Ships Ahoy! Trivia Quiz

Answer: Guangzhou

The capital of the province of Guangdong, in southern China, Guangzhou is located in the Pearl River Delta, one of China's wealthiest and most populous regions; nearly 15 million people live in its urban area. The English name "Canton" comes from the Portuguese pronunciation of Guangdong. The city was established in 214 BC, under the Qin Dynasty, with the name of Panyu. Though initially meant as a military base, it soon became a thriving commercial centre, which in the Middle Ages attracted numerous foreign traders and craftspeople - making the most of its strategic location as a terminus of the Maritime Silk Road. In the 14th century, famed Moroccan traveler Ibn Battuta visited the city, and described its large shipyards in detail in his account of his journeys around the Old World.

During the rule of the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644), foreign trade was severely limited; the city, however, flourished again as an international trade centre and major port in the 18th century, with the advent of the Qing Dynasty - becoming the main hub for the export of tea and porcelain. Under the Canton System, implemented in 1757 and abolished in 1842 as a consequence of the First Opium War, all China's trade with the West was concentrated in Canton. The city suffered during the Chinese Civil War and the Cultural Revolution, with many of its historic buildings destroyed, but between the 1980s and the present, thanks to building programs and tax reforms, Guangzhou has expanded its boundaries, and its population has grown. Though Guangzhou's importance as a port has been somewhat overshadowed by Shanghai and neighbouring Hong Kong, the city still retains its status of major entrepôt, or transshipment port.

The three cities listed as wrong answers are also part of the group of nine leading cities known as the National Central Cities; of these, however, only Tianjin is a seaport.

Answer: Bangladesh

Located in southeastern Bangladesh, on the mouth of the Karnaphuli River, which forms a natural harbour near the Bay of Bengal, Chittagong (officially Chattogram) is one of the world's oldest ports. This large city is the busiest international seaport on the Bay of Bengal, and also the largest base of the Bangladesh Navy and Coast Guard. The Bengali name of the city, Chattogram, is believed to mean "village of the lamp" (probably related to the spread of Islam in the area in the 9th century), while the name "Chittagong", according to a widespread legend, comes from Arakanese (a language closely related to Burmese), and means "to make war is improper". What is now Chittagong was already known as an important seaport in ancient times, appearing on the world map compiled by Roman geographer Claudius Ptolemy in the 2nd century AD. Other famous travelers of the Middle Ages, including Ibn Battuta, commented about the site's beauty, its fertile surroundings, and impressive natural harbour. Medieval Chittagong, which was part of the Sultanate of Bengal, was a hub for trade of valuable goods with other parts of Asia and East Africa, as well as an important shipbuilding centre. In the mid-16th century, Chittagong ended under Portuguese control, and over a century later was conquered by the Mughal rulers of Bengal.

At the end of the 18th century, the city, like the rest of Bengal, was taken over by the British East India Company. World War II took a heavy toll on the city, and even worse damage came with the Bangladesh Liberation War of 1971: at the end of the war, the Soviet Navy took almost a year to clear the harbour of mines. Now Chittagong has regained at least part of its status, generating a substantial share of Bangladesh's national GDP. An ethnically diverse city, Chittagong is plagued by widespread poverty and environmental issues, many of them related to its controversial ship breaking industry.

Answer: Indian Ocean

Located in the Horn of Africa, on the coast of the Indian Ocean, just north of the Equator, Mogadishu (Muqdisho in the Somali language, though locally known as Hamar) has been an influential trade centre for over 2,000 years; the site where the city now stands has been identified with the city-state of Sarapion, founded by the ancestors of modern Somalis, and mentioned in a 1st-century AD travel document known as "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea". Medieval travellers and geographers wrote of a prosperous city, inhabited by people who were the likely ancestors of present-day Somalis. In any case, in the Middle Ages and Early Modern era Mogadishu became part of the Ajuran Sultanate, which dominated the Indian Ocean trade. The city became a thriving commercial hub, involved in the Silk Road maritime trade; famed Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama visited Mogadishu during his voyage at the end of the 15th century, noting its many large houses, palaces and mosques.

Besides its importance as a port, Mogadishu was the centre of a renowned textile industry; its prosperity continued under the Hiraab Imamate, which took over after the collapse of the Ajuran Sultanate. In the late 19th century, Mogadishu came under Italian rule, which lasted until Somalia's independence in 1960. Sadly, in recent times Mogadishu has been torn apart by years of civil war; the city, like the rest of Somalia, is still considered one of the world's most dangerous destinations. At the end of the war, the Somali government launched a major rehabilitation project for the Port of Mogadishu, though it will probably be a long time before the city returns to what it used to be.

