General European History Trivia Quiz

Answer: Maria Theresa

Charles persuaded all the major powers to sign this agreement so that Maria Theresa could rule. He wanted the throne of the Habsburgs to stay in the family. Maria Theresa was a successful ruler as she used her "damsel in distress" approach to win the approval of her citizens.

Answer: Kulturkampf

The "Kulturkampf" was instituted in the 1870s and was Bismarck's way of dealing with the Catholics which had rooted their cause in the Center party. Later on, the Catholics and Bismarck teamed up to eliminate Socialists even though the Catholics had been persecuted for years by the German and Prussian governments.

Answer: Nikolai Bukharin

Bukharin was the chief of propaganda in Russia and was well liked by the Russian people. He teamed up with Stalin to eliminate Trotsky, a political enemy that would take over Lenin's position. In turn, Stalin eliminated Bukharin in 1938 during the Great Purges.

Answer: Tycho Brahe

Tycho Brahe was an astronomer during the Scientific Revolution. He searched the skies and mapped the patterns of the stars. These star charts that he mapped helped Kepler, another famous astronomer, discover the oval orbits of the planets.

Answer: Oliver Cromwell

Cromwell helped defeat Charles I's army. After having Charles I tried for - and convicted of - high treason (1649) he played a leading part in the Commonwealth (Republic) and in 1653 was appointed "Lord Protector" of England.

Answer: Committee of Public Safety

The Committee of Public Safety (created in 1793) was anything but safe. They ran the Reign of Terror, a time period in France in which everybody who was considered a political enemy got beheaded. The committee was commonly associated with Maximilien Robespierre, a prominent member of the committee who was known for giving the orders to behead.

Answer: Cesare Beccaria

Beccaria (1738-1794) was a philosopher of the Enlightenment. He was born many years after the Renaissance had ended. He wrote "On Crimes and Punishments", which argued for human rights and humanitarianism. He argued that likelihood of detection and conviction followed by a reasonable punishment is in general a greater deterrent than draconian penalties.

He was also an economist. The others are humanist writers.

Answer: The Wealth of Nations

Adam Smith was an economist who developed a new theory of economics, in particular the modern concept of the role of market forces, which he called the "invisible hand" that - over time - establishes equilibrium between supply and demand. He believed that government should keep out of the economy and that people should be able to pursue their own economic interests.

The "Wealth of Nations" was published in 1776.

Answer: Neville Chamberlain

Chamberlain insisted this be the policy for their nation during the 1930s. In fact, he replaced advisers who disagreed with the policy. After the invasion of Czechoslovakia by Germany (1939), Chamberlain abandoned this policy and pledged support to Poland.

The policy of appeasement was consistently scrutinized as a policy of weakness, but many researchers have defended Chamberlain's position on appeasement, as England was ill-prepared to fight the war at that time.

Answer: Solidarity

This trade union was popular in the late 1980s. It opposed the communist government in Poland by masterminding labor strikes and other forms of public protest. It was led by Lech Walesa who was elected president in 1990 after Solidarity was allowed to campaign during elections.