| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Beginning in 1948 with the assassination of Jorge Gaitán, this country’s Conservative and Liberal parties engaged in a ten-year civil war known as La Violencia. Along with a modern-day isthmus country, this nation was the heart of the Spanish Kingdom of New Granada. The center of a “Gran” country that included Venezuela, for the point, what is this South American nation governed from Bogotá? | Colombia (accept Gran Colombia) |
| After passing the Papist Acts to lower anti-Catholic discrimination, this man was forced to use the army to suppress the Gordon Riots. After a protest in Boston, this man pushed for punitive measures in the so-called Intolerable Acts. This man resigned his office following Cornwallis’ surrender at Yorktown to George Washington. For the point, name this Prime Minister of Britain during most of the American Revolution. | Frederick North (or Lord North) |
| This leader fought his country's northern neighbor over the Agacher Strip in the Christmas War, and he sponsored a reforestation campaign that planted ten million trees to combat desertification. This leader, who was assassinated on the orders of his ally, Blaise Compaoré, changed his country's name from the Republic of Upper Volta. For the point, name this "Che Guevara of Africa," a Marxist Revolutionary who led Burkina Faso from 1983 to 1987. | Thomas Sankara (or Thomas Isidore Noël Sankara) |
| This ruler’s diplomat, Nikolai Girs, forged the Franco-Russian Alliance, which eventually led to the formation of the Triple Entente. The kidney failure, which killed this ruler, may have been triggered by blunt trauma suffered during a train crash. This ruler reversed many of the reforms of his father, who, in 1861, emancipated his country's serfs. For the point, name this Russian Tsar who reigned from 1881 to 1894, the father of Nicholas the Second. | Alexander the Third (or Aleksandr III Aleksandrovich; prompt on "Alexander") |
| The Song said incompetent loss of this principle justified war with Jin in 1206. This principle was first mentioned in the Shangshu when King Cheng’s divinations proved possession of it, driving a successful attack to the east. This principle was taken by Shangdi when cannibalism, incest, and meat-covered trees in a lake of wine brought defeat of the Zhou [[JOH]] at Muye [[MOO-yeh]]. For the point, name this divine right to rule China. | Mandate of Heaven (or Tianming; accept Heaven’s Command) |
| This leader was executed after being betrayed by Ignacio Elizondo at the Wells of Baján. This leader led an army of peasant farmers against the Spanish before being captured after the Battle of Calderón Bridge. This leader gave a call to arms that launched a war of independence called the "Cry of Dolores." For the point, name this Catholic priest and early leader of the Mexican Independence movement. | Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla (or Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseño; accept Father Hidalgo) |
| After a fatal 1878 explosion, William de la Barre came up with a new design for this company, which established its headquarters in the suburb of Golden Valley. "Fruit and Nut" is among the best-known flavors of the Nature Valley brand of this company, which came to prominence making flour. For the point, name this Minnesota-based multinational corporation that owns a number of consumer food brands. | General Mills, Inc. |
| This man used specially designed arrows to decapitate ostriches as part of his Hercules persona during the Plebian Games. After discovering that this man intended to execute her, Marcia arranged for the wrestler Narcissus to strangle him in his bath. For the point, name this gladiator enthusiast and Roman Emperor, the son and successor of Marcus Aurelius. | Commodus (or Lucius Aelius Aurelius Commodus) |
| According to legend, one priest of these people promised that they would not disrupt local customs using sugar and milk. This group only performs the Navjote ceremony on children as part of a tradition of not accepting adult converts. Unlike the Iranis, who practice the same religion, this group fled from Iran in pre-modern times. For the point, name this community of Zoroastrians living in India. | Parsis (accept Zartoshi; or Vehdin; prompt on “Zoroastrians” or “Persians”; do not prompt on “Iranian”) |
| After losing her only son in the Mayerling Incident, this woman commissioned the construction of the Achilleion Palace on Corfu. This woman was assassinated in a stabbing in Geneva by the Italian anarchist Luigi Lucheni. One apocryphal story about this woman states that she created a shredded pancake for her husband called Kaiserschmarnn or "Emperor's mess." For the point, name this wife of Austro-Hungarian Emperor Franz Josef, nicknamed "Sisi." | Empress Elisabeth of Austria (or Duchess Elisabeth Amalie Eugenie in Bavaria; or Elisabeth of Bavaria; accept Sisi before mentioned) |
