Weekly History Quiz No.308

The capital and largest and largest city of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, prior to 1966 it was called Léopoldville, in honour of Leopold II of Belgium. Leopold took control of the country as a colony he owned personally, it saw horrific abuses of  the local population carried out by Leopold's agents and military. In 1908 international condemnation led to the Belgian state taking control, which continued until independence in 1960.

Anthony van Dyck was a Flemish Baroque artist who became the leading court painter in England. He worked in the studio of Peter Paul Rubens, who became a major influence on his work.

The last senior royal arrested was during the English civil war, when Charles I was detained by Parliament. He was convicted of high treason and executed in 1649.

Operation Chastise saw 617 Squadron RAF Bomber Command attack three German dams. Two of the dams were significantly damaged, reducing German arms producion in the Rhur valley for the remainder of the year.

Convened to address the problem of German and Austrian Jewish refugees wishing to flee persecution by Nazi Germany, and then being rejected by many countries. It was the initiative of United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who was accused of using the conference to deflect attention from American policy that severely limited the quota of refugees admitted to the US.

The Prague Spring introduced liberalisation, until it was crushed by Warsaw Pact troops. The Velvet Revolution happened in 1989. The Plzeň uprising was in 1953.

The sarissa’s length gave Macedonian infantry a reach advantage. Roman legions developed later, as did the Testudo formation. Cavalry archers relied on mobility, not dense infantry formations.

At Teutoburg Forest, three Roman legions were annihilated by Germanic tribes, ending Roman expansion east of the Rhine. Philippi and Actium were Roman civil war battles, while Hürtgen Forest was a battle in WW2.

Set in a futuristic dystopian society World State, where children are classified into predetermined castes based on intelligence. Huxley was educated at Oxford and was a prodigious writer, producing almost 50 books during his lifetime.

Agreed in 1807 in the aftermath of French victory at Friedland, it ended the War of the Fourth Coalition.