| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Lawyer Ben Bruce Blakeney discovered that this person had perjured themselves before a military tribunal by contradicting statements made in a 1934 memoir compiled by Reginald Johnston. This man resided in the Salt Tax Palace while ruling the Japanese puppet state of Manchukuo. Following the death of the Dowager Cixi [[SEE-SHEE]], this person ascended to their highest position at the age of two. For ten points, name this last emperor of China. | Aisin-Gioro "Henry" Puyi (or Yaozhi; or Xuantong; or Kangde) |
| This man’s wife, Polina Zhemchuzhina, was arrested and sent into “internal exile” until 1953. This ambassador to Mongolia rejected the Marshall Plan and instead instituted his own plan, which eventually led to COMECON. Georgy Malenkov and Lavrentiy Beria formed a troika with this man after the death of Joseph Stalin. For ten points, name this Soviet minister who signed a non-aggression pact with Joachim von Ribbentrop. | Vyacheslav Molotov (or Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Molotov; accept Vyacheslav Mikhailovich Skryabin) |
| This man is the source of a myth about a group who claimed descent from the earth god Tuisto. This man’s final book provides the earliest non-Biblical account of the crucifixion of Jesus. This man preserved a version of a speech by Calcagus about how one group “create desolation and call it peace” in the book Agricola. For ten points, name this Roman historian and the author of the Annals and the Germania. | Tacitus (or Publius Cornelius Tacitus) |
| The last Chogyal of this region married Hope Cooke in 1963, though they divorced in 1980. This Himalayan region lost its independence in 1975, though Chinese maps continued to recognize it until 2003. This region, whose Nathu La constitutes one of China and India's few border crossings, is home to the Bhutia- Lepcha and Nepali ethnic groups, much like neighboring Bhutan. For ten points, name this Himalayan state of India located north of West Bengal and east of Nepal, whose capital is Gangtok. | Sikkim |
| After advocating for his students and their right to protest, this composer was dismissed from the St. Petersburg Conservatory. The police banned this composer’s works after a student performance of his opera Kashchey the Deathless was followed by a political demonstration. Another one of this composer’s operas, The Golden Cockerel, had its premiere postponed for perceived anti-monarchist themes. For ten points, name this Russian composer, whose opera The Tale of Tsar Sultan contains the “Flight of the Bumblebee” passage. | Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov (or Nikolai Andreyevich Rimsky-Korsakov) |
| This company acquired the assets of White Wolf Publishing in 2015, and in 2019, this company purchased the intellectual property rights to the Prison Architect series. A 2022 expansion pack for one of this company's products includes new focus trees for Italy and Ethiopia and is called By Blood Alone. Known for its historical grand strategy games, including the Victoria, Europa Universalis, and Hearts of Iron series, for ten points, what is this Swedish video game publisher? | Paradox Interactive AB |
| A fellow at this institution wrote a textbook-like tome on medicine titled The Anatomy of Melancholy. A man known as Doctor Profundus worked at this institution before being appointed to a religious position. Thomas Bradwardine was among a group of thinkers who worked at this institution in the 1300s, known as "The Merton School." A group that applied logic to mathematical questions came to be known as the "Calculators" of this institution of higher education. For ten points, name this English university. | University of Oxford (or Oxford University; accept The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford; accept Brasenose College before "Profundus" is mentioned) |
| After being expelled from an assembly for his "ugly" appearance, this man broke his sacred thread and cursed the king before running away disguised as a Ājīvika sage. This man was supposedly able to turn one gold coin into eight, which he used to finance a search for a replacement to King Dhana Nanda. One work by this man was said to make Machiavelli’s The Prince “look harmless” according to Max Weber. For ten points, name this author of the Arthashastra. | Chanakya (or Kautilya; or Vishnugupta) |
| After retiring from one position, this man bought the San Diego Padres and prevented their relocation to Washington D.C. While working for Prince Castle as a Multi-Mixer salesman, this man was impressed by the Speedee System and a streamlined menu developed by two brothers. Portrayed by Michael Keaton in the 2016 biopic The Founder, for ten points, who was this entrepreneur who turned the McDonald's hamburger stand into the world's largest fast-food chain? | Ray Kroc (or Raymond Albert Kroc) |