| This country suffered a namesake Emergency from 1948 to 1960 before it combined a namesake “Union” with the region of Sarawak. By unanimous vote, this country kicked Singapore out of its union in 1965, primarily due to fears that Singapore would economically dominate instead of this country’s capital. For the point, name this Southeast Asian nation governed from Kuala Lumpur. | Malaysia (prompt on “Malaya”) |
| This man executed Hatano Hideharu, resulting in the revenge execution of the mother of one of his generals. This man and his heir committed suicide in the Honnō-ji Incident, during which the treacherous general Akechi Mitsuhide [[meet-soo-HEE-deh]] carried out a coup. The Sengoku period ended when Kyoto was captured by, for the point, what first unifier of Japan? | Oda Nobunaga (prompt on “Nobunaga”) |
| This city’s name translates to “the prickly pears among rocks” and included a ball court with a rack of skulls. This city contained the Templo Mayor, which was partially dedicated to the rain god Tlaloc. With Tetzcoco and Tlacopan, this city was the capital of a “Triple Alliance.” Governed by Moctezuma the Second, for the point, what is this capital of the Aztec Empire on the site of present-day Mexico City? | Tenochtitlan |
| This man published novels such as Vivian Grey and Sybil, or The Two Nations. Along with Lord George Bentinck, this Conservative politician was a staunch opponent over Sir Robert Peel’s plan to repeal the Corn Laws. This rival of William Gladstone was instrumental to the rise of "Tory democracy." For the point, name this only British prime minister to have been of Jewish descent. | Benjamin Disraeli |
| The homeland of these people was referred to as "Gardariki" in Icelandic sagas. The nationalistic Anti- Normanist view holds that these people were not the descendants of Norsemen but instead predated the kingship of Rurik. These people’s history is recorded in the Primary Chronicle. For the point, name this early Medieval Slavic ethnic group that formed a large state ruled from Kyiv. | Rus’ (accept Kievan Rus; accept Varangians; prompt on “Slavs” or “Eastern Slavs”; on answers of “Ukrainians” or “Belarusans” or “Russians” ask, “Who were preceded by what ethnic group?”) |
| Plutarch reports that this author was murdered in Skapte Hylé in Thrace, although later scholars assumed he died in 411 BCE when his History ends abruptly. In that History, this author provides a firsthand account of the Athenian Plague of 430 BCE, which he himself survived. For the point, name this author, whose History of the Peloponnesian War earned him the title of the “father of scientific history.” | Thucydides |
| This agreement set up the Patten commission to oversee police reform. This agreement consists of a treaty between two countries, as well as a second agreement between eight different political parties. This agreement, which established a parliament at Stormont, was signed by Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair. For the point, name this 1998 agreement which put an end to the violence of the Troubles in Northern Ireland. | Good Friday Agreement (accept Belfast Agreement) |
| One leader of this country renamed months and days of the week to be references to his autobiography, the Ruhnama or Book of the Soul. Another leader of this country adopted the Akhal-Teke, or Golden Horse, as a national symbol. For the point, name this Central Asian country home to cults of personality surrounding Saparmurat Niyazov and Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedow [[gur-bahn-GOO-lee behr- moo-HAH-meh-doff]]. | Turkmenistan |
| Naked monks in one sect of this religion are only allowed to own a whisk, a broom, and a book. This religion venerates a set of 24 "ford makers," or Tirthankaras [[teer-THAN-kar-uhs]], the most recent one of whom was Mahavira. Practitioners of this religion may sweep the ground in front of their feet to avoid stepping on insects. For the point, name this Indian religion whose practitioners observe ahimsa, or nonviolence. | Jainism (accept Jain Dharma) |
| This man’s wife discovered a warning about an impending invasion by removing the wax cover of blank wooden tablets. When told to surrender his weapons, this husband of Gorgo legendarily replied, “come and take them.” This man led a diversionary force to allow the Greek troops to escape before being killed by Xerxes the First's army. For the point, name this Spartan king that led “the 300” at the Battle of Thermopylae. | Leonidas the First |
| This man lost his daughter and first wife in a 1975 plane crash while they were en route to Phaphlu, where this man was building a hospital. This explorer would later serve as his country’s High Commissioner to India and its ambassador to Nepal. For the point, name this mountaineer from New Zealand, who, along with Tenzing Norgay, completed the first successful climb of Mount Everest. | Edmund Hillary (or Sir Edmund Percival Hillary) |
| A 1986 summit between Mikhail Gorbachev and Ronald Reagan in this country contributed to the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty. The Althing is a long-standing legislative body in this country, known for its geothermal power and high per capita electricity production. Jón Sigurðsson led the independence movement of, for the point, what northern European island nation? | Iceland (or Ísland) |
| Pierre Malherbe was a French traveler who journeyed to the court of this man, who sent at least six documents to Suleiman the Magnificent. This man’s father was once accepted by Shah Tahmasp during exile after being defeated by a leader of the Sur dynasty. Todor Mal and Birbal were among the advisors to this man, who preached the Din-I-Ilahi faith. For the point, name this religiously tolerant leader of Mughal India. | Akbar the Great (or Abu'l-Fath Jalal-ud-din Muhammad Akbar; or Akbar the First) |
| One character in this work, employed by Tellson's Bank, removes cadavers from their graves for resale to medical institutions. Ernest Defarge is a leading participant in the storming of the Bastille during this work, in which Charles Darnay is subject to the guillotine. Set during the Reign of Terror, this is, for the point, what Charles Dickens novel named for its setting in Paris and London? | A Tale of Two Cities |
| At least six people in this city were killed during a May 2023 incident at its Loafers Lodge. The suburb of Newtown in this city was the site of the aforementioned hostel fire. A body of water named for James Cook separates this city from South Island. A title held by Arthur Wellesley inspired the name of, for the point, what city which, among the UN member states, is the southernmost capital? | Wellington (accept Te Whanganui-a-Tara; accept Duke of Wellington) |
| An ongoing dispute between this country's monarch and prime minister about entering World War One was known as the “National Schism.” Another monarch of this country died at the age of 27 from a monkey bite. This country's monarchy was deposed by the 4th of August Regime. For the point, name this country that was led by Ioannis Metaxas during the opening phases of an Italian invasion in World War Two. | Greece (or Kingdom of Greece) |
| Timothy Wolfe resigned as president of this state’s flagship university following 2015 civil rights protests. Eyewitness accounts of a police shooting in this state originated the chant “hands up don’t shoot.” Darren Wilson was controversially not indicted after fatally shooting Michael Brown in this state’s suburban town of Ferguson. For the point, identify this state which names a Compromise banning slavery in the eastern part of the Louisiana Purchase. | Missouri (accept Missouri Compromise) |
| The city of Themiscyra in modern-day Pontus was the capital of this mythical group. These people are credited with the invention of the Sagaris, a type of battle-axe which was actually used by the Scythians. Portuguese explorer Francisco de Orellana named a river after this group, due to the egalitarian fighting style of the Tapuyas tribe. The first queen of these people, Otrera, was a daughter of Ares. For the point, name this mythical race of female warriors. | Amazons |
| This event was advertised as "an Aquarian Exposition" during which "3 Days of Peace" would ensue. Taking place in the town of Bethel on a farm, this event's participants included Arlo Guthrie and Ravi Shankar. A 50-minute rendition of "Turn On Your Love Light" ended a Grateful Dead set at, for the point, what August 1969 music festival in New York, which came to be associated with hippie counterculture? | Woodstock Music and Art Fair (accept Woodstock Rock Festival) |
| This man died of appendicitis after being repeatedly punched in the stomach by an amateur boxer. Sir Arthur Conan Doyle stopped being this man’s friend due to his public debunking of mediums. This man introduced the Chinese Water Torture Cell routine and gained fame for breaking out of a straitjacket while suspended by the ankles. For the point, name this Hungarian American magician and escape artist. | Harry Houdini (or Erik Weisz) |
| One of these animals, known as Porphyrios, was possibly named for his dark-wine colored skin, and terrorized the Bosphorus Strait for nearly half a century. Another of these animals encountered near Chile's Mocha Island yielded over 100 gallons of oil once he was killed. The scientific name for these animals, Cetacea, derives from a similarly named sea monster. For the point, name these animals which inspired the Herman Melville book Moby Dick. | Whales (accept Cetacea until mentioned) |