Rule, Britannia: Remnants of an Empire Quiz

Answer: Gibraltar

Found near the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula, Gibraltar is a densely populated area with over 30,000 (2013 estimate) in its 2.6 square miles. The most dominant feature is the Rock of Gibraltar, a limestone promontory. (The Rock is used as a symbol by Prudential Life Insurance. Barbary Macaques, the only wild monkey population in Europe, are also found there.) In 1713, Spain ceded Gibraltar to Britain in perpetuity, as part of the Treaty of Utrecht. Gibraltar is a key point of the passage from the Mediterranean Sea to the Atlantic Ocean. Spain has claimed the territory, which has turned down reunification/shared sovereignty with Spain in 1967 and 2002.

Answer: Isle of Man

The Isle of Man is located in the Irish Sea, has a land area of about 221 square miles, and about 83,000 people (2016 census). Douglas is both the capital and largest settlement. Once a Viking possession, the Isle of Man came under English rule in the late 13th century.

The Tynwald, the legislature of the Isle of Man, is claimed to have been founded in the 10th century although the first firm historical evidence points to a founding date several hundreds of years later. The Manx breed of cat is known for having no tail although some Manx cats have a tail stub.

The current British monarch holds the title of Lord or Lady of Mann (an alternate spelling of the island's name).

Answer: Bermuda

Bermuda--located about 665 miles east of North Carolina--was named for Spanish sea captain Juan de Bermudez in 1505. English settlement in Bermuda began in the 17th century. The island covers an area of 21 square miles and has a population of about 71,000 (2018 estimate).

The Bermuda Triangle, also known as the Devil's Triangle, is a roughly triangular area of the Atlantic with Bermuda, Miami, FL, and Puerto Rico at the corners, where a number of ships and aircraft have disappeared, some say mysteriously. Tourism is an important part of Bermuda's economy, with the island a popular destination for visitors. Bermuda's only natural source of freshwater is rainwater, which is collected and stored.

Answer: Montserrat

Montserrat is known as "The Emerald Isle of the Caribbean" because many of the inhabitants have some Irish ancestry and because the island resembles coastal Ireland. Enslaved people of African descent and Irish indentured servants were the two most common population groups on Montserrat in the 17th and 18th centuries.

The island covers 39 square miles and has a population of about 4,500 (2018 census). A 1995 explosion of the Soufrière Hills volcano helped cause an exodus of about half of the island's population and the establishment of an "exclusion zone" in the southern half of the island including the then-capital of Plymouth.

Answer: Turks and Caicos Islands

The Lucayan Archipelago includes the Bahama Islands as well as Turks and Caicos Islands. The islands cover 230 square miles and have about 31,000 people (2012 census) with the Caicos Islands having the majority of both. Turks and Caicos Islands became a separate Overseas Territory in 1973 when the Bahamas gained independence. Before the 1960s, the salt industry was a mainstay of the economy. Harvesting of sponges and hemp were also important industries. Of the 30 islands that are part of Turks and Caicos Islands, eight are inhabited.

Answer: Falkland Islands

The Falkland Islands--located in the South Atlantic Ocean--have a population of about 3,400 (2016 census) and cover about 4,700 square miles. The capital, Stanley, is found on East Falkland, the larger of the two main islands. Spanish and British settlements co-existed on the islands in the 18th century.

When the British government attempted to reassert sovereignty over the islands, the Argentine government also claimed the islands. In 1982, Argentina and Great Britain fought a brief (undeclared) war over control of the islands.

Sheep herding has historically been an important part of the Falkland economy and even in the 21st century, sheep have outnumbered people by 20:1 or more.

Answer: Cayman Islands

The Cayman Islands are a group of three islands in the Caribbean Sea: Grand Cayman, Little Cayman, and Cayman Brac, that span 102 square miles and have about 61,000 people (2016 estimate). The Bluff is located on Cayman Brac and is the highest elevation on the islands, although only 141 feet above sea level.

The islands are largely made up of a limestone base surrounded by coral reefs. Georgetown, the capital, is located on Grand Cayman. The Cayman Islands were administered as part of Jamaica from the 18th century until 1962. Financial services and tourism are important parts of the economy of the Cayman Islands.