Answer: Yemen

Located on a peninsula on the eponymous gulf, close to the eastern tip of the Arabian Peninsula, Aden lies in a strategic position on the maritime route between Europe and Asia. Its oldest district is named Crater (Kraytar in Arabic), as the city's natural harbour is situated in the crater of a dormant volcano; the modern port is named Mu'alla. Aden is believed to be very ancient: it was first mentioned in the Old Testament as one of the places that had trading connections with the Phoenician city of Tyre. The "Periplus of the Erythraean Sea", it is mentioned by the name "Eudaemon" (Greek for "blissful"), and as part of the pre-Islamic Himyarite Kingdom. In the 12th century, Aden was substantially rebuilt, and developed into a thriving city that attracted traders from many parts of Africa and Asia (including China): Marco Polo mentioned it in the well-known account of his travels. Though Aden had almost no resources of its own, it was an important emporium for all sorts of goods coming from other parts of the Arabian Peninsula; because of its location, various powers, local and foreign, vied for control of the city and its harbour.

In 1838, Aden was ceded to the British, who set up a coaling station at Steamer Point (now Tawahi), where ships could stop to replenish their supplies of coal and boiler water before continuing on their voyage. The city remained in British hands until 1967, when the People's Republic of Southern Yemen (later People's Democratic Republic of Yemen), a Marxist-Leninist one-party state, was established. Aden ceased to be a capital in 1990, when North and South Yemen united to form the Republic of Yemen; however, during the civil war that has been tearing the country apart since 2011, Aden became Yemen's temporary capital when the country's "de jure" capital, Sana'a, was seized by the Houthi insurgents. In the aftermath of the coup that ousted Yemen's president, Aden was devastated by violence, which led to major destruction and loss of life.

Answer: Phoenicians

Many cities have laid claim to being the world's oldest, but Byblos - located on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea, about 30 km (20 mi) north of the Lebanese capital of Beirut - definitely has a better claim than most of them. Originally a community of fishermen on the Mediterranean coast, inhabited since the Neolithic, the city grew in importance in the Late Bronze Age (around 3,000 BC), when it became the foremost shipping centre in the eastern Mediterranean for the prized cedar wood, with close ties to Egypt. Around 1,200 BC, the Phoenicians, who called it Gebal (a name related to its current Arabic name of Jbail), made the city one of the major centres of their civilization. The name "Byblos" is Greek for "papyrus", since the city was the main hub for the import of papyrus from Egypt. The Phoenician alphabet, from which the Hebrew and Greek alphabet are derived, was developed in Byblos.

Throughout the centuries, the city was ruled by different powers - including the Assyrians, the Romans and the Arabs. During the First Crusade (1096-1099) , Byblos (then named Gibelet) became part of the County of Tripoli, a Crusader state, and knew another period of prosperity as an important military base for the Crusaders, who built the impressive castle still standing today. Other conquests followed, until the city became part of the Ottoman Empire in 1516; the whole of Lebanon was placed under French Mandate from 1923 to 1943, when the country finally achieved independence. Modern-day Byblos is a relatively small city, with about 100,000 people living in its metro area. In recent years, the city and its ancient harbour have become an upscale tourist destination; its archeological area and medieval citadel - which earned the city the status of UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1984 - draw visitors interested in the history of this fascinating region.

The Phoenicians were antiquity's most distinguished seafarers and explorers, who developed a large maritime trade network that lasted for over a millennium.

Answer: Suleiman I of the Ottoman Empire

The name of the Turkish city of Trabzon comes from the Greek "Trapezous", later "Trapezounta" (from "trápeza", meaning "table"), referring to the table-like hill between two streams where the city was founded in the 8th century BC, probably around the same time as Rome. The capital of the province of the same name, the city is located in northeastern Turkey, on the coast of the Black Sea, not far from the border with Georgia. Its importance as a seaport goes back to Roman times, though its prosperity took a hit when it was sacked by the Goths in the mid-3rd century AD. Rebuilt in the early days of the Byzantine Empire, Trabzon flourished during the Middle Ages, making the most of its strategic location on the Silk Road and as a gateway to Persia and the Caucasus region. Merchants from Venice and Genoa used Trabzon as a port for their trade with Asia, and Marco Polo sailed to Venice from the port of Trabzon upon his return from Cathay. Indeed, Italian traders contributed to the diffusion of the city's reputation as a wealthy, cosmopolitan metropolis. In 1204, the city became the capital of the Empire of Trebizond, one of the offshoots of the Byzantine Empire following the Sack of Constantinople by the Crusaders.

