History · General Awareness

World History

3,420 Questions

World history encompasses major events like the English Civil War, the American Civil War, and the Spanish colonization of Mexico. This hub provides practice questions on treaties, dynasties, and feudal systems. These concepts are essential for general awareness preparation in UPSC and SSC exams.

Feudal system terminologySpanish colonizationThirty Years War treatyEnglish Civil WarAmerican Civil War battles

World History Questions

Multiple choice

The National Assembly voted to declare war against which two countries in April 1792?

  1. Prussia and Austria

  2. Switzerland and Germany

  3. Belgium and England

  4. Italy and Spain
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

In April 1792, France declared war on Prussia and Austria, whose rulers were supporting the French monarchy and threatening intervention. This war radicalized the revolution and led to the rise of the Jacobins and the eventual execution of Louis XVI. The other country pairs are incorrect.

Multiple choice

Who composed the National Anthem of France?

  1. Abbe Sieyes

  2. George Danton

  3. Poet Rouget de Lisle

  4. Mirabeau
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Rouget de Lisle composed 'La Marseillaise' in 1792 during the war against Prussia and Austria. Originally called 'War Song of the Army of the Rhine,' it became France's national anthem. Sieyes, Danton, and Mirabeau were political leaders, not composers of this anthem.

Multiple choice

When did the Jacobins attack the Palace of the Tuileries and held the king hostage for several hours?

  1. 10 August 1792

  2. 4 August 1789

  3. 6 August 1772

  4. 12 august 1796
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The Jacobins and sans-culottes attacked the Tuileries Palace on 10 August 1792, forcing King Louis XVI to seek refuge in the Legislative Assembly. This event marked the end of the French monarchy and led to the establishment of the National Convention, which eventually declared France a republic.

Multiple choice

What charges were levied against Louis XVI which led to his execution?

  1. Charge of negligence

  2. Charge of forgery

  3. Charge of keeping illegal weapons

  4. Charge of treason
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

Louis XVI was charged with treason for conspiring with foreign powers (especially Austria and Prussia) to invade France and restore his absolute monarchy. The National Convention tried him and found him guilty, sentencing him to death by guillotine in January 1793.

Multiple choice

When did the Parisian women march to Versailles and brought the king back with them to Paris?

  1. 2 September 1774

  2. 3 July 1781

  3. 4 August 1784

  4. 5 October 1789
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
D Correct answer
Explanation

On 5 October 1789, thousands of Parisian women marched to Versailles demanding bread and forcing King Louis XVI to return with them to Paris. This event demonstrated the power of the people in the revolution and marked the king's effective captivity in Paris, where he could be monitored by revolutionaries.

Multiple choice

Which period during the French revolution is considered to be as the 'Reign of Terror'?

  1. 1774 to 1789

  2. 1793 to 1794

  3. 1781 to 1791

  4. 1776 to 1789
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Reign of Terror from 1793 to 1794 was when Robespierre and the Committee of Public Safety executed thousands of suspected enemies of the revolution by guillotine. This period represented the most radical and violent phase of the French Revolution, where no one was safe from accusation.

Multiple choice

Which government issued laws ordering closure of women's clubs and banning their political activities?

  1. The government of Louis XVI

  2. Jacobin government

  3. Napoleon government

  4. The government of Louis XV
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The Jacobin government, led by Robespierre, issued laws in 1793 ordering the closure of women's clubs and banning their political activities. This was part of a broader crackdown on political dissent during the Reign of Terror, as the government sought to control all political organization and suppress any opposition.

Multiple choice

Which three countries set a triangular slave trade in the 17th century?

  1. England, Africa and America

  2. China, Japan and France

  3. Italy, Switzerland and France

  4. France, Belgium and England
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
A Correct answer
Explanation

The triangular transatlantic slave trade involved Europe (specifically England/Britain), West Africa, and the Americas. The route carried manufactured goods from Europe to Africa, enslaved people from Africa to the Americas, and raw materials (sugar, tobacco, cotton) from the Americas back to Europe. China, Japan, Italy, Switzerland, Belgium, and France were not the primary participants in this specific triangular trade pattern - the dominant European nations were Britain, Portugal, France, and the Netherlands.

Multiple choice

Who reintroduced slavery after it was abolished in 1794?

  1. Louis XVII

  2. Robespierre

  3. Napoleon

  4. Louis XVIII
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Napoleon Bonaparte reinstated slavery in the French colonies in 1802 (through the Law of 20 May 1802), reversing the 1794 abolition. This primarily affected Caribbean colonies like Guadeloupe and Martinique, while Haiti maintained its abolition after its successful revolution. Louis XVII never ruled (died in prison 1795), Robespierre was executed in 1794 before the reinstatement, and Louis XVIII came to power after Napoleon's final defeat in 1815.

