| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| Members of this group often wore red rubies in their left ear as well as dragon decorations in their chainmail. They attacked fleeing members of Bardas Phokas’ army after Phokas died of a stroke and were described in The Alexiad as mounted soldiers. Originally chosen from among the Rus, its members wielded the Dane Axe. Often composed of tall Norsemen, for the point, what is this elite unit that defended the Byzantine Emperor? | Varangian Guard (accept Tágma tōn Varángōn; prompt on Byzantine Guards or similar answers) |
| This man's reputation was damaged by the Pulitzer-winning 1974 Robert Caro biography, The Power Broker. Some of this man’s projects include the construction of the New York campuses for the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fair, and this man helped persuade the UN to place its headquarters in Manhattan. For the point, name this public official known as the “Master Builder” of mid-20th century New York City. | Robert Moses |
| This man's work Runaway Horses is set in the wake of the May 15th Incident by the reactionary Ketsumei-dan led by Nisshō Inoue [[IH-noo-eh]]. This writer and his fellow members of the Tatenokai [[tah-TEH-noh-KYE]] committed seppuku on live television after a failed coup attempt to restore the emperor Hirohito to his previous authority. For the point, name this Japanese writer of The Temple of Golden Pavilion and Confessions of a Mask. | Mishima Yukio (or Kimitake Hiraoka; or Hiraoka Kimitake; accept Yukio Mishima) |
| This man likely employed the historian and family friend Suetonius [[sue-TOH-nee- us]] in his administration while serving in a proconsulship in Western Anatolia. As a young man, he chronicled the death of his uncle, who is known by the same name, in the aftermath of the 79 CE eruption of Vesuvius. For the point, name this Roman magistrate known for his Epistulae [[ee-PIS-tyoo-lay]], which include his personal correspondence with Emperor Trajan. | Pliny the Younger (or Gaius Plinius Caecilius Secundus; do not accept or prompt on "Pliny the Elder") |
| A type of encephalopathy named kuru is common among the Fore [["foray"]] tribe of this nation due to their practice of funerary cannibalism. This Asian nation, which uses the creole "Tok Pisin," was once split into German and British dominated spheres. For the point, name this nation once administered by its neighbor across the Torres Strait, Australia. | Papua New Guinea (or Papuaniugini; prompt on "Papua"; do not accept or prompt on "New Guinea" or "Guinea") |
| One member of this ethnic group spent 28 years secretly creating a structure made of oolite found in Dade County. Coral Castle was built by a member of this ethnicity, whose famous members include painter Mark Rothko and the inventor of denim jeans, Jacob Davis. Many immigrants of this ethnicity fled during the interwar tenure of dictator Kārlis Ulmanis [[OOL-mah-nis]]. Often called Letts, for the point, what is this group of Baltic immigrants from cities like Riga? | Latvian-Americans (accept Letts or Lettish before mentioned) |
| This campaign included Operation Rheinübung, which culminated in the sinking of the Bismarck by the HMS King George V and the HMS Prince of Wales. This naval campaign began its “Second Happy Time” after the United States entered the war, leading to Karl Dönitz’s [[DER-nits]] innovation of the “Wolf Pack” U-Boat strategy. For the point, name this six-year naval campaign on the namesake ocean during World War Two. | Battle of the Atlantic (accept Battle of the River Plate before "Rheinübung": prompt on the "The Happy Time" or ""Die Glückliche Zeit" before "Happy Time" is mentioned) |
| The Year of the Five Emperors ended after a 197 CE battle in this city where Clodius Albinus lost to Septimius Severus. The canuts [[kah-NOO]] revolted against King Louis- Philippe over poor treatment at silk workshops in this city, which the Romans called Lugdunum. Because he tortured prisoners at the Gestapo headquarters in this city’s Hotel Terminus, Klaus Barbie was nicknamed its “Butcher.” For the point, name this city on the Rhone, the third-largest in France after Paris and Marseille. | Lyons (accept Lugdunum until mentioned) |
| This man wrote 120 sonatas for the transverse variety of one instrument. This dedicatee of The Musical Offering commemorated one of his military victories during the Second Silesian War in the Hohenfriedberger March. Adolph Menzel portrayed this man's flute concert in Potsdam. For the point, name this Prussian monarch and proponent of the Enlightenment. | Frederick the Great (accept Frederick II; accept Friedrich in place of Frederick; prompt on partial answer) |
| A leader of this country’s Committees for the Defense of the Revolution was often referred to as “Africa’s Che Guevara.” That leader from this country carried out a series of Popular Revolutionary Tribunals against “lazy” officials. Blaise Compaoré [[kahm-pow-REH]] was a longtime president of this country, whose majority ethnic group is the Mossi. Known as the Republic of the Upper Volta, for the point, what is this landlocked country which was led by Thomas Sankara? | Burkina Faso (prompt on "Upper Volta" before mentioned) |
