SAT II World History : Nation States
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Example Questions
Example Question #31 : Europe
Which of these events best represents the beginning of the journey towards the nation-state in England?
The Roman Conquest of the British isles
The signing of the Reform Bill in 1832
The signing of the Magna Carta
The defeat of Napoleon at Waterloo
The American Revolution
The signing of the Magna Carta
The Magna Carta is often referenced as the beginning of British, and therefore American, democracy. It created a Great Council of Lords and Barons with whom the King had to consult before making any significant decisions. This is clearly hardly democracy— it's more like an oligarchy—but this council would one day evolve into the British Parliament, from which true democracy would eventually flow. The signing of the Magna Carta is also significant in that it may be seen as the very beginning of the English nation-state. It is a foundational legend upon which the British government and people can trace their shared history and legitimacy back eight hundred years.
Example Question #11 : Nation States
The initial failure to create a German nation-state is most closely related to the personal failings of which of these rulers?
Frederick the Great
Rudolph II
Maria Theresa
Maximilian I
Otto von Bismarck
Maximilian I
Maximilian I was Holy Roman Emperor from 1508 to 1519. He is one of the most prominent Holy Roman Emperors from this time period and is notable for his attempts to unify the German-speaking people under one ruler. He failed in this attempt because the German speaking people were divided into too many different princedoms and small political entities. German unification would not be completed until 1871.
Example Question #15 : Nationalism
Which of these battles helped engender a shared sense of identity amongst the people of England that contributed to the rise of English nationalism?
The Battle of Trafalgar
The Battle of Agincourt
The Battle of Lepanto
The Battle of Tours
The Battle of Somme
The Battle of Agincourt
The battles of Tours and Lepanto were not fought by English forces, so we can rule these two answer choices out immediately. The battles of the Somme and Trafalgar were fought during World War One and the Napoleonic Wars, respectively, and so came too late to be part of the rise of English nationalism. The Battle of Agincourt, which took place during the Hundred Years’ War with the French, happened in the fifteenth century and so came at the perfect time to be incorporated into the rise of nationalism in England. It helped solidify what it meant to be English, as opposed to French, and led to the rise of self-identifying nationalist ethnicity among the English people.
Example Question #421 : Ap European History
Which of these is most associated with Otto von Bismarck?
The Uncertainty Principle
Anschluss
Lebensraum
The Cult of Domesticity
Realpolitik
Realpolitik
Realpolitik was the primary political philosophy of the German unifying leader Otto von Bismarck. Realpolitik is based around a pragmatic application of political power, or political power wielded outside of ideological, religious, or ethnic motivation.
Example Question #422 : Ap European History
The Spanish nation-state coalesced around ___________.
mercantilism
Calvinism
free-market capitalism
Catholicism
direct democracy
Catholicism
Many European nation-states coalesced around ethnic identity and shared cultural heritage. The Spanish nation-state coalesced around both of these, but also around the religion of Catholicism. Protestantism was almost non-existent in Spain and those who adhered to either Islam or Judaism were either banished or forcefully converted to Catholicism during the formation of the Spanish nation-state.
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