| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| In this nation, Garnet Wolseley captured the Sweet Water canal at the Battle of Tell El Kebir, ending the Urabi Revolt. The British occupation of this country began in 1882 and saw the rule of leaders like Fuad I. The ethnic Albanian Khedive Muhammad Ali ruled this nation with Sudan after he defeated the militant Mamluk Dynasty. Ferdinand de Lesseps built a large structure in this country, linking the Red Sea to the Mediterranean Sea. The Suez Canal was built in, for the point, what country that is led from Cairo? | Egypt |
| This president authorized Marines to begin the U.S. occupation of Haiti. Edward House influenced the American position on a treaty negotiated by this president, which was opposed by the Irreconcilables in the Senate under Henry Cabot Lodge, Sr. This president called for the formation of the League of Nations as part of his Fourteen Points, which he incorporated into the Treaty of Versailles. For the point, name this US President during World War I. | Woodrow Wilson |
| William Howell successfully alleged that a Governor of this state violated its clemency clause by restoring felons’ voting rights with an autopen. The first Senator to give a fully Spanish speech was from this state and was the 2016 Democratic Vice Presidential nominee. For the point, name this state where Ralph Northam succeeded Terry McAuliffe as governor in 2018, the home state of Senator Tim Kaine. | Virginia |
| A metro stop in this city is named for James the Conqueror, who ruled from it. A park with a motif of ceramic lilies in this city was designed by the architect of a basilica with a cryptic magic square on its exterior that has been under construction for 90 years. This city is home to La Rambla as well as Park Guell and the Sagrada Familia. For the point, name this Spanish city that serves as the capital of Catalonia. | Barcelona |
| This island names a three-millennium-old collection of Byzantine sea laws. Diognetus reportedly diverted mud to this island to capture a moveable siege tower; that weapon, the Helepolis, was used by Demetrius I of Macedonia during a yearlong siege of this island. Philippe de Villiers de L’Ilse-Adam commanded the Knights Hospitalier to defend this island against Suleiman the Magnificent in 1522. A 226 BC earthquake destroyed this island’s bronze statue of Helios. For the point, name this Greek island famed for its Colossus. | Rhodes |
| This city’s “Council Wars” occurred when a faction of its Democratic Party split off to oppose Harold Washington, its first black mayor. A mayor of this city may have shouted an anti-Semitic slur at Senator Abraham Ribicoff after Ribicoff denounced his “Gestapo tactics” at a convention held in this city. For the point, name this city where the 1968 Democratic National Convention took place during Richard J. Daley’s mayorship and which has been led since 2011 by Rahm Emanuel. | Chicago |
| In this country, Dr. William Brydon legendarily survived the massacre of Elphinstone’s army by stuffing a newspaper in his hat. The last Durrani ruler of this country was dethroned by the Barakzai Dynasty during a series of wars in this country, the second of which brought Abdur Rahman Khan to power. The third war fought between Britain and this country established the Durand Line, which split the Pashtun people between Pakistan and this country. For the point, name this country whose wars with Britain included bombings of Kabul. | Afghanistan |
| The Native American tribe that names this body of water were destroyed along with the Neutrals and the Tabacco peoples in a 1650s war against the Iroquois. American troops established a base in this body of water on Presque Isle. Put-in-Bay in this body of water was the site of a battle in which the captain of the Lawrence, Oliver Hazard Perry, defeated a British fleet. For the point, name this Great Lake that is connected to Lake Ontario via the Niagara River, the site of a crucial battle in the War of 1812. | Lake Erie |
| A ruler of this dynasty asked the monk Drogon Chogyal Phagpa to create an alphabet to unify the written languages of the empire. Zhang Hongfan put down a resistance against this dynasty at the naval Battle of Yamen, but this dynasty ultimately fell to the Red Turban Rebellion. Strong storms called kamikazes prevented two invasions from this dynasty into Japan. For the point, name this Chinese dynasty that was established in 1271 by Kublai Khan. | Yuan Dynasty (or Mongol Dynasty) |
| Description acceptable. Advocates for this action included Dr. Leona Baumgartner, who helped Elvis Presley take this action on The Ed Sullivan Show in October 1956; within six months, the national rate of this action went from 0.6% to 80% of the country. Over 1.8 million children took this action as part of the Francis Field Trial, then the world’s largest medical experiment. The March of Dimes advocated for this action by funding the work of Albert Sabin and Jonas Salk, who invented two different methods of performing it. The production of iron lungs sharply fell thanks to, for the point, what type of medical care that prevents its recipients from contracting a paralytic disease? | polio vaccination (accept descriptive answers related to getting a vaccine to prevent poliomyelitis; accept any additional information; prompt on partial answers, like “vaccination” or “polio prevention”) |