| 80-year old statesman Henry Davis was on one ticket in this election year. Alton B. Parker was defeated in this election year, though he won the entire South despite being a New Yorker like his opponent. This was the first ever election year in which a vice-president- turned-president won, having done so after the assassination three years prior of William McKinley. For the point, name this election year in which Theodore Roosevelt won the presidency. | 1904 United States presidential election |
| It's not scoria, but this good was meant to act as the pupils of the Moai [[MOH-”eye”]] statues. The Aztec macuahuitl [[mah-kwah-HWEH-til]] was a wooden club with blades made of this sharp mineral embedded on its side. This mineral, which takes its name from the Roman explorer who first described it in the Ethiopian highlands, was used by the Polynesian Lapita to make glass knives. For the point, name this volcanic glass made from the rapid cooling of felsic lava. | Obsidian (Accept Obsidius; prompt on "volcanic glass" before mentioned) |
| The “Gettysburg of the West” occurred in this state in the Sangre de Cristo Mountains. The Battle of Glorieta Pass occurred on a trail linking one of this state's major cities to Franklin, Missouri. The Mountain Route of that trail passed near this state's city of Taos. For the point, name this state that was home to the westernmost terminus of the Santa Fe Trail. | New Mexico |
| A ruler of this empire, known as "The Victorious," was briefly usurped by general Bahram Chobin in the midst of a White Huns invasion in the 590s. An invasion of this nation by the Byzantine emperor Heraclius ravaged much of Mesopotamia, including its capital of Ctesiphon [[TEH-sih-fon]], leading to the deposition of this empire's shah, Khosrow II [[KAHS-roh]]. For the point, name this Persian empire of the early Middle Ages which displaced the Parthians in the 3rd Century. | Sasanian Empire (accept Sassanids or Sassanid Empire; accept Empire of Iranians; accept Neo-Persian Empire or Neo-Persians before "Persia" is mentioned; ) |
| During this event, the “Campaign to Save Democracy” campaign occurred. The Nasbandi campaign was undertaken during this historical period, leading to the forced sterilization of millions of peasants. While a member of the paramilitary RSS, Narendra Modi dressed as a Sikh during this period to avoid arrest without trial. For the point, name this suspension of civil liberties in 1970s India ordered by sitting Prime Minister Indira Gandhi. | The Emergency |
| A senator from this state named John P. Hale co-founded the Free Soil Party. This state nearly merged with Quebec after they held a convention with British officials during the Revolutionary War, and it was known to early Americans as the "Reluctant Republic." A force led, in part, by Seth Warner captured this state's Fort Ticonderoga. For the point, name this state whose Green Mountain Boys were commanded by Ethan Allen. | Vermont |
| Francis W. Dickins called this event an accident, and the merchant vessel City of Washington rescued people after this event. The Sampson Board investigated this event, as did Hyman Rickover, though a proposed joint investigation into this event was planned to include Spanish authorities. For the point, name this explosion of a ship in Havana harbor, one cause of the Spanish-American War. | Explosion of the USS Maine (accept "Accident," "Sinking," or similar descriptions in place of "Explosion") |
| This attorney, who had an autobiography written by William Wirt, marched his troops to Williamsburg to stop Governor Dunmore from taking gunpowder. This man refused to attend the Constitutional Convention, stating "I smelt a rat." A phrase from this man might have been inspired by the play Cato: A Tragedy or Artemisia. For the point, name this Founding Father who said "Give me liberty, or give me death!" | Patrick Henry |
| The route of these events is preserved in the Mao Kun Map. In his book 1421, Gavin Menzies controversially claimed that the participants in these events arrived in the Americas decades before Columbus. These events involved the construction and use of the largest ever junk ships. For the point, name these Chinese expeditions commissioned by the Yongle [[YAHNG-LUH]] Emperor, which were led by a Muslim eunuch. | Ming Treasure Voyages (accept Zheng He's Expeditions; accept Zheng He Xia Xiyang; accept descriptive answers indicating Ming Dynasty or Zheng He's travels to attain treasure) |
| Ecuadorian authorities seized several submarines operated by these specific organizations, who intended to smuggle goods into Mexico and the United States. El Mayo, A leader of these organizations headquartered in Sinaloa, took over after the 2014 arrest of "El Chapo." Pablo Escobar headed the Medellin [[med-eh-YEEN]] iteration of, for the point, what type of criminal organization which traffics illicit substances? | Drug Cartels (accept Drug Trafficking Organizations) |
| James Drain claimed that William Whitley killed this man, though Richard Mentor Johnson often gets the credit for doing so at the Battle of the Thames [[TEMZ]]. This man tried to end land cession treaties by rescinding the Treaty of Fort Wayne. The Great Comet of 1811 was seen as an omen of good luck for this man's allies. Founding Prophetstown with Tenskwatawa [[TEN-skweh-TAH-wah]], for the point, what Shawnee leader's forces were defeated at Tippecanoe? | Tecumseh (accept Tamanend before mentioned) |
