Human Capitals Trivia Quiz

Answer: Liberia

The capital city of the West African nation of Liberia is named Monrovia, after James Monroe who held the office of US President from 1817 to 1825. Liberia was founded by the American Colonisation Society, whose mission was to relocate free black people and former slaves to Africa in the hope that they would have a better life away from the racial discrimination they faced in the US.

However, while the movement was supported by some abolitionists, its leadership also included slave owners who wanted to remove free black people from the country. Monrovia was founded in 1822, 40 years before the US finally recognised Liberian independence (they'd first declared it in 1847).

Although Liberia's capital was named in his honour, James Monroe was himself a major slave owner.

Answer: Mauritius

Mauritius became a French colony in 1715, under the name 'Isle de France', having previously been a Dutch colony since 1638. A harbour town that had been named Noordt Wester Haven by the Dutch was redeveloped into the island's capital in the years after the French took control and renamed Port Louis - in honour of King Louis XV (who was also known as "Louis the Beloved"). Port Louis and Mauritius fell under British control during the Napoleonic Wars and then played an important role as a base for British naval ships in the Indian Ocean.

Answer: Malta

Valletta, the capital city of the Mediterranean island nation of Malta, is named after Jean Parisot de la Valette. The Knights Hospitaller was a Catholic military order that dated back to the time of the First Crusade. Jean Parisot de la Valette came from a family with a strong history of chivalry and he joined the Knights Hospitaller in the early 16th century, before rising to become one of their leading commanders.

He became a Grand Master of the order in 1557 and led the forces that defeated the Ottoman Empire at the Great Siege of Malta in 1565.

After the siege he ordered the construction of a new capital city and laid its foundation stone. (The Knights Hospitaller later became known as the Sovereign Military Order of Malta.)

Answer: New Zealand

The capital of New Zealand is the city of Wellington, which is located on the southern tip of the country's North Island. The city was settled by the New Zealand Company (an English company created for the purpose of colonising New Zealand) in 1840 and named in honour of one of England's national heroes - the Duke of Wellington, Arthur Wellesley.

He had been the commander of the British and allied forces in the Napoleonic Wars and had masterminded Napoleon's final defeat at the Battle of Waterloo in 1815.

He later held the post of British Prime Minister on two separate occasions (1828-1830 and again for a few months in 1834). Wellington became the capital of New Zealand in 1865 after a decision was made to move the country's seat of government to a more central position - the previous capital, Auckland, is located in the north-east of the North Island.

Answer: Papua New Guinea

The site of Papua New Guinea's capital city, Port Moresby, was first discovered by westerners when the English naval captain John Moresby sailed into its natural harbour in 1873 on board HMS Basilisk. He claimed the territory as a British colony and named the area Port Moresby in honour of his father, Admiral of the Fleet Sir Fairfax Moresby.

The elder Moresby had also had a distinguished career in the Royal Navy and had risen to occupy its highest possible rank. Port Moresby is located on the south-eastern peninsula of the island of New Guinea, of which Papua New Guinea forms the eastern portion.

It is the largest city that can be found on the various islands of the South Pacific (with the exception of Australia and New Zealand of course).

Answer: Brunei

Brunei occupies a small section along the South China Sea coast of the island of Borneo, which it shares with both Indonesia and Malaysia. The country gained independence from Britain in 1984, but the position of Sultan of Brunei dates back to the 14th century.

The 28th Sultan of Brunei, Omar Ali Saifuddien III, abdicated in 1967 and took the title 'His Royal Highness Paduka Seri Begawan Sultan' (Seri Begawan for short) instead. The country's capital was renamed Bandar Seri Begawan in his honour a few years later in 1970.

Its former name was simply Bandar Brunei - 'Bandar' being a Malay term meaning 'town' or 'city'.

Answer: United States of America

The capital city of the US is named Washington D.C. after the man who is often described as having been "the father of his country" - George Washington. In addition to being the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army and architect of the military campaign to gain independence, Washington also served from 1789 to 1797 as the nation's first President.

The city of Washington D.C. is located in the District of Columbia, a federal district under the direct control of Congress and not part of any individual US state.

It is sandwiched between Virginia and Maryland on the eastern coast and shouldn't be confused with Washington State, which is located on the other side of the country on the Pacific coast.

Answer: Botswana

Botswana is located in southern Africa, between South Africa to the south and Zimbabwe to the north. Its capital city, Gaborone, can be found in the south-east of the country, less than ten miles from the border with South Africa. The city is named after Kgosi Gaborone of the Tlokwa who lived from around 1825 until 1931 ('Kgosi' being a Bantu word meaning 'Chief').

The Tlokwa people form part of the wider Tswana ethnic group that makes up the majority of Botswana's population. Kgosi Gaborone founded a Tlokwa village on the Notwane River, which became known to European settlers as "Gaborone's village". That name stuck and the area remained known as Gaborone (or Gaberones) as it developed into a major city and eventually became the nation's capital in 1965.

Answer: South Africa

South Africa has three capital cities: Cape Town (the legislative capital), Bloemfontein (the judicial capital) and Pretoria (the executive capital). However, it is Pretoria that takes its name from Andres Pretorius, a prominent Boer leader. Pretorius was a leader of the Voortrekkers, a group of Boer settlers who undertook a 'Great Trek' away from the British controlled Cape Colony in the 1830s.

He also represented and led the Boers through various campaigns against both the British and the Zulus, including securing independence for the Transvaal Boers in the early 1850s. Pretoria is located in the middle of South Africa's northern Gauteng Province that was formerly part of the Transvaal.

Answer: Guyana

The South American nation of Guyana has a capital city that was named Georgetown in honour of Britain's King George III, who reigned from 1760 to 1820. The area that is now Guyana was originally colonised by the Dutch but came under British control in the late 18th century and became a formal British colony, British Guiana, in 1814 (a situation that existed until it was granted independence in 1965).

While George III was still Britain's monarch when Georgetown was named after him, he was completely incapacitated by mental illness and his son, the future King George IV, was acting as regent. Georgetown is located on Guyana's north coast, close to the large estuary of the Demerara River.