Multiple choice

_____ were the agents of the fourteenth century Japanese secret mercenary organization.

  1. Ganjas

  2. Ninjas

  3. Ranges

  4. Ranjas
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

Ninjas were covert agents or mercenaries in feudal Japan, active during the 14th century and beyond. They specialized in espionage, sabotage, infiltration, and asymmetric warfare using stealth tactics. The term 'ninja' derives from the Japanese characters meaning 'to stealth' or 'to hide',' which accurately describes their operational methodology. The other options (Ganjas, Ranges, Ranjas) are not historically documented terms related to Japanese secret organizations.

Multiple choice

What gave England an immense advantage in the war?

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

By the Salic law, as the lawyers called it, the crown was given, on the death of Charles IV, to Philip, Count of Valois, son to a brother of Philip IV, but it was claimed by Edward III of England as son of the daughter of Philip IV. Edward satisfied himself, however, with the mere declaration of his self-importance, until Philip annoyed him by attacks on the borders of Guienne, which the French kings had long been wanting to complete their possession of the South, and by demanding the surrender of Robert of Artois, who, being disappointed in his claim to the county of Artois by the judgment of the Parliament of Paris, was practising by sorcery on the life of the King of France. Edward then declared war, and his supposed right caused a century of warfare between France and England, in which the broken, down-trodden state of the French farmers gave England an immense advantage. The knights and squires were fairly matched; but while the English yeomen were strong, staunch, and trustworthy, the French were useless, and only made a defeat worse by robbing the fallen on the each side alike.

  1. Borders of the Guienne

  2. Well established states of French peasants

  3. Broken, down-trodden state of French farmers

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The lines 'the broken, down-trodden state of the French farmers gave England an immense advantage' suggests the answer.

Multiple choice

Directions: Read the following passage and answer the question that follows.

Three generations of them were really great men — Robert the Strong, Odo, and Hugh the White; and when the descendants of Charles the Great had died out, a Duke of the Franks, Hugh Capet, was in 987 crowned King of the Franks. All the after kings of France down to Louis Philippe were children and grandchildren of Hugh Capet. By this change, however, he gained little in real power; for, though he claimed to rule over the whole country of the Neustrian Franks, his authority was little heeded, save in the domain which he had possessed as Count of Paris, including the cities of Paris, Orleans, Amiens, and Rheims (the coronation place). He was guardian, too, of the great Abbeys of St. Denys and St. Martin of Tours. The Duke of Normandy and the Count of Anjou to the West, the Count of Flanders to the North, the Count of Champagne to the East, and the Duke of Aquitaine to the South, paid him homage, but were the only actual rulers in their own domains.

According to the passage, in which year was Huge Capet crowned as the King of the Franks?

  1. 977

  2. 987

  3. 997

  4. None of these
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

The line 'Duke of the Franks, Hugh Capet, was in 987 crowned King of the Franks' suggests the answer.

Multiple choice

Pondicherry was under the rule of _____.

  1. British

  2. French

  3. Portuguese

  4. Spain

Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
B Correct answer
Explanation

 French   The French rule in Pondicherry started in the 17th century when the French officer, Bellanger set up his residence in the Danish Lodge in the region of Pondicherry. The French had been invited to start trading units in Pondicherry by the ruler of Gingee. The invitation was forwarded to raise competition in trade between the French and the Dutch who had already settled in the region and set up their business unit.   

Multiple choice

Described as one of the 'best buys' of the millennium which (State) was purchased in 1819 from Spain for 5 Million Dollars by the US?

  1. Kansas

  2. Madrid

  3. Florida

  4. Alaska
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

Florida was purchased from Spain in 1819 through the Adams-Onís Treaty for $5 million. This acquisition is often described as one of America's best land purchases, given the territory's strategic location and agricultural potential. Kansas was acquired through different means, Madrid is in Spain, and Alaska was purchased from Russia in 1867.

Multiple choice

With which one of the following is the 'Tennis Court Oath' associated?

  1. English Revolution

  2. American Revolution

  3. French Revolution

  4. Russian Revolution
Reveal answer Fill a bubble to check yourself
C Correct answer
Explanation

The Tennis Court Oath was a pivotal event during the French Revolution in 1789. Members of the Third Estate, locked out of their usual meeting hall, gathered at a nearby tennis court and swore not to disband until they had drafted a constitution. It marked their defiance against the monarchy.