Not a Penny Less Trivia Quiz

Answer: Manhattan

Manhattan Island, 22.7 square miles (59 km²) in area and 2.3 miles (3.7 km) in width at its widest point, strategically guards the entrance to the Hudson River (which provided easy access to mid and upstate New York). Dutch interests in Manhattan were originally focused on Fort Amsterdam as protection from possible attack by other European colonial powers.

The Dutch sought ownership of this land to protect their farms and investments. Fort Amsterdam slowly grew into what is now New York City. The original deed of purchase has been lost so exact details of the trade goods are not known.

Answer: West Africa

The Gold Coast region of western Africa was infamous for the slave trade as well as the gold that gave the region its name. The Portuguese were the first colonial power to take an interest in the region with settlements dating back to 1482. By 1642, the Dutch had taken control. Eventually the area fell under complete British control in 1850, but in the intervening period, Sweden, Denmark and Prussia all had territorial holdings.

Other descriptive names based on the resources provided in western Africa at that time included the 'Slave Coast' (now Togo and surrounding areas) and the 'Ivory Coast' (now the Republic of Côte d'Ivoire).

Answer: Alaska

Alaska was originally populated by Asiatic groups who crossed the Bering land bridge around 16,000 years ago when sea levels were lower. Eighteenth century Russian expansion was largely driven by the search for valuable sea otter fur and settlements were established at Sitka and on Kodiak Island.

In the aftermath of the Crimean War, the Russian Tsar, Alexander II, was very worried about British power and realized he would not be able to defend the large Russian territory in North America. He therefore instructed his minister to the US, Eduard de Stoeckl, to enter into negotiations with Seward.

The final price was $7.2 million. The Tsar was keen to make this transaction earlier but it was delayed by the US Civil War. With historical hindsight, what was initially described as "Seward's Folly" was an extremely astute purchase.

Answer: Melbourne

One year after the first settlement in what has become the State of Victoria (the Henty settlement in south-western Victoria in 1834), Batman and John Fawkner sailed across Bass Strait from Tasmania to claim land alongside the Yarra River. Details of this treaty were recorded in Batman's diary.

However, the treaty was invalid under British law as the Wurundjeri did not have the right to sell the land nor Batman to purchase it. Communication difficulties meant that the Wurundjeri did not understand what they were signing and certainly would not have entered into the agreement if they did understand. Nevertheless, the site for Melbourne was established and was partially determined by the abundant freshwater supply from the Yarra River.

Answer: Louisiana

Although arguably unconstitutional at the time, there was widespread support for Jefferson's "Louisiana Purchase". The acquired land, which stretched west of the Mississippi River from the Gulf of Mexico to the Canadian border, almost doubled the size of the USA. The price at the time equated to less than three cents per acre.

Answer: Singapore

This agreement is seen as the founding point of modern Singapore, a thriving city-state of just 272 sq miles (704 km²) separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor and from Indonesia by the Singapore Strait. A major reason the British statesman, Sir Stamford Raffles pushed this agreement was a strong desire to break the Dutch trading monopoly in the East Indies. Raffles was also a key figure in the conquest of Java from French and Dutch forces during the Napoleonic Wars.

Answer: Mexico

The treaty and the subsequent land transfer were direct outcomes of the Mexican-American War of 1846-1848. After losing the war, Mexico was forced to cede Alta California and New Mexico in exchange for this payment, which was used to simply offset a much larger Mexican debt. This treaty also established the present international boundary of the Rio Grande.

Answer: Java

The Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1824 was intended to reduce tensions between these two major colonial powers. Such tensions arose due to British occupation of Dutch lands during the Napoleonic wars and the establishment of Singapore as a British trading center in 1819.

The agreement included clauses where each side agreed to oppose piracy but not to use civilian or military force to hinder trade. Java remained under Dutch control until Indonesian independence in 1945, but this control was significantly weakened during the Japanese occupation during World War II.

Answer: U.S. Virgin Isles

Christopher Columbus named the Virgin Islands in 1493 after Saint Ursula and her virgin followers. Saint Thomas was first settled (in 1672) by the Danish West India Company followed by Saint John a couple of decades later. Saint Croix was purchased from the French during the early 18th century. Sugarcane was the major contributor to the Islands' economy, driven by slave labor until that was abolished in 1848.

The sale to the USA was seen as mutually beneficial in 1917: the Danes were very concerned about the financial costs of maintaining an unproductive asset and the Americans were keen to prevent Germany seizing the islands as a possible submarine base. Tourism is now the major economic activity with an estimated two million visitors every year, largely via cruise ships.

Answer: On the moon

The 1967 "Outer Space Treaty" from the United Nations states that space and all extraterrestrial real estate is the "province of all mankind" and hence is not subject to claims of individual or state ownership. Despite this, some individuals and organizations persist in trying to sell title deeds to the Moon (as well as other bodies such as Mars). Caveat emptor!