| This non-Christian deity is in a Johannes Vermeer painting where she is accompanied by her Nymphs. Francesco Solimena exemplified platonic love in a painting where this goddess lusts for her unrequited love, Endymion [[en-DIH-me-un]]. Philip II of Spain commissioned a painting by Titian which depicts this goddess transfiguring Actaeon into a stag and being devoured by his own hounds. For the point, name this Roman Goddess often depicted as a "Huntress" in visual arts. | Diana (do not accept or prompt on "Artemis") |
| This event deposed the leader of the New Jewel Movement. This event, which led to the restoration of parliamentary democracy under Herbert Blaize, caused the deaths of Jacqueline Creft and a Marxist-Leninist who earlier removed Eric Gairy from office, Maurice Bishop. For the point, name this Reagan-era military action in which the U.S. toppled the government of a Caribbean island. | United States Invasion of Grenada (accept Operation Urgent Fury; accept similar words for invasion such as attack) |
| City or year accepted. Christian Laettner [[“LATE”-ner]] was the only collegiate player on a dominant team in this Olympics that beat Croatia by 32 points in its championship game. Fears that the ETA, a Basque separatist organization, would bomb this Olympics proved to be unfounded. Larry Bird and Michael Jordan played on the “Dream Team” in, for the point, what Summer Olympics held in a Catalonian city in Spain? | 1992 Summer Olympics (accept the Barcelona Olympics; accept either underlined portion of Barcelona 92) |
| Originally inhabited by Hohokam people, this city's European founder Jack Swilling died while awaiting trial for robbing a stagecoach in Wickenburg. Barry Goldwater's first political post was on this city's council, and it lies on the northeastern reaches of the Sonoran Desert. For the point, name this city in Maricopa County, the capital and largest city of Arizona. | Phoenix (accept the Navajo Hoozdo) |
| Some of the oldest of these structures are found in Poverty Point, and the Hopewell and Adena people built these structures. St. Louis once had many of these structures before European settlement, and the largest of these structures, now named for monks, is located in Cahokia, Illinois. For the point, identify these structures which name a Pre-Columbian culture of the Mississippi River Basin. | Mounds (accept Earthworks) |
| With Leo II of Armenia, this king warred with Baibars while still holding the title of Duke of Gascony. Andrew Moray died from wounds sustained fighting against this king, who was victorious at the Battle of Falkirk. Eleanor of Castile married this man, who is thought to have solidified Parliament as a permanent entity and oversaw the expulsion of Jews starting in the late 13th century. For the point, identify this King of England nicknamed “Longshanks” and the "Hammer of the Scots." | Edward I of England (accept Edward Longshanks or Edward, Hammer of the Scots; prompt on partial answer) |
| A short squeeze led to a 1,500 percent increase in this company’s share price over a mere two weeks. A financial investment firm named Robinhood outraged small investors when it suddenly restricted the trading of this company’s shares. For the point, what video game retail chain, stock symbol GME, was the focus of the investing world in the winter of 2021? | GameStop Corp. (accept GME before mentioned) |
| Members of this country’s tribes were originally intended to be members of zouave [[ZHWAHV]] regiments. In this country, Houari Boumédiène [[boo-MEH-dee-EN]] came to power after toppling Ahmed Ben Bella, who led its FLN party. Many pied-noirs left this country during its struggle for independence, which was achieved via the Évian Accords. For the point, name this country which, in 1962, gained independence from France. | People's Democratic Republic of Algeria (accept al-Jumhūriyya al-Jazāʾiriyya ad- Dīmuqrāṭiyya aš-Šaʿbiyya; accept République algérienne démocratique et Populaire) |
| This country's non-German Sans-Souci Palace was the main residence of its only king, Henri Christophe. Charles Leclerc deported a rebel in this country, which was the subject of the book The Black Jacobins. 1804 brought an end to a revolution in this country led by Toussaint L’Ouverture. For the point, name this island nation, the only state in history established by a successful slave revolt. | Republic of Haiti (accept République d'Haïti ) |
| This nation's forces captured the USS Pueblo research vessel off the coast of Ryo Island after correctly suspecting that it was being used to spy on this country. A 2019 Summit between the U.S. and this nation hosted in Hanoi ended after a request to destroy the Yongbyon nuclear facility was refused by minister Ri Yong-ho. The term "Little Rocket Man" was used by Donald Trump to refer to, for the point, what East Asian nation's leader, Kim Jong-Un? | North Korea (or Democratic People's Republic of Korea or DPRK; or Choson- minjujuui-inmin-konghwaguk) |
| Members of this group plotted to kill everyone at 10050 Cielo Drive, including Steven Parent and Jay Sebring. This group, which operated at Spahn Ranch, was exposed when Susan Atkins told of their killings to another inmate. Members of this group named Linda Kasabian and Tex Watson were among those who committed the Tate–LaBianca murders. For the point, name this cult which found secret messages in Beatles songs like "Helter Skelter." | The Family (accept The Manson Family; accept the Mansons; accept answers indicating the followers of Charles Manson) |