MCGILL HISTORY

STUDENTS’
A S S O C I AT I O N P R E S E N T S :
TRIVIA NIGHT
ROUND 1
C A N A DA / U S / N O RT H A M E R I C A
QUESTION 1: ( ALLEGEDLY , THERE ARE 5
BODIES BURIED UNDER MCGILL’S
DOWNTOWN CAMPUS. NAME TWO OF THE
PEOPLE INTERRED THERE. THE MUMMIES
AT THE REDPATH MUSEUM DO NOT
COUNT.)
Answer: William Osler + wife/cousin in the Osler library [unless
incinerated?], Mctavish is buried under the education building, James
McGill interred in front of the arts building.
QUESTION 2: DURING THE GREAT DEPRESSION,
WHAT POLICY FUNDED THE CREATION OF
LARGE SCALE PUBLIC ART, MOST FAMOUSLY
DIEGO RIVERA’S MURALS? HINT: IT WAS
MANAGED BY THE WORKS PROGRESS
ADMINISTRATION, BUT THAT ISN’T THE
ANSWER
• Answer: the Federal Art Project
QUESTION 3: IN THE SUMMER OF 1779,
THE CONTINENTAL ARMY INVADED WHAT
IS NOW A PART OF UPSTATE NEW YORK,
BURNING DOWN 44 HAUDENOSAUNEE
VILLAGES IN A BRUTAL SCORCHED EARTH
CAMPAIGN. WHO WAS THE GENERAL
LEADING THIS INVASION?
Answer: Major General John Sullivan
QUESTION 4: NEARLY 1,500 CANADIANS
VOLUNTEERED TO FIGHT FOR THE
REPUBLICANS DURING THE SPANISH CIVIL
WAR. IN JULY OF 1937, A SEPARATE BATTALION
WAS FORMED FOR THESE VOLUNTEERS. WHAT
WAS ITS NAME? (HINT: 1937 WAS AN
IMPORTANT CENTENNIAL FOR FRENCH-
CANADIANS)
• Answer: The Mackenzie-Papineau Battalion
QUESTION 5: THE WILMINGTON INSURRECTION IN 1898
IN NORTH CAROLINA IS AN IMPORTANT MOMENT IN US
HISTORY BECAUSE IT LED TO FURTHER RACIAL
SEGREGATION AND DISENFRANCHISEMENT OF AFRICAN
AMERICANS. THE SOUTHERN DEMOCRATIC PARTY LED A
MOB OF 2000 TO OVERTHROW THE DEMOCRATICALLY
ELECTED GOVERNMENT,WHICH WAS A UNIQUE ALLIANCE
OF POPULISTS AND BLACK REPUBLICANS. WHAT WAS
THE NAME OF THE PARTY IN GOVERNMENT?
Answer: The Fusion Party
QUESTION 6: IN 1912, THE TORONTO CITY
COUNCIL ENACTED A BAN ON TOBOGGANING IN
PUBLIC PARKS ON SUNDAYS. WHAT WAS THE
NAME OF THE MAJOR ORGANIZATION WHICH
ARGUED FOR THIS LAW AND OTHERS LIKE IT,
CLAIMING THAT THE SABBATH WAS OF SUCH
IMPORTANCE THAT THE GOVERNMENT NEEDED
TO STEP IN TO PROTECT CHRISTIAN
MORALITY?
Answer: The Lord’s Day Alliance
QUESTION 7: IN MARCH OF 1900 MOBS OF MCGILL
STUDENTS INITIATED A RIOT AFTER GETTING
DRUNK AND PARADING IN THE STREETS OF
MONTREAL, EVENTUALLY ATTACKING FRENCH-
LANGUAGE NEWSPAPERS AND UNIVERSITIES
RESULTING IN A THREE-DAY-LONG RIOT FEATURING
VIOLENCE BETWEEN ENGLISH AND FRENCH
COMMUNITIES. WHAT DID THE MCGILL STUDENTS
INTEND TO CELEBRATE WITH THEIR PARADE?
Answer: Relief of Ladysmith / Victory at Paardeberg (in the Boer War)
QUESTION 8: WHAT IS THE NAME
REFERRING TO THE US SUPREME COURT
CASES THAT ESTABLISHED THAT THE FULL
CONSTITUTIONAL PROTECTION OF
RIGHTS WOULD NOT AUTOMATICALLY
APPLY TO THE TERRITORIES CAPTURED
BY THE US AFTER THE SPANISH-
AMERICAN WAR?
Answer: The Insular Cases
9. WHAT IS THE FAMOUS EVENT
BEGINNING OF THE MEXICAN WAR OF
INDEPENDENCE (1810)?

Answer: El Grito, or “the cry” or “the yell”