Answer: Anguilla

Anguilla covers about 35 square miles and has a population of about 15,000 (2016 estimate). The Valley is both the capital and largest town of Anguilla. Very close to the town is Clayton J. Lloyd International Airport. It is believed that Christopher Columbus gave the island its name in 1493, calling it "Anguilla", the Spanish word for eel. Between 1825 and 1967 Anguilla was administered in union with Saint Kitts by the British.

Although a significant amount of food on the island is imported due to poor agricultural conditions, Anguilla is known as "the culinary capital of the Caribbean".

Answer: British Indian Ocean Territory

The Chagos Archipelago, roughly halfway between Tanzania and Indonesia, is a set of seven coral atolls that cover about 23 square miles. The largest and most southerly of the islands--covering almost half of the land area--is Diego Garcia. The indigenous population of about 2,000 people was involuntarily moved by the British government in the late 1960s and early 1970s to the Seychelles and Mauritius (also in the Indian Ocean), a move that remains controversial.

The area is occupied by a joint British/US military base that houses about 2,500 military personnel and contractors. Before the forced move, coconut plantations were an important part of the economy.

Answer: St. Helena, St. Ascension, and Tristan da Cunha

The three islands cover an area of about 152 square miles and have about 5,600 people (2016 census). The uninhabited islands were discovered by the Portuguese in the early 16th century and the British began settling the islands in the mid 17th century. Saint Helena, named for the mother of the Roman Emperor Constantine, is where Napoleon was kept in exile after his defeat at the Battle of Waterloo.

He was held at Longwood House, part of a farm owned by the British East India Company, until his death in 1821.

In 1858, control of the property was transferred to the French government.

Answer: British Virgin Islands

The British Virgin Islands--located east of the US Virgin Islands, cover about 59 square miles and have a population of about 32,000 (2018 census). Formerly administered with St. Kitts and Nevis, the British Virgin Islands became a separate colony in 1960.

The island group consists of about 60 islands, including Beef Island and Salt Island (which was named for salt ponds located there). Most of the islands are hilly, being volcanic in origin. Tourism and the financial industry are the key parts of the economy.

Answer: South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands

James Cook named the Hawaiian Islands the Sandwich Islands in 1778 for John Montagu, the Earl of Sandwich, who is said to have invented the sandwich. Cook also named the South Sandwich Islands in 1775. South Georgia and the South Sandwich Islands are located in the South Atlantic and cover about 1,507 square miles. Like the Falkland Islands, these islands are also claimed by Argentina.

There is no permanent population, although there is a usually a small number of visiting scientists there. The island was part of the whaling industry in the 19th century.

Answer: Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia

The Sovereign Base Areas of Akrotiri and Dhekelia is located on the island nation of Cyprus, formerly a British colony. The treaty that granted Cyprus its independence in 1960 mentioned continued British possession of the base areas. They cover about 98 square miles and about 15,700 people (2013 estimate). Over time, the presence of the base areas has become more controversial with the people of Cyprus.

The two base areas are physically distinct from each other with Akrotiri being farther west.

Answer: Channel Islands

In 1066, William, Duke of Normandy, defeated Harold Godwinson, King of the English at the Battle of Hastings, effectively taking control of England. Though control of the rest of Normandy was lost to England by the 13th century, the Channel Islands still remain under the control of the English/British crown.

The Channel Islands cover about 76 square miles and have a population of about 165,000. The largest islands include Guernsey, Jersey, Aldereny, and Sark. Acts passed by the British Parliament do not cover the Channel Islands unless they are specifically named in the act.

Answer: Pitcairn Islands

The Pitcairn Islands are made up four islands: Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands. Henderson is by far the largest of the four (though still small), but Pitcairn has the (very small) permanent population. The islands cover 18 square miles and have a population of 50 (fifty) (2018 estimate). Mutineers from the HMS Bounty and natives of Tahiti settled on Pitcairn Island in 1790. Botany Bay is the main access point for Pitcairn Island.

The capital of Adamstown is made up of the entire population of Pitcairn Island.