Conquered by the Ottoman Empire in 1461, Trabzon kept its prominent role as a cultural and commercial centre for a long time. Suleiman I, nicknamed "The Magnificent" and "The Lawgiver", one of the greatest Ottoman sultans, was born there in 1494; his father, the future sultan Selim I, was the "Sanjak-bey" (a sort of governor) of the city. However, the city lost much of its relevance as a trading hub with the opening of the Suez Canal in 1869, though its status as a centre of culture and technology was not affected. Trabzon suffered during both World Wars, which caused loss of population and economic damage. Now the city is slowly reemerging from a long period of decline: with its many historical monuments and beautiful natural surroundings, it is well worth a visit.

Vlad III of Wallachia (who ruled in the 15th century) was nicknamed the Impaler, Ivan IV of Russia the Terrible, and Ferdinand II of Aragon (who married Isabella of Castile) the Catholic.

Answer: Piraeus

Located 8 km (5 mi) southwest of Athens, Piraeus (Pireás in Modern Greek) became the port of the Greek capital during the Classical period; however, the site where it stands has been inhabited for much longer, probably around 2,600 BC. The city grew in importance when famed general Themistocles realized its harbour's strategic potential, and began to build fortifications there. Piraeus soon replaced Phaleron as Athens' main port, and became the base of the city's navy; the Athenian ships that fought in the Battle of Salamis (480 BC), in which a coalition of Greek city-states defeated the Persian fleet, were built in Piraeus' shipyards. In the mid-5th century, under Pericles' rule, the Long Walls connecting Piraeus and Athens were built. The city's prosperity, unfortunately, did not last long, as it was severely damaged during the Peloponnesian War and subsequent conflicts between Athens and other Greek states. Rebuilt by Alexander the Great, it was captured and destroyed by Roman general (and future dictator) Lucius Cornelius Sulla in 86 BC, and then by the Goths in 395 AD.

Following these traumatic events, the city fell into a centuries-long decline, losing even its original name: it was not until 1829 - at the end of the Greek War of Independence - that the city became permanently inhabited again, resuming its old name in 1835. In spite of the setbacks endured during World War II, Piraeus is now one of Greece's largest municipalities, and the country's largest port. Parts of the ancient fortifications and other structures can still be seen, and several museums in the city display the archaeological finds made in the area. Piraeus is also home to the Hellenic Maritime Museums, dedicated to Greece's long nautical tradition. The port, which services about 20 million passengers every year, is also a major shipping centre.

Patras is Greece's third-largest city, also a port, while Rhodes and Samos are islands in the Aegean Sea.

Answer: Málaga

Located on the famous Costa del Sol, in the autonomous community of Andalusia, Málaga is one of Europe's oldest cities, having been founded in the 8th century BC by Phoenicians from Tyre, who called it "Malake" (which became "Malaca" in Latin). The city enjoyed a strategic position on the trade routes between Phoenicia (modern-day Lebanon) and the Strait of Gibraltar, which lies to the southwest. In the 6th century BC, it became part of the Carthaginian Empire (also founded by Phoenicians), and then was taken over by the Romans at the end of the Punic Wars (264-146 BC). After the fall of the Western Roman Empire, Malaca was conquered by the Visigoths, the Byzantines, and finally the Umayyad Caliphate in 711 AD. Under Moorish rule, the city (now named "Malaqah") flourished, becoming one of the largest and most beautiful urban centres in Andalusia. Muslim rule lasted for eight centuries, until in 1487 the city fell to Spain's Catholic monarchs; its population was either put to death or enslaved. This violent Spanish conquest led to a long period of decline, which lasted until the late 18th century, when a combination of traditional mercantile activities and new industrial projects revived the city's economy. However, Málaga's newfound prosperity was disrupted once again by political unrest, and especially the economic crisis of 1893. This slump, exacerbated by WWI and the Spanish Civil War, lasted almost until the 1960s, when the expansion of tourism brought a new economic boom.

Starting in 1998, the Port of Málaga has been undergoing a major overhaul: like it did in the past, it exports the agricultural products of the Andalusian hinterland, as well as iron ore, canned fish, and the city's eponymous sweet, white wine; cruise shipping has also become increasingly important for the city's economy. Because of its beautiful scenery, cultural heritage and mild climate, modern Málaga is a popular tourist destination, especially with people from the British Isles and Northern Europe. Famed painter Pablo Picasso was born in Málaga in 1881; the house where he was born is now a museum. Actor Antonio Banderas, on the other hand, was born in the city in 1960.