QUESTION 10: THE NATIONAL ORIGINS FORMULA
WAS THE TERM USED TO REFER TO THE AMERICAN
SYSTEM OF IMMIGRATION QUOTAS FROM 1921-
1965, WHICH EFFECTIVELY BANNED IMMIGRATION
FROM EAST ASIA AND SOUTH ASIA, AND
ESTABLISHED QUOTAS BY NATIONAL ORIGIN BASED
ON THE EXISTING DEMOGRAPHIC PROPORTION IN
THE US. WHICH US PRESIDENT TRIED TO ABOLISH
THE FORMULA, BEFORE BEING OVERRULED BY ⅔ OF
BOTH HOUSES?
Answer: President Truman in 1952
ROUND 2
SOUTH, CENTRAL AMERICA & THE
CARIBBEAN
1. IN THE 19TH AND 20TH CENTURIES,
AMERICAN FRUIT COMPANIES MOVED
INTO CENTRAL AND SOUTH AMERICAN
COUNTRIES AND ENTRENCHED THEIR
POWER BY PROPPING UP PRO-AMERICAN
REGIMES. WHAT’S THE TERM FOR
COUNTRIES UNDER THOSE REGIMES?
Answer: Banana Republics
2. IN 1661, THE COLONIAL LEGISLATURE
OF THIS COLONY PASSED THE FIRST
LEGAL CODIFICATION OF SLAVERY,
WHICH WOULD LATER SERVE AS THE
LEGAL BASIS FOR SLAVE CODES IN
JAMAICA, ANTIGUA, AND SOUTH
CAROLINA. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE
NOW-INDEPENDENT COUNTRY?
Answer: Barbados
3. KNOWN AS THE APOSTLE OF CUBAN
INDEPENDENCE, THIS HERO AND
NATIONAL FIGURE WAS KNOWN FOR HIS
REVOLUTIONARY PHILOSOPHY, HIS
EXTRAORDINARY LITERATURE, AND HIS
ROLE IN THE CUBAN WAR OF
INDEPENDENCE AGAINST SPAIN. WHAT
WAS THE NAME OF THIS FIGURE?
Answer: Jose Marti
4. MAROONS IS A TERM USED TO REFER TO
DESCENDANTS OF AFRICANS WHO HAD ESCAPED
SLAVERY HAD ESTABLISHED FREE COMMUNITIES. IN
JAMAICA, THESE COMMUNITIES WERE FORMED IN
SPITE OF THE BRITISH - EVENTUALLY, A NUMBER OF
THESE JAMAICAN MAROONS WOULD BE DEPORTED
TO BRITISH NOVA SCOTIA. WITHIN YEARS, THESE
PEOPLE WOULD DEPART TO BE THE FOUNDERS OF
WHICH AFRICAN NATIONAL CAPITAL?
Answer: Freetown, Sierra Leone
5. IN JULY 1822, THE GUAYAQUIL
CONFERENCE TOOK PLACE, ALLOWING
TWO PROMINENT LIBERTADORES
(CONTRAST TO CONQUISTADORES) TO
MEET TO DISCUSS THE FUTURE OF PERU,
AND SOUTH AMERICA MORE GENERALLY.
WHAT WERE THE NAMES OF THE TWO
FIGURES?
Answer: Jose de San Martin and Simon Bolivar
6. BETWEEN 1958 AND 1962, A SHORT LIVED
POLITICAL UNION NAMED THE WEST INDIES
FEDERATION EXISTED. THE GOAL WAS TO CREATE A
POLITICAL UNIT OF BRITISH COLONIES THAT COULD
BECOME ONE INDEPENDENT STATE IN A MATTER OF
YEARS. MANY OF THE PROBLEMS WERE ECONOMIC,
SUCH AS A SMALL FEDERAL BUDGET. WHAT TWO
COUNTRIES HAD A PROVINCIAL BUDGET THAT WAS
LARGER THAN THE FEDERAL WIF BUDGET?
Answer: Jamaica, Trinidad & Tobago
7. WHAT WAS ARGENTINIAN PRESIDENT
PERON’S FIRST NAME? (PRESIDENT FROM
1946-55, 73-74)
Answer: Juan
8. WHAT IS THE SANDWICH NAMED
AFTER A PRESIDENT OF CHILE?
Answer: The Barros Luco
9. WHAT IS THE NAME GIVEN TO THE
POLITICAL PHENOMENON WHEREIN
CHARISMATIC STRONGMEN TAKE POWER
IN LATIN AMERICAN COUNTRIES?
Answer: Caudillismo (warlordism is acceptable answer)
10.
ROUND 3
EUROPE
1. THE ANCIENT GREEK OLYMPIC EVENT
PANKRATION IS THE PRECURSOR TO
MODERN WRESTLING. UNDER ITS RULES,
ONLY THREE THINGS WERE BANNED.
WHAT WERE THEY?
Answer: biting, striking the groin, and gouging
2. IN 897 CE, POPE FORMOSUS WAS PUT
ON TRIAL BY THE CATHOLIC CHURCH FOR
CRIMES HE HAD COMMITTED DURING HIS
PAPACY. WHAT WAS UNUSUAL ABOUT
THIS TRIAL?
Answer: He was dead, and they had dug him up for this
3. AFTER THE ITALIAN UNIFICATION,
WHICH REVOLUTIONARY HERO BECAME
AN UNLIKELY FASHION ICON FOR HIS
SIGNATURE LOOK OF BILLOWY RED WOOL
SHIRTS?
Answer: Garibaldi
4. WHAT’S THE NAME OF THE 17TH AND
18TH CENTURY SCOTTISH REBELLIONS
THAT SOUGHT TO RESTORE KING JAMES
AND HIS HEIRS TO THE ENGLISH
THRONE? HINT: IF YOUR MOM WATCHES
OUTLANDER, YOU’LL KNOW THIS ONE
Answer: The Jacobite Rebellions or the Jacobite Wars
5. WHAT WAS THE PARLIAMENT OF THE
POLISH-LITHUANIAN COMMONWEALTH
CALLED?

The sejm
6. IN 1972, PEPSI OBTAINED MONOPOLY
RIGHTS IN THE SOVIET UNION’S COLA
MARKET. SINCE THE RUBLE HAD LITTLE
VALUE ON THE INTERNATIONAL MARKET,
WHAT DID THE USSR PAY PEPSI WITH?
Vodka
7. THE BATTLE OF KOSOVO, THE SERBIAN
DECLARATION OF WAR AGAINST THE OTTOMANS IN
1876, