Weekly History Quiz No.313

An English Victorian-era artist best known for his nocturnal scenes of urban landscapes, he was known as a remarkable and imaginative painter.

Battleship Potemkin was commissioned by the Soviet State to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the 1905 revolution.

Made in 1915, Birth of a Nation portrays The Ku Klux Klan as a heroic force that protects white women and maintains white supremacy. It has been called "the most reprehensibly racist film in Hollywood history".

Triumph of the Will was created by Leni Riefenstahl in 1935, and depicts the 1934 Nazi Nuremberg rallies.

English accounts from the period indicate that “such a shortage of workers ensued that the humble turned up their noses at employment, and could scarcely be persuaded to serve the eminent unless for triple wages”.

Around fifteen hundred enslaved black men and women took advantage of Britain’s Seven Year’s War against France and Spain to stage a massive uprising in Jamaica. Known as Tacky’s Revolt, it was arguably the largest slave insurrection in the British Empire before the 19th century. Read more here.

For over 200 years, Sweden successfully navigated neutrality, avoiding two world wars and many other conflicts throughout the 20th Century.

Read more - Neutral and Nervous – A History of Sweden’s Now Broken 200-Year Streak of Neutrality

The Meiji Restoration ended centuries of feudal rule in Japan, leading to rapid industrialisation and centralisation under Emperor Meiji.

Mansa Musa militarily expanded the Mali empire, as well as improving administration, dividing the territory into provinces and appointing competent governors. With all of these achievements, Mansa Musa is best remembered for going on the hajj from 1324 to 1325 CE. He attracted a great deal of attention traveling in a huge caravan made up of almost 100 camels, 12,000 slaves, and an estimated 30,000 pounds of gold. He gave out so much gold during his three month stay in Cairo that the price of gold dropped by 25%.

He hosted Muslim scholars and made cities, including Timbuktu, Djenne, and Gao, into centres of learning.

Although roads facilitated trade, they were primarily designed to move legions quickly across the empire.

Also known as the Revolution of Dignity, the protests began in response to Ukrainian President Viktor Yanukovych's refusal to sign a political association and free trade agreement with the European Union that had been had overwhelmingly approved by the Ukrainian Parliament. Yanukovych's decision was seen as him bowing to Russian pressure, or supporting Russian interests. Days later the Ukrainian parliament voted to remove Yanukovych from office, with 73% of the members supporting the vote.

Russia responded by starting the Russo-Ukrainian war and invading Crimea.

The position was known as Maîtresse-en-titre, and some individuals having this position acquired significant power, in some cases more than the Queen of France. The most well known woman to hold this position was Madame de Pompadour, official chief mistress of King Louis XV from 1745 to 1751.