XIII. Smart Assessments: Practice Questions

Multiple Choice Practice (15 questions)

1. Which of the following was a major economic motive for the New Imperialism?

• (A) European need for slave labor

• (B) European demand for raw materials and new markets

• (C) European desire to import African manufactured goods

• (D) European need to spread feudal economic systems

2. "Take up the White Man's burden, send forth the best ye breed, to bind your sons to exile, to serve your captives' need."

This poem most directly justified imperialism by appealing to:

• (A) Economic self-interest

• (B) A duty to civilize non-European peoples

• (C) Defensive military necessity

• (D) Religious toleration

3. The Berlin Conference of 1884-1885 is most significant because it:

• (A) Granted independence to African colonies

• (B) Established rules for the European partition of Africa

• (C) Abolished slavery worldwide

• (D) Created the United Nations

4. The Sepoy Rebellion of 1857 resulted in:

• (A) Indian independence from Britain

• (B) Transfer of control over India from the East India Company to direct British rule

• (C) Restoration of the Mughal Empire

• (D) French acquisition of India

5. Which of the following best describes the unequal treaties imposed on China after the Opium Wars?

• (A) They restored Chinese sovereignty

• (B) They opened China to Western trade and granted foreigners extraterritorial rights

• (C) They prohibited foreign trade with China

• (D) They established democratic government in China

6. The most important reason Japan modernized successfully while China did not was that:

• (A) Japan had a larger population than China

• (B) Japanese leadership in the Meiji Restoration chose to adopt Western technology and institutions deliberately

• (C) China lacked any contact with Western nations

• (D) Japan was conquered by the United States

7. The Battle of Adwa in 1896 is significant because it:

• (A) Ended Italian colonial expansion permanently

• (B) Demonstrated that an African nation could successfully resist European imperialism

• (C) Was won by a European army over an African army

• (D) Resulted in Ethiopian independence from Britain

8. Which of the following best describes Social Darwinism?

• (A) A scientific theory of biological evolution

• (B) The application of natural selection ideas to argue that stronger nations and races had the right to dominate weaker ones

• (C) A theory of economic class struggle

• (D) A religious doctrine of human equality

9. King Leopold II of Belgium is best known for:

• (A) Founding the Berlin Conference

• (B) The brutal exploitation of the Congo Free State as his personal possession

• (C) Granting independence to all Belgian colonies

• (D) Defeating Napoleon at Waterloo

10. The Boxer Rebellion (1899-1901) was primarily directed against:

• (A) The Qing dynasty

• (B) Foreign influence, foreign missionaries, and Chinese Christians

• (C) The Indian National Congress

• (D) The Japanese empire

11. The Roosevelt Corollary to the Monroe Doctrine asserted that:

• (A) The United States would not interfere in Latin America

• (B) The United States had the right to intervene in Latin American countries to maintain order

• (C) European powers were free to colonize the Americas

• (D) Latin America was part of the British Empire

12. Which of the following best describes the effect of British rule on the Indian textile industry?

• (A) It became the largest in the world

• (B) It was destroyed by competition with British factory-made cloth
• (C) It received massive British investment
• (D) It was nationalized by the British government

13. The Russo-Japanese War of 1904-1905 is most significant in global history because it:

• (A) Resulted in Russian annexation of Japan
• (B) Was the first time a non-Western nation defeated a major European power in modern times
• (C) Ended European imperialism in Asia
• (D) Began World War I

14. Which of the following statements about the Spanish-American War of 1898 is accurate?

• (A) The United States returned the Philippines to Spain
• (B) The United States acquired control of the Philippines, Puerto Rico, and Guam
• (C) Spain conquered Cuba
• (D) The war ended American imperialism

15. Which of the following best describes the long-term effects of arbitrary colonial borders in Africa?

• (A) They created stable, ethnically uniform nations
• (B) They split single ethnic groups across multiple states while forcing hostile groups into the same states, contributing to lasting conflict
• (C) They were redrawn in 1960 to match ethnic boundaries
• (D) They had no significant impact on post-colonial Africa