| This event inspired a tradition of playing Mahler symphonies, as the Resurrection symphony was played on live television for the first time two days after it. When news of this event broke, the New York Philharmonic stopped a performance of Beethoven pieces, and the Boston Symphony Orchestra immediately played the second movement of Beethoven’s Eroica symphony, a funeral march. The soap opera As The World Turns was interrupted by Walter Cronkite breaking the news of, for the point, what November 22, 1963 assassination in Dallas, Texas? | assassination (or murder, shooting, etc.) of John F. Kennedy (accept assassination of JFK; prompt on Kennedy alone; “assassination” is not needed after mentioned) |
| This ruler declared “Gentlemen, let us have no dreams” to the Polish nobility in order to stifle future dissent. This ruler tasked Nikolai Milyutin with the creation of the zemstvo system in his empire, and he forced the Ottoman Empire to sign the Treaty of San Stefano. This relatively liberal ruler was assassinated by the People’s Will twenty years after taking a massive step to improve freedom of labor in his country. For the point, name this Russian tsar who freed the serfs. | Alexander II |
| Some prospectors in this industry were dubbed Wildcatters. Marion King Hubbert popularized the theory that U.S. production within this industry would “peak” by the 1980s. J. Paul Getty and T. Boone Pickens were two industrialists who made their fortune in this industry, which boomed near the Bakken Formation in the Dakotas in the 21st century, partly due to the use of horizontal drilling. For the point, name this industry that produces petroleum. | oil industry (accept petroleum industry before mentioned; do not accept natural gas) |
| Gordon Lightfoot’s song “Black Day in July” is about a riot in this city that caused Martha Reeves to cut short a performance at the Fox Theater. Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing” claims there is a “south” neighborhood of this city; in reality, Windsor, Ontario lies across this American city’s namesake river. The Supremes, the Jackson 5, and Stevie Wonder worked for Motown Records in, for the point, what city whose 8 Mile Road inspired the name of a 2002 film starring Eminem, the largest city in Michigan? | Detroit |
| At the end of this event, Charles Borromeo wrote a namesake catechism. This event, which almost moved to Bologna, generated a list of banned books in 1564. According to legend, a mass by Giovanni da Palestrina convinced the participants in this event not to ban polyphonic music. This meeting, which was convened by Pope Paul III in a northern Italian town, declared the Vulgate to be the official Bible of the church canon. For the point, name this church council that fueled the Counter-Reformation and affirmed Catholic Church doctrine. | Council of Trent |
| A work by this thinker says that “Tyranny, like hell, is not easily conquered; yet, [...] the harder the conflict, the more glorious the triumph;” that work by this author opens by noting that “these are the times that try men’s souls.” This thinker wrote a treatise arguing it was impossible for an island to rule a continent; that work proposes an American alternative to the Magna Carta. For the point, name this revolutionary-era American thinker who wrote The Age of Reason and Common Sense. | Thomas Paine |
| The founder of this empire may have been the same person as a boy named “Sandracottus” encountered by Alexander the Great while on campaign; that ruler of this empire was advised by Kautilya, who authored the Arthashastra. Another ruler of this empire converted to Buddhism after conquering the Kalinga kingdom and issued rock-pillar edicts promulgating his laws from his capital at Pataliputra. It’s not the Gupta Empire, but this empire was founded by Chandragupta. For the point, name this empire ruled by Ashoka. | Mauryan Empire |
| In the aftermath of this event, Bernard de Launay was beaten and killed by a crowd at the Hotel de Ville. Prior to this event, soldiers named invalides [in-vah-LEED] had transferred gunpowder from the Hotel des Invalides to the site of this disturbance. The sacking of Jacques Necker as finance minister was one cause of this event, which occurred on July 14, 1789. For the point, name this event in which a Parisian prison was mobbed by a crowd, helping launch the French Revolution. | storming of the Bastille (accepts synonyms for storming like assault, attack, etc.) |
| In the prelude to this war, forces under Seth Thornton were captured while on patrol. The losing side of this war later agreed to the Gadsden Purchase, allowing a rail connection between Los Angeles and Yuma. During this war, forces under Stephen Kearny captured Santa Fe without a fight. This war was ended with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo, which set part of an international boundary along the Rio Grande. For the point, name this war between the United States and its southern neighbor. | Mexican-American War |
| This monarch’s father habitually wandered the streets of his capital, beating people he saw misbehaving with a cane. This ruler, who composed the philosophical treatise Anti-Machiavel suffered from depression after the execution of his possible lover, Hans Hermann von Katte. A coalition against this ruler was formed in the Diplomatic Revolution. For the point, name this ruler who conquered Silesia from Austria and fought Maria Theresa during the War of the Austrian Succession and Seven Years’ War as King of Prussia. | Frederick the Great (or Frederick II; accept Friedrich in place of Frederick; prompt on Frederick or Friedrich alone) |
