General World History and Geography Quiz

With a name meaning 'southern capital', which city was the capital of Nationalist China from 1928 to 1937, and from 1946 to 1949?

Said to be the region where the first urban civilization evolved, which part of lower Mesopotamia between Babylon and the Persian gulf included the city states of Uruk, Eridu and Ur?

Which European country's national anthem is 'La Brabanconne', and was written and composed in 1830, the year of the country's independence?

What name means 'West' in Arabic, and is applied to the region of North Africa between the Atlantic ocean and Egypt, comprising the coastal plain and Atlas mountains, together with Algeria and Tunisia?

France, Spain and which other country have a coastline on both the Atlantic and the Mediterranean?

Also called the boreal forest, what term is Russian in origin and is given to the open coniferous forest that lies south of the tundra belt and grows on swampy ground often covered with lichen?

Which European peninsula is dominated by the central tableland known as the Meseta?

The Malay word 'Pulau', which appears in place names such as Pulau Pinang, denotes what geographical features?

The Hare-Hawes-Cutting Act of 1933 paved the way for the independence of which Asian country from the USA?

In broad geographical and cultural terms, what name is given to the region of the North Pacific that includes the Marianas, Carolines, Marshalls, Kiribati and Nauru?

Flowing 600 miles northwards into the Atlantic, the Essequibo is the longest river of which south American country?

Which landlocked country on the Indochinese peninsula is bounded on the north by China, on the north-east and east by Vietnam, on the south by Cambodia, on the west by Thailand, and on the north-west by Myanmar?

Its ethnic groups including the Fang and the Eshira, what country is bordered by Cameroon, Equatorial Guinea and Congo, and became independent from France in August 1960?

Ceded by Sweden to Russia in 1809, which country became an independent republic in 1917, remained neutral during the cold war, and joined the European union in 1995?

Lambic, Saison, Witbier and Trappist are varieties of beer characteristic of which European country?

In Indonesia, what island is situated between Java and Lombok?

The Lancaster house agreement of September 1979 enabled the establishment of which independent nation in southern Africa?

What meaning is signified by the semantemes 'Kyoh' in the names 'Kyoto' and 'Tokyo', and 'Jing' in 'Beijing' and 'Nanjing'?

Which city is this? Originally a Roman military outpost, its current name has the implied meaning of 'a town at the crossroads'; a bishopric from the 4th century, it was annexed by Germany in 1871 and reverted to French rule after the first world war. Prior to January 2009, it had three universities which now merged into one. Together with Basel, Geneva, The Hague, and New York City, it is among the few cities in the world that is not a state capital that hosts international organizations of the first order, such as being the seat of The Central Commission for the Navigation of the Rhine.

Believed to be the result of a meteor impact about fifty thousand years ago, the Barringer crater is located in which state of the U.S.A.?

With more than 110 million inhabitants, what is the most populous island in the world?

Name the five African countries through which the Greenwich meridian passes. (Separate country names with a space, NOT with a space and comma, and list them in alphabetical order)

Which E.U. Member state comprises the historical territories of Bohemia, Moravia and Silesia?

'Of the monks' is a literal translation of the name of which U.S. State capital, situated on a tributary of the Mississippi?

Which major city was the capital of the Cisalpine Republic, created by Napoleon in 1797 by uniting territory on either side of the river Po?

'Little fortress' is the original meaning of what name, that of both a country of northwestern Europe and its capital?

Founded in 1845, the 'Straits Times' is an English-language newspaper published in which Asian country?

Its name meaning 'pure' or 'pellucid', which Chinese dynasty was established by the invading Manchus when they captured Beijing in 1644? It was overthrown in 1911 and replaced by a republic.

Chile and which other country are the only countries in South America that do not share a border with Brazil?

Delivered at a military base in January 1978, Emilio Marcos Palma is the first person known to have been born on which continent?

When OPEC was founded in 1960, which country was the only South American member?

Pilsner, Semtex and dollar are English words that derive ultimately from the names of locations in which present-day European country?

Which Chinese dynasty was established when Heraclius was on the throne of the Byzantine empire? It fell eight years after the death of Alfred the Great.

In which Canadian province or territory is the delta of the Mackenzie River. This river rises in the Great Slave Lake and flows more than 1,500km into the Beaufort Sea.

What city was the location of the Olympics that began at 8:08 local time on the eighth day of the eight month 2008?

During the second world war, only three capitals of belligerent European powers were never occupied. What were those three cities? (Separate each city name with a space, NOT with a space and comma, and list them in alphabetical order)

Which city between Milan and Bologna gives its name both to a delicate dry-cured ham and to a hard, dry cheese?

Meaning 'Mother of Waters' in Tai, what is the name of the river that flows through the Capitals of Laos and Cambodia?

Brazil, Suriname, and what other country shares a land border with France in which the border lies outside of Europe.

Approximately ten times smaller than the Sahara, which desert covers much of Botswana, and parts of Namibia and South Africa?

Which Irish city was named capital of culture in 2005? It shares its name with an impermeable, buoyant material.

Nelson Mandela is elected president of South Africa, the Rwandan genocide starts, and the first African is elected to be secretary general of the United Nations. Which decade do these events happen in?

The emblem on the flag of the Republic of Tajikistan features a sunrise over mountains below what symbol?

What is the name of the longest mountain range in the world in which Mount Pico is a part of?

Which country has over eighty times the population in their largest city than their capital city?

German, French, Italian, and what language consist of the four official languages of Switzerland?

Named after a brown seaweed, which sea is the only sea with no land boundaries?

The British historian of science Joseph Needham wrote about paper-making, printing, the compass and gunpowder as the 'four great inventions' of which ancient civilization?

Canada and Denmark share a land border on what island?

Trafalgar, Austerlitz, Borodino, and Waterloo were all battles fought in which series of conflicts from 1803 to 1815?