Good Night, Sweet Prince Trivia Quiz

Answer: Louis XVI

The people of France, struggling to make ends meet each day, were definitely not impressed by the incredible spending of the French aristocracy on lavish palaces, luxury goods, and foreign wars. With ideas of the Enlightenment hovering across the European political scene, it was only a matter of time before someone got the idea to start rebelling against their kings. Beginning with the Tennis Court Oath, the revolution would see the storming of the Bastille, the Declaration of the Rights of Man and of the Citizen, and the executions of Louis XVI, his wife, Marie Antoinette, and countless others.

Answer: Nicholas II

Nicholas II was the last Tsar of Russia before he was forced to abdicate in March 1917. Russia had been one of the most powerful countries in the world following the rule of Peter the Great, largely credited with modernizing it and raising it to the status of a great power.

However, the very conservative Alexander III, the father of Nicholas II, put the mighty empire on a path backwards. His style of autocratic rule deepened class divisions and this trend continued under Nicholas II. Russia failed to continue to modernize and the effects of this are clearly shown in Russia's defeat in the Russo-Japanese War, an utterly humiliating experience for the empire as a comparatively small, 'upstart' nation managed to defeat a European power.

His rule, prior to his forced abdication, saw antisemitic pogroms, the violent suppression of unarmed protestors on Bloody Sunday, and an attempted revolution in 1905.

The working class and the middle class felt largely ignored by the aristocracy and yearned for the comparative freedoms other Europeans had in their democracies and constitutional monarchies. What really broke the power of the Russian monarchy, however, was World War I - for which Russia was ill prepared.

This massive war, a gigantic drain on finances and lives, finally turned the people of Russia against the monarchy. The February Revolution (1917) led to the forced abdication of Nicholas II and the beginning of the short-lived Russian Republic. Later that year the Bolsheviks took their chance to overthrow the fledging democracy in the October Revolution. This triggered the devastating Russian Civil War (1918-1921) as the formerly massive empire began to break at the seams with many factions fighting for control or freedom. Various foreign powers also intervened in an attempt to oust the Bolsheviks. During the civil war, Nicholas II and his family eventually found themselves in the hands of the Bolsheviks. They were shot in Yekaterinburg on July 17, 1918 by the Bolsheviks.

Answer: Caligula

The Praetorian Guard were supposed to be an elite royal bodyguard to the emperors, yet this position gave them a lot of power. Caligula was assassinated in a large conspiracy between the Praetorian Guard, the Senate, and members of the imperial court.

While Caligula has now become widely known for killing men for entertainment, wild sexual escapades (sometimes incestuous), and for allegedly attempting to make his horse a consul, there is some debate over how accurate this portrayal is. There weren't many historical sources about Caligula's rule during that time, at least few that survived, and as they say, "History is written by the victors."

Answer: Selim III

Selim III ruled the Ottoman Empire from 1761 until his overthrow in 1807. He was a reform-minded sultan, though these reforms would be stalled as a result of conflicts with Austria, Russia, and France (which had a young man by the name of Napoleon Bonaparte leading their armies).

The Janissaries, a group of elite soldiers recruited as young boys from Christian lands within the empire, did not approve of these reforms as some of them would cut at their own power, and overthrew the sultan. The Janissaries installed Selim III's cousin, Mustafa IV, as his replacement. Mustafa IV, worried about his cousin's supporters, had Selim III assassinated.

Answer: Atahualpa

Atahualpa fought his brother, Huascar, for control of the Inca Empire and won. However, he could not anticipate the arrival of the Spanish. Conquistador Francisco Pizarro, captured Atahualpa during the conquest of the Inca Empire. He was later given a mock trial and was sentenced to execution by burning at the stake.

However, the Inca had a tradition in which the soul could not pass onto the afterlife if the body was burned. He was given the offer to convert to Catholicism in order to receive a different method of execution.

He agreed and was then executed by strangulation by the garrote.

Answer: the Guangxu Emperor

The Guangxu Emperor, born as Aisin-Gioro Zaitian, was the 11th emperor of the Qing Dynasty. On paper, he ruled the empire from 1875 to 1908, but he became largely a figurehead during the later half of his rule. Acknowledging that China was far behind the Western nations, he tried to undertake the Hundred Days' Reform (from the 11th of June to the 21st of September in 1898), which was supposed to modernize the nation towards a Western standard.

However, he was stopped by the real power behind the throne, Empress Dowager Cixi. Cixi, fearing that her nephew would outlive her and go on with the reforms, likely had him poisoned with arsenic.

He was pronounced dead on November 14, 1908, strangely enough, only a day before Cixi died herself. As a result, the Qing Dynasty continued to stagnate until finally being overthrown by Chinese revolutionaries in the Xinhai Revolution (1912).

Answer: Richard I

Richard I, better known as Richard the Lionheart (reigned 1189-1199), took part in the Third Crusade against Saladin. The Crusade was ultimately a failure and Richard I was heading back to his kingdom when he was captured by Leopold V, Duke of Austria. During the time Richard I was imprisoned, his brother John took control of the throne of England.

The Duke of Austria ransomed him for 150,000 marks, a massive sum for the time. He was eventually released when the money was paid but got embroiled in war again when Phillip II of France challenged England over control of Normandy. During the war, a crossbowman managed to successfully shoot Richard I in the arm. Richard I, dying of infection, asked for the crossbowman to be brought before him. The crossbowman was a young boy who told Richard I that he had shot him in revenge for the death of his father and two brothers, which he blamed on the English king.

The boy was forgiven by Richard I and was to be let go, but a mercenary captain by the name of Mercadier had the boy flayed and hanged.

Answer: Shaka

Shaka Zulu unified the tribes around him to form the Zulu Kingdom. He introduced the wider use of the iklwa, a short spear for stabbing, and larger shields made of cowhide. He also introduced many new military tactics, which were very helpful in repelling the British.

He shocked the mighty British Empire by defeating them at Isandlwana, stunning the British as these South African warriors were thought to be inferior. However, it has been said that the death of his mother set him into overwhelming grief in which he ordered no new crops to be grown for the year and the executions of thousands not considered to be sufficiently grief-stricken.

His half-brothers, Dingane and Mhlangana, who attempted to kill Shaka before, managed to successfully assassinate him this time.

Answer: Tutankhamun

While the reign of Tutankhamun is generally considered to be unremarkable, considered to have taken place from 1332 B.C. to 1323 B.C., he has become one of the most famous figures from Egypt due to the discovery of his tomb by Howard Carter and George Herbert in 1922.

The discovery of the tomb sparked a wide interest in Egyptology due to the well preserved artifacts found in the tomb. The young pharaoh is suspected to have had several genetic defects as a result of generations of incest. The cause of his death is still a mystery, but it likely had to do with some severe physical trauma; some say he was assassinated while others contend he met his end due to an injury.

Answer: Franz Ferdinand

Franz Ferdinand was to be the next Austro-Hungarian emperor until he and his wife were shot and killed in Sarajevo by a Serb nationalist, Gavrilo Princip. Austria blamed the assassination on Serbia and eventually went to war with the kingdom, plunging most of Europe into war.

The end of the war resulted in the fall of the monarchy and the dissolution of the entire empire in part formed the nations of Austria, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia. Other parts of the empire were absorbed by the victorious nations of Italy, Romania, and Serbia (which would later go on to form Yugoslavia, in essence, fulfilling Princip's dream).

However, neither Yugoslavia nor Czechoslovakia survived the Cold War by more than a few years.