Can't We Just Get Along? Wars in History Quiz

Answer: The Opium War: 1840 - 1842

China was a closed society, content to market its goods in foreign lands, but resistant to other countries having trade access to China. Britain sought to remedy the situation by supporting the importation of opium into China. The effect in time for China was a high rate of addiction among Chinese males, including the Chinese military, depletion of silver as precious currency metal, and a huge trade imbalance in Britain's favour.

The Chinese Emperor directed that Chinese smugglers be arrested, and that the stores of opium be seized from the foreign traders and destroyed. Britain attacked the Chinese coast, and waged hostilities against the Chinese for the next two years.

The Treaty of Nanking was signed that opened several Chinese ports, including Shanghai and Canton to foreign trade.

It also ceded control of Hong Kong to Great Britain; a situation that remained in place until 1997.

Answer: False

False. The War of the Roses actually was a civil war between two British families - the House of York and the House of Lancaster, competing for the crown of England. Fought between 1455 and 1485, both houses had separate badges denoting their families; the House of York had a white rose emblem; the House of Lancaster had a red rose emblem.

The House of York prevailed, and the Tudors ruled Great Britain for over a century following.

Answer: The Rwandan Crisis - 1994

In 1994, following the killing of the Hutu government leader in Rwanda, Juvenal Habyarimana, by Tutsi rebels, the Hutu majority responded by murdering between 500,000 and 1 million ethnically-Tutsi Rwandan citizens. United Nations troops present in Rwanda at the time were insufficient in number to prevent the massacres, and the UN leadership in New York refused to increase the UN military force to put an end to the killing.

Answer: The Yom Kippur War

The armies of Egypt and Syria attacked Israel in October 1973 during the Muslim religious month of Ramadan, and during the Jewish feast of Yom Kippur. Initially overwhelmed, Israel recovered and repelled the Syrians on the Golan Heights, and the Egyptians in the Sinai.

A ceasefire was brokered in late October 1973. Israel seized and occupied land that it fought on and dominated during the brief war.

Answer: World War I: 1914 - 1918

Also known as the First World War, this conflict began in July 1914, following the asassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in Sarajevo the previous month. Hostilities were declared over on the 11th hour, of the 11th day, of the 11th month; November 11, 1918.

The main combatants in Europe were the Germans, the Austro-Hungarian Empire, and the Ottoman Empire, against the Russian Empire, the British Empire, France and Italy. Nations of the British Commonwealth (Canada, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand) were active combatants and suffered hundreds of thousands of casualities. Most of the heaviest fighting was concentrated in France and Belgium.

The United States joined the war on the side of the allies in 1917. Following the surrencer of the Central Powers in 1918, the leaders convened in France in 1919 and signed the Treaty of Versaille.

This treaty placed severe penalties and demanded substantial war reparations from Germany, premised on its role as the principal belligerent.

The maps of central Europe and the what is now commonly referred to as the Middle East were redrawn following the war, as the Austro-Hungarian & Ottoman Empires collapsed. Many new countries emerged, including Austria, Hungary, Czechoslovakia, Iraq, Transjordan (Jordan), Turkey and several others. The reparations and limitations levied upon Germany after WWI are often said to have been a significant factor in the rise of Nazism, and set the stage for Hitler to gain prominence.

Answer: The Boer Wars

The Boer Wars (1880-81 and 1899-1902) involved troops of the British Empire fighting settlers and farmers descended from the Dutch, in the Orange Free State and Transvaal Republic in South Africa. The latter war was won by the British, who defeated the Afrikaners, and the British subsequently colonized South Africa.

The Battle of Waterloo took place in Belgium in 1815, and marked the defeat of Napoleon by the British commander, Wellington, and his European allies. The Battle of the North Atlantic, was actually the naval campaign waged by Allied navies (1939-1945) to protect merchant ships transitting the Atlantic with supplies for Britain, and munitions and supplies for the Soviets in Murmansk. The Anglo-Dutch Wars were fought mainly as naval wars in the 17th century and were related primarily to trade disputes.

Answer: Canada and Spain

Canada had protested the repeated practice of European trawlers overfishing in territorial waters that Canada claims as its own, in accordance with international law of the sea. Industrial fishing fleets from several European nations were fishing within Canada's zone, and severely depleting fish stocks in the region. The practice was jeopardizing a principal trade and mainstay of the Atlantic economy. The Canadian government moved to suspend cod fisheries in the 1980s to help the stock recover. With the Europeans ignoring Canada's sovereignty, the Canadian government elected to make an example. A Spanish fishing vessel trawling in the zone, the Estai, was challenged, and fled, cutting its nets in the process. It was pursued by Canadian coast guard vessels and only stopped after warning shots were fired across its bow. The vessel was towed back to Canada and held. The Canadians recovered the net and determined that it was illegal; having a smaller mesh than permitted for turbot fishing. The Canadian Minister of Fisheries, Brian Tobin, had the seized net hung from a crane and displayed in New York to embarrass the Spanish and the Europeans. The Estai's crew was released and the ship was eventually returned to the Spanish after payment of a $500K fine.

After the Estai returned to Spain other Spanish fishing vessels returned to the Grand Banks of Newfoundland, and resumed their operation. Canadian Coast Guard craft cut the nets of another ship, the Pescamero Uno. Spanish warships sailed to Canada to protect their commercial fishing vessels, and authority was given to the Canadian Navy to fire on any Spanish ships that acted aggressively. No fighting occurred, but it came close. Negotiations between Spain and Canada resulted in Canada repaying the $500K fine, and reducing its own turbot quota. But the Spanish craft withdrew outside the territorial waters of Canada.

Answer: Gerard Butler

Gerard Butler played King Leonidas - the Spartan King who led his army of 300 Spartans, 700 Thespians and several hundred other soldiers in a pitched battle against the Persians at Thermopylae. Fought over three days in 480 BC, the Spartans and its allies to protect the rear of a larger Greek force, who were able to retreat and survive, as Leonidas, his Spartans and their allies held off the Persian Army.

The Spartans inflicted incredible carnage upon the Persians, killing an estimated 20,000 Persians before being annihilated themselves.

Answer: The War of 1812

British troops under the leadership of General Robert Ross torched the White House, in August 1814 in retaliation for the destruction of York (present day Toronto) the previous year by American troops. The War of 1812 continued to 1815. The British were able to focus more energy against the Americans, once Napoleon had been defeated in Europe in 1814.

Answer: The Toronto Maple Leafs & the Ottawa Senators

The Toronto Maple Leafs is a premier hockey club that has won the Stanley Cup 11 times since their first victory at the new Maple Leaf Gardens rink in 1932. Their predecessor teams; the St. Pats & the Toronto Arenas, also have a cup each. Toronto's last Stanley Cup was in 1967 under Leaf Captain George Armstrong. They are having a strong showing this year (2011/12) and Phil Kessel is currently the leading scorer for the NHL.

Ottawa has an NHL team, too. :-)

OK..A team called the Ottawa Senators first joined the NHL in 1883 and won the Stanley Cup multiple times, before the team folded in 1934.The Ottawa Senators returned to the NHL in 1992/93, and have had a strong run. They have qualified for the playoffs for most of the years they played and competed strongly against the Anaheim Ducks in 2007, but the Ducks won the series. The Sens are ably lead by Captain Daniel Alfredsson; a class act who has made his mark on the ice, in the dressing room, and within the community.

The 'Battle of Ontario' is the competition between these two teams that is played out several times a year. Only 250 miles apart, the competition is fierce, and fans from both teams often are well represented at all the games.