World History : New Nations in Africa and India

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : New Nations In Africa And India

What was the name of the Libyan colonel who took power after revolution in 1969 and ruled until he was overthrown during the Arab Spring?

Possible Answers:

Muammar Gaddafi

Abdel Fattah el-Sisi

Reuben Rivlin

Hosni Mubarak

Correct answer:

Muammar Gaddafi

Explanation:

Libya has had a tumultuous political situation over the last several years after Muammar Gaddafi's regime fell and he was assassinated. The country is showing signs of moving past his massive impact on all sectors of society, though it is nearly impossible to discuss Libya's recent history without mentioning Gaddafi. He was at times a brutal dictator and was always an enigmatic representative of Libya to the world for a long time.

Example Question #2 : New Nations In Africa And India

What form of government does Jordan have?

Possible Answers:

Hereditary monarchy

Parliamentary democracy

Oligarchy

None of these

Correct answer:

Hereditary monarchy

Explanation:

Jordan has a hereditary monarchy, with the kingship passing through the family since the formation of Jordan in the early 1920s (then Transjordan). The Hashemites are the ruling family of Jordan, and King Hussein (ruling from 1953–1999) ruled over several decades of modernization and regional warring. Abdullah II, the current King of Jordan, is King Hussein's son.

Example Question #3 : New Nations In Africa And India

What was the first sub-Saharan country to gain independence from its European rulers?

Possible Answers:

Kenya

Zimbabwe

Ghana

Mozambique

Correct answer:

Ghana

Explanation:

Ghana gained its independence in 1957, while Kenya gained its in 1963; Mozambique gained its in 1975 and Zimbabwe gained its in 1980.

Example Question #3 : New Nations In Africa And India

What was a negative consequence of the Partition of India in 1947?

Possible Answers:

Large migrations and inter-communal conflicts that resulted in up to two million deaths and 14 million Muslim and Hindu refugees. 

Trade with Great Britain came to a standstill after the breaking of diplomatic ties between India, Pakistan, and the British Empire.

Treatment of the Untouchables or Dalit worsened without British law.

Soon after its independence, India went on to have many communist sympathizers, starting a brutal civil war that lasted for many years.

Correct answer:

Large migrations and inter-communal conflicts that resulted in up to two million deaths and 14 million Muslim and Hindu refugees. 

Explanation:

As India became a Hindu state and West and East Pakistan were Muslim states, millions of Hindus in Pakistan and vice versa had to leave their homes and go to the state that housed their religion.

Example Question #4 : New Nations In Africa And India

What movement in the 1930's, started by Francophone African intellectuals stressed anti-colonialism as well as a common racial identity for all black Africans?

Possible Answers:

Garveyism

Negritude

Pan-Africanism 

Apartheid

Antillante

Correct answer:

Negritude

Explanation:

Negritude also included Marxist ideals and literary elements, and was important in pushing for independence amongst many African colonies. Its main leaders included Aime Cesaire, Leopold Senghor, and Leon Damas. Proponents of the movement were mostly black, French-educated, intellectuals who stressed the common bond of French speaking Africans and its fight against colonialism. While largely a literary movement that focused on realism, it was also influenced by surrealism as well as the Harlem Renaissance as that movement also stressed a common black identity and pride. 

Example Question #5 : New Nations In Africa And India

What former British colony, formerly known as the Gold Coast, was the first African colony south of the Sahara to achieve independence from European colonialism?

Possible Answers:

Nigeria

Kenya

Ghana

Cameroon

Ivory Coast

Correct answer:

Ghana

Explanation:

Ghana achieved independence from Britain in 1957. Conflict between native Ghanaians and their British colonizers had been ongoing for over a hundred years, first in the Anglo-Ashanti Wars in the 1800's and then the War of the Golden Stool in the early 1900's. By 1947, however, tensions had largely subsided and when the newly formed United Gold Coast Convention called for "self-government within the shortest possible time" the British did little in protest. Osagyefo Kwame Nkrumah was elected as the first prime minister of Ghana in the Gold Coast elections of 1951, and officially declared independence from Britain on March 6, 1957. 

Example Question #7 : New Nations In Africa And India

Who were the Mau Mau? 

Possible Answers:

An Algerian political organization, consisting of nationalists, also known as the National Liberation Front who fought for independence against the French

Ghanaian miners who went on strike in protest of British rule, ultimately playing a large role in helping Ghana gain independence

South Africans of mixed descent who were treated as a separate class of citizens belonging to neither colonists or natives

A group consisting mostly of Kenyan farmers who used guerrilla tactics in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to drive out white settlers

British citizens who were sympathetic to African independence and campaigned in Britain on anti-colonialism platforms

Correct answer:

A group consisting mostly of Kenyan farmers who used guerrilla tactics in an ultimately unsuccessful attempt to drive out white settlers

Explanation:

Although the terminology of how the term "Mau Mau" came to be is unclear, the Mau Mau and the Mau Mau Uprising were crucial to the fight for Kenya's independence. The uprising was the climax of years of oppression from British colonizers. British settlers in Kenya were given preferred plots of the best farmland while the native Kenyans were paid poorly as wage laborers that were unable to reap in the profits of their efforts. The Mau Mau organized themselves in early 1952 and continued their struggle against the British until 1960. Although their efforts were ultimately unsuccessful, Kenya eventually achieved independence from Britain in 1963. 

Example Question #6 : New Nations In Africa And India

What was the name of the series of conflicts between the British and Dutch settlers in South Africa?

Possible Answers:

The Boer Wars

The Zulu War

The Anglo-Dutch War

The South African Revolution

The Transvaal Conflict

Correct answer:

The Boer Wars

Explanation:

The reception to Britain's annexation of territory in South Africa was not wholly positive. This was especially true of the reaction of the Boers, Dutch settlers in the Transvaal region. Fiercely independent, they did not take to British occupation kindly, resulting in a series of conflicts between 1880 and 1902. Britain was eventually able to, with some difficulty, subdue the Boers. 

Example Question #7 : New Nations In Africa And India

Which large East African nation, home to Mount Kilimanjaro, was formed when the former German, then British mainland colony was unified with an archipelago off its coast?

Possible Answers:

Somalia

Kenya

Tanzania

Madagascar

Mozambique

Correct answer:

Tanzania

Explanation:

Tanganyika was a part of German East Africa, a colony lost to the British and Belgium after World War I. Britain administered Tanganyika until its independence as a Commonwealth nation from 1961 to 1964. It joined with the Zanzibar archipelago known as the People's Republic of Zanzibar and Pemba in 1964. 

Example Question #8 : New Nations In Africa And India

Named for an ancient West African empire, which modern nation gained independence from the British in 1957. It's first president was pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah?

Possible Answers:

Songhai

Ghana

Mali

Senegal

Nigeria

Correct answer:

Ghana

Explanation:

Despite not being part of the traditional Empire of Ghana, modern Ghana is a stable democracy on the West African coast. Mali and Songhai were both ancient empires, but Mali was governed by French colonists and Songhai isn't a modern nation. Senegal was another former French colony, while Nigeria became independent from the UK in 1960.

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