Weekly History Quiz No.259

Built in 1961 to stop an exodus of East Germans to the West and falling in 1989, at least 140 people were killed trying to cross this barrier. The period leading up to its fall in 1989 saw increasing instability in the Eastern Bloc countries. Concerts played by David Bowie, Bruce Springsteen and the E-Street Band in West and East Berlin contributed to this atmosphere, leading to further demonstrations, protests and riots in East Berlin.

Centred in Cusco, the Inca Empire extended from modern-day Chile to modern-day Colombia. Inca society was sophisticated, and boasted around seventy different crops across the empire’s various climates.

The Inca utilised a complex recording system to keep track of the administration of the empire. Quipus (also spelled khipus) were colorful bunches of knotted strings that recorded census data, taxes, calendrical information, military organization, and accounting information. These “talking knots” could contain anything from a few threads to around 2,000, and used the base number of 10 to record information in complex variations of knots and spaces.

Published in 1963, the semi-autobiographical novel The Bell Jar cemented Plath's position as a feminist icon. All her other works consisted of collections of poetry. She died by suicide the same year.

George Orwell was working as a journalist during the Second World War and wrote in the defence of the RAF area bombing campaigns, arguing that they were necessary and justified.

Queen Elizabeth I supported and approved the earliest English expeditions led by Naval Commander John Hawkins to capture and trade enslaved Africans for labour in the Americas.

Motivated by Queensland seizing the Southern portion of the island of Papua in 1883, Germany claimed the north of the island and the nearby New Britain archipelago, naming them Kaiser-Wilhelmsland and Bismarck Archipelago respectively.

Homo sapiens (Modern humans) evolved in Africa around 200,000 years ago, before migrating around the world. They first came to Europe and Asia, then Australia, and then many tens of thousands of years later North, then South America.

Roosevelt assumed office as US President on 4th March 1933 and would be re-elected three times, remaining in office until his death on 12th April 1945.

From 1909 Australian men and boys were able to be conscripted, but only for service within Australia and its territories. During WWI there were two referendums to allow for conscription for service overseas, but both were defeated. This remained the status quo for the first four years of WWII, with Australian conscripts only allowed to serve within Australia, and the Australian territory of Papua. This was expanded in the last two years of the war, and a fairly small number of Australian conscripts fought in the Solomon Islands. No Australian conscripts fought in the Korean War, or the Boer War.

Compulsory, lottery based national service conscription was introduced in 1964. Over 15,000 Australian conscripts served in Vietnam, around 200 were killed and 1,200 wounded.

Berlin blockade and airlift - 1948

Hungarian uprising against the Soviets - 1956

Construction of the Berlin wall - 1961

Prague Spring - 1968