendar (Hijri calendar) begins with Muhammad's Hijra (flight/migration) from Mecca to Medina in 622 CE. This event marks the establishment of the first Muslim community and is year 1 AH (After Hijra).

Britain was the first major global power to abolish slavery. The Slave Trade Act of 1807 abolished the transatlantic slave trade, and the Slavery Abolition Act of 1833 abolished slavery itself throughout most of the British Empire. The United States abolished slavery much later in 1865 (13th Amendment), while Australia and Spain do not hold this historical distinction.

The Indian national flag in its current form was officially adopted by the Constituent Assembly of India on July 22, 1947. This was 23 days before India's independence on August 15, 1947, which is why Option A is incorrect. The design with the Ashoka Chakra replaced the earlier spinning wheel (charkha) version used by the freedom movement.

Karl Doenitz was appointed Hitler's successor as Fuehrer in Hitler's political testament, and he briefly served as the President of Germany from April 30 to May 23, 1945. Doenitz had been a Grand Admiral and Commander of the German Navy (Kriegsmarine). Options B and C were other high-ranking Nazi officials, while Goering (Option D) had been named successor but was ousted by Hitler before his death.