| Every five years in this country, the Spartakiad mass gymnastics events were held in its capital at the Strahov Stadium. This country built large, prefabricated housing complexes called Panelák and developed the Kofola soft drink. Gustáv Husák led this country through its "Normalization" period after a Warsaw Pact invasion. For ten points, name this country where Charter 77 dissident Václav Havel led the Velvet Revolution in 1989. | Czechoslovakia (or Československo; do not accept or prompt on "Czechia"; do not accept or prompt on "Czech Republic" or "Slovakia") |
| Adolf Hitler was so confident in the success of his forces in this battle that he printed invitations to victory celebrations at the Hotel Astoria on Saint Isaac's Square. During this battle, the "Road of Life" provided a link to the defensive side via an ice road across Lake Ladoga, and Operation Iskra contributed to the end of this battle. Finnish forces provided support to the Nazis during, for ten points, what siege of the USSR's chief Baltic port? | Siege of Leningrad |
| The USSR was expelled from the League of Nations over its invasion of Finland during this war, which included extensive use of ski warfare. | Winter War |
| Under this government, Charles Beslay was appointed to manage a massive gold reserve. Feminist leaders of this government created La Marmite, a restaurant that served free food to the poor. This government tore down an Antoine-Denis Chaudet statue depicting Napoleon, destroying the Vendome Column. This government was ended by the Semaine sanglante, or Bloody Week, and was overthrown by the French Army. For ten points, name this short-lived revolutionary socialist government, created by the Communards. | Paris Commune (or Commune de Paris) |
| According to Marx and Engels, the Paris Commune was the first example of this concept in which workers exercised direct power between the collapse of a capitalist economy and the rise of a communist one. | Dictatorship of the Proletariat |
| This man was elected to the Országgyűlés [[OR-sah-gyoo-LESH]] in 1990, and his tenure as prime minister has included a flat tax on personal income, opposition to immigration, and anti-LGBTQ policies. A member of the KISZ as a youth, this founding member of the Fidesz [[FEE-dess]]–KDNP Party Alliance entered politics after the Revolutions of 1989. Moving his party from the center to the far right and creating what he calls an "illiberal democracy," for ten points, who is this man who assumed the office of prime minister of Hungary in 2010? | Viktor Orbán (or Viktor Mihály Orbán) |
| The Orbán government began a campaign of attacking this Hungarian-American businessman and Holocaust survivor, claiming that he consistently "undermines Israel's democratically elected governments." | George Soros (or György Schwartz) |
| Juan José Flores served as the first president of this country where Gabriel García Moreno was assassinated by Faustino Royo. Guillermo Rodríguez Lara developed this country's oil reserves during his dictatorship after the ouster of José María Velasco Ibarra. This country, whose hopes of Amazonian presence were dashed by Peru's victory in a 1941 war, fought the Paquisha and Cenepa Wars. For ten points, name this country that elected President Guillermo Lasso in 2021. | Republic of Ecuador (or República del Ecuador) |
| Ecuador's president during the Paquisha War was Jaime Roldos, who was killed in an accident involving this type of vehicle. Former Alaskan congressman Nick Begich disappeared in this type of vehicle in 1972. | Airplane |
| This event that showcased horse races prior to 1913 is observed annually in an area called Theresa's Meadow. This event was started to celebrate the marriage of Crown Prince Ludwig to Therese, a princess of Saxe-Hildburghausen. Due to the Reinheitsgebot [[rine-HITES-geh-boht]], only six companies, including Spaten, Paulaner, and Hofbräu, are legally allowed at this event to provide one type of a beverage. For ten points, name this celebration held every September in Munich. | Oktoberfest (or d’Wiesn [[duh-VEE-sen]]; prompt on less-specific answers; prompt on "Volksfest") |
| The largest Oktoberfest in the world outside of Germany takes place in this city in Ontario. This city was known as Berlin until 1916 when it was renamed for a British field marshal in the Second Boer War. | Kitchener (or Kitchener-Waterloo; accept Horatio Herbert Kitchener; accept First Earl Kitchener) |
| This city hosted a 2017 summit where the largest arms deal in history was signed. That event in this city took place at the King Abdulaziz International Conference Center and was the site of a viral photo showing Donald Trump putting his hands on an illuminated globe. In 2003, compounds in this city were targeted by Al-Qaeda in retaliation for the stationing of American troops in the Gulf War. For ten points, name this most-populous city on the Arabian Peninsula, the seat of the House of Saud. | Riyadh |
| The hotel that hosted the 2017 Riyadh Summit was also used as a holding center for officials targeted during an anti-corruption purge led by this man, who has been blamed for the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi. | Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud (or MBS) |
| In the August Faction Incident, this country's first leader resisted Soviet attempts to replace him. This country signed a July 4th Joint Statement in 1972, but later conducted the Blue House raid and Rangoon bombing in efforts to kill presidents of the other signatory. This country, whose soldiers committed the Axe Murder Incident, lost its relative prosperity after a 1990s "Arduous March." For ten points, name this country that suffered a famine under the rule of Kim Jong-il. | North Korea (or Democratic People's Republic of Korea; or DPRK; or Choson-minjujuui- inmin-konghwaguk) |
| North Korea distanced itself from Soviet and Chinese influence by joining this international organization, which was formed after the Bandung Conference of 1955 and formerly included Yugoslavia. | Non-Aligned Movement (or NAM) |
| When describing this city, English poet Rudyard Kipling remarked, “I urgently desire to never see it again. It is inhabited by savages.” Barack Obama characterized this city as “the most American of American cities,” and Daniel Hale Williams performed the first open heart surgery in the United States in this city where the Aqua, the world’s largest structure designed by a woman, was created by Jeanne Gang. The site of Mayor Richard Daley’s political machine, for ten points, what is this U.S. city? | Chicago |
| This incident in which seven gang members were murdered in broad daylight on February 14, 1929 damaged Chicago’s reputation and brought federal attention to Chicago’s mafia operations. | Saint Valentine Day’s Massacre (prompt on partial answers) |
| European country off whose coast the Battle of Cherbourg was fought. | France (accept Second French Empire) |
| Bay near a coastal Alabama city where David Farragut said, "Damn the torpedoes!" | Mobile Bay (accept Battle of Mobile Bay) |
| South American country in which the CSS Florida was captured in the Bahia Incident. | Empire of Brazil |
| First ship to fire on another in the war, a name which has a modern sports connection to the Bronx. | USS Yankee (do not accept or prompt on "New York Yankees") |
| Battle in which the ironclads Monitor and Virginia fought in the namesake coastal Virginia region. | Battle of Hampton Roads |
| River and gulf naming a U.S. frigate that sunk the privateer schooner Petrel. | St. Lawrence (accept USS St. Lawrence; accept Gulf of St. Lawrence; accept St. Lawrence River) |
| State where the Battle of Albemarle Sound took place during an attempt to retake New Bern. | North Carolina (do not accept or prompt on "Carolina") |
| 1865 Virginia campaign during which a Confederate flotilla failed to break the blockade of the James River. | Richmond-Petersburg Campaign (accept Siege of Petersburg) |
| Supranational organization that the UK left as part of Brexit. | European Union (or EU) |
| Prime minister who campaigned for and oversaw Brexit in January 2020. | Boris Johnson (or Alexander Boris de Pfeffel Johnson) |
| Smallest country to gain a seat in the European Parliament due to Brexit, led from Tallinn. | Republic of Estonia (or Eesti Vabariik) |
| Conservative PM who resigned in 2016, following the results of the Brexit referendum. | David Cameron (or David William Donald Cameron) |
| Conservative PM who oversaw Britain's entry into the EEC in 1973. | Edward "Ted" Heath (Sir Edward Richard George Heath) |
| Party that has campaigned against COVID-19 lockdowns, a rebranding of the Brexit Party. | Reform UK |
| Broadcaster who founded the Brexit Party with Catherine Blaiklock after previously leading the UK Independence Party. | Nigel Farage (or Nigel Paul Farage) |
| Treaty signed in 2007 by which the withdrawal process was introduced. | Treaty of Lisbon |
| Continent on which it is found, which was also the site of Ancient Carthage. | Africa |
| Dictator deposed in the country’s 2011 Civil War. | Muammar al-Gaddafi (accept Colonel Gaddafi; accept pronunciation with a hard “K” sound) |
| City in which a disco was bombed by Libyan terrorists in the Friedenau district in 1986. | West Berlin |
| Eastern city where U.S. ambassador J. Christopher Stevens was killed in 2012. | Benghazi |
| Color of the 1975 book that prompted the Third International Theory as well as the Libyan flag until 2011. | Green (accept The Green Book) |
| Title given to governors of Tripolitania under the Ottoman Empire. | Pasha of Tripoli (tania) |
| First and only ruler of the United Kingdom of Libya. | Idris the First (or Idris of Libya) |
| Ottoman leader of anti-Fascist resistance in Cyrenaica who was known as the "Lion of the Desert." | Omar al-Mukhtar al-Manifī (accept Matari of the Mnifa) |
| During this king's reign, an invasion of Guadeloupe and the Battle of Lagos occurred in his Annus Mirabilis. This man's daughter, Anne, married William the Fourth of Orange. Supporters of James Francis Edward Stuart, who was referred to as "The Old Pretender," (+) attempted to depose this man in the final Jacobite Uprising. At the Battle of Dettingen, this man personally led troops in battle, and this man was succeeded by a son who allegedly refused to read the Olive (*) Branch Petition. For ten points, name this Hanoverian king whose successor endured the American Revolution. | George the Second (prompt on "George") |
| Maurice Delafosse speculated that this empire was founded by Judeo-Syrians who were descendants of the Fulani people. This empire's leader, Bassi, refused to convert to Islam, culminating in an invasion by the Almoravids and its forced conversion by Abu Bakr ibn Umar. (+) This empire that had its capital at Koumbi Saleh swore fealty to the Keita Dynasty after their victory at Kirina. Giving its name to a present-day African nation formerly called the British (*) Gold Coast, for ten points, what is this medieval West African empire? | Ghana Empire (or Ghanata; or Wagadou; or Awkar) |
| People in this religious group were the main participants in Operation Passage to Freedom, which was promoted with the slogan “God has gone south.” Henry Cabot Lodge, Jr. tried to ameliorate a campaign by loyalists of this religious group that destroyed competing places of worship. (+) Attempts to privilege this religious group by Ngo Dinh Diem led to the self-immolation of Thích Quảng Đức [[TUK-kwahng-DUK]], who believed this religious group was persecuting Buddhists. South Vietnam practitioners are led by the (*) archbishop of Huế [[HWEH]] under, for ten points, what Christian denomination? | Roman Catholics (or Roman Catholic Church; or Catholicism; or Giáo hội Công giáo; prompt on “Christians” or “Christianity”) |
| This place was supposedly described on a pillar in the temple of Neith at Sais, according to a passage about Crantor preserved by Proclus. Madame Blavatsky claimed that her theosophist teachings in The Secret Doctrine originated in this place. In a book subtitled (+) “The Antediluvian World,” Ignatius L. Donnelly argued that Peru and Egypt both retained the original religion of this place, whose soldiers were defeated by Athenians in a political allegory found in (*) Plato’s Timaeus. For ten points, name this sunken city of Greek lore. | Atlantis |
| One political cartoon depicts Abraham Lincoln and his rivals playing this sport, chastising John Bell for his timidness and Stephen A. Douglas for splitting the Democratic Party. Biogenesis faced federal indictment by the DEA after it was implicated in a scandal in this sport by providing performance (+) enhancing drugs. Former federal judge Kennesaw Mountain Landis was appointed commissioner (*) of this sport following a betting scandal concerning a Chicago team. For ten points, name this sport that is known as "America's Pastime." | Baseball |
| The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue was initiated by this man, whose grandfather resigned after the Anpo Protests. This leader of the Liberal Democratic Party resigned in 2007 (+) after the suicide of his agricultural minister before returning to power in 2012. This man was seen with the "make alliance even greater" slogan, referencing his close ties to Donald Trump, with whom he dumped fish food into a (*) koi pond. For ten points, name this conservative Japanese Prime Minister who was assassinated in 2022. | Shinzo Abe |
| This present-day country contains most of the land that made up a German colony granted to the Welser banking family by Charles the Fifth. That colony in what is now this country had its capital at Neu Augsburg, which later became the city of Coro. This country's city of (+) Cumaná was settled in 1510, making it the oldest continuously inhabited European-founded city on its continent. Named after explorer Amerigo Vespucci saw indigenous stilt houses on (*) Lake Maracaibo that reminded him of Venice, for ten points, what is this South American country? | Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (or República Bolivariana de Venezuela) |
| Canadian soldiers known as the Mac-Paps participated in this conflict in which divisions within one side resulted in the May Days and factional in-fighting that left hundreds dead. During this conflict, Moroccan Regulares fought alongside the Army of Africa (+) against such groups as the POUM. George Orwell wrote Homage to Catalonia (*) about his participation in, for ten points, what European war in which Nazi and Fascist support helped bring General Francisco Franco to power? | Spanish Civil War |
| In the 1880s, the Crofter's Party stood for election to this body, which adopted universal suffrage after the 1918 Representation of the People Act. This body took its first steps towards democratization despite the opposition of Arthur Wellesley. (+) Prior to the rise of Chartism, this body passed an 1832 reform abolishing rotten boroughs while maintaining university constituencies in the chamber. (*) For ten points, name this body, the lower house of the British parliament. | House of Commons (prompt on “British/English Parliament” or equivalent terms) |
| Napoleon was defeated by a coalition led by the Duke of Wellington in this 1815 battle, marking the end of the Napoleonic Wars. | Battle of Waterloo (accept Battle of Mont Saint-Jean; accept La Belle Alliance) |