| In this country, fetal deaths by abortion and miscarriage are called “water children” and commemorated by a service involving statues of a bodhisattva who will guide them through the afterlife. Francis Xavier led a 16th-century Jesuit mission to spread Christianity to this country. A temple in this country is rebuilt every 20 years, and shrines in this country are built for the veneration of kami and sometimes feature torii gates. For the point, name this home country of Shintoism. | Japan (or Nippon) |
| A leader of this region once reclassified orphans as mentally ill to gain federal subsidies; that leader’s party lost power in this region’s “Quiet Revolution”. The Meech Lake and Charlottetown Accords attempted to resolve this region’s status. Maurice Duplessis [do-pless-ee] once led this region, which conducted independence referenda in 1980 and 1995. For the point, name this French-speaking province of Canada. | Quebec |
| This novel’s final chapter introduces a character known as the “man who lay on his back,” who is encountered in a dilapidated barn during a flood. This novel, whose only film adaptation was directed by John Ford the year after its publication, follows a family who find work as cotton and peach pickers after traveling along Route 66 to California The Joad family appears in, for the point, what Great Depression-era novel by John Steinbeck? | The Grapes of Wrath |
| Eugene Debs was arrested in this state for denouncing the “Junkers of Wall Street” in an antiwar speech. A group of unemployed workers were led by the businessman Jacob Coxey in a march on Washington from this state. Four students at a college in this state were killed during a protest against the invasion of Cambodia in 1970. The Kent State Massacre occurred in, for the point, what US state where environmental activism increased after the Cuyahoga [ky-uh-ho-ga] River caught fire in Cleveland? | Ohio |
| This location was the site of the explosion of the French freighter Le Coubre; in the aftermath of that explosion, Alberto Korda’s photo Guerrillero Heroico was taken. A Navy investigation cleared the presumed culprit of another explosion in this location, which Joseph Pulitzer’s New York World and other yellow journalists blamed on Spain. For the point, name this city, the site of the USS Maine explosion, which led to an American invasion of Cuba. | Havana (accept descriptions of Havana Harbor; prompt on Cuba before mentioned) |
| This modern-day country was devastated by the Great Wrath, and this country was defended by the Mannerheim Line of fortifications. This country lost the region of Karelia in a 1940 peace treaty. This country employed a sniper known as the “White Death” when it was invaded during the Winter War. This modern-day country was transferred from Swedish to Russian control following the Great Northern War. For the point, name this country where a Soviet invasion in 1939 failed to reach its capital of Helsinki. | Finland (accept Suomi) |
| This city adopted free-market policies under Sir John Cowperthwaite. A “walled city” in this city remained ungoverned for centuries. This city is governed by the Basic Law under the “one country, two systems” doctrine. This city’s New Territories lie across a narrow strait from its Lantau Island. This city was ceded to its former colonial overlords by the Treaty of Tianjin. For the point, name this city handed over by Britain to China in 1997. | Hong Kong |
| This man attempted to regulate shipping by creating the Revenue Cutter service, considered the forerunner of the Coast Guard. He advocated for the chartering for a national bank in his Report on Public Credit and fought for a series of infrastructure improvements in his Report on Manufactures. Under the name Publius, this man authored most of the Federalist Papers. For the point, name this first Secretary of the Treasury who was killed in a duel with Aaron Burr. | Alexander Hamilton |
| This man was nicknamed “the Black Pimpernel” by the press for his mastery of disguise before his capture at Lilliesleaf Farm. This man received military training in Algeria as part of his involvement with Umkhonto we Sizwe [oom-KON-tow we SEEZ-way]. This man was assigned the prisoner number 46664 after he gave the “I am prepared to die” speech at the Rivonia Trial, which ended with him being imprisoned on Robben Island. For the point, name this politician and opponent of apartheid, the first black President of South Africa. | Nelson Mandela |
| In this city, the murder of Edmund Godfrey helped give credence to Titus Oates’ invented claims. A king fled after attempting to arrest John Pym and four others in this city. Samuel Pepys’ [PEEPS] diary records this city’s last bubonic plague pandemic, as well as the devastating Great Fire of 1666. Sir Christopher Wren rebuilt St. Paul’s Cathedral in, for the point, what capital city of the United Kingdom? | London |
| This leader wrote Glimpses of World History from memory while imprisoned. This leader, who lost control of the Aksai Chin region during a war with China, claimed his country would “awake to life and freedom” “at the stroke of the midnight hour” in his “Tryst With Destiny” speech. The law minister B. R. Ambedkar was appointed by this leader, the father of another of its prime ministers, Indira Gandhi. For the point, name this first Prime Minister of an independent India. | Jawaharlal Nehru |