All the incorrect answers are Spanish seaports, though none of them is located in the south of the country.

Answer: diamonds

Located on the estuary of the river Scheldt, about 88 km (55 mi) from the North Sea, Antwerp is one of the world's largest ports. Compared with most of the cities mentioned earlier in this quiz, its origins are more recent. Though the city in the Flanders region of Belgium probably developed from a Gallo-Roman settlement, its earliest mention dates from the 4th century AD, when the city was established by Germanic Franks. In the late 15th century, when Antwerp was part of the Duchy of Brabant, a state of the Holy Roman Empire, its importance grew as that of Bruges declined, and soon Antwerp became the leading city of the Low Countries. In its heyday - which coincided with the Age of Exploration - Antwerp may have been Europe's wealthiest city, a hub for trading, banking and manufacturing, and one of the largest urban centres on the Continent, with a population of over 100,000. Most of the traders and bankers who operated in Antwerp were from other countries, which gave the city a cosmopolitan allure. An abrupt halt to the city's expansion came in 1585, when it was besieged and taken by the Spanish; the rise of Amsterdam as an economic and cultural centre hastened its decline. Starting with the early 19th century, when Napoleon Bonaparte realized the port's strategic potential and had a new dock built (which still bears his name), the city reversed this negative trend, and not even two World Wars could slow down its constant growth. Modern-day Antwerp is a thriving, bustling city that offers many sights linked to its glorious past - such as the house of celebrated painter Pieter Paul Rubens.

Like the city itself, the port of Antwerp was originally located on the right bank of the Scheldt, but from the 19th century onwards it expanded to the north of the city centre, with docks and other structures being built on both banks of the river. Now it is Europe's second-largest port after Rotterdam. While in the 16th century Antwerp was the world's premier sugar refining centre, it is now known worldwide for its diamond industry, centred in the Diamond Quarter. The diamond trade developed in the early 16th century, and continued almost unabated until the present day.

The origin of Antwerp's name (Antwerpen in Flemish, Anvers in French) is still uncertain. One theory is that it comes from the Dutch "handwerpen" (hand-throwing), referring to the legend of a giant killed by a young hero, who cut off the giant's hand and threw it into the river.

Answer: Lübeck

The Hanseatic City of Lübeck (Hansestadt Lübeck) is located on the Baltic coast of Germany's northernmost state, Schleswig-Holstein, at the mouth of the river Trave. The area where the city now stands was settled in the early 8th century AD by Slavic populations, who called their village Liubice ("lovely"). The modern city, however, was founded in 1143 on the river island of Bucu by Adolf II, Count of Schauenburg and Holstein. In 1226, Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor, declared Lübeck a Free Imperial City. In the 14th century, Lübeck became the "de facto" capital of the Hanseatic League, the confederation of merchant guilds and market towns in Central and Northwestern Europe whose influence dominated trade in the Baltic region for three centuries. Lübeck's golden age lasted until the 1530s, after which its power slowly declined, though it still remained an important trading centre on the Baltic Sea. Under Nazi rule, Lübeck lost its status of independent city-state; during World War II, it was bombed by the RAF, which caused serious damage to its historic centre.

In recent times, Lübeck has tried to rebound from its long decline, which was worsened by the end of the Cold War, leading to the loss of its shipbuilding industry. Tourism, however, has become an important resource for the city. Many of Lübeck's medieval monuments, characteristically built in red brick in the style known as Brick Gothic, are reminders of its glory days as the "Queen of the Hanseatic League". The city's symbol is the massive Holstentor (Holsten Gate), built in 1464, one of the relics of the ancient fortifications; the whole of Lübeck's city centre, painstakingly restored after the devastation of war, was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1987. Lübeck's borough of Travemünde ("Trave Mouth") on the Baltic coast, which has served as Lübeck's port since the Middle Ages, is a popular seaside resort, and huge ferries depart from there to various ports in Scandinavia. Lübeck is also known for its delicious marzipan.

Thomas Mann, who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1929, and his brother Heinrich were both born in Lübeck from a family of merchants. Thomas Mann's 1901 novel "Buddenbrooks" portrays the decadence of a wealthy Lübeck bourgeois family. Another famous Lübeck native was German chancellor Willy Brandt.

The three cities listed as incorrect choices are all ports on the Baltic Sea, and former members of the Hanseatic League; however, none of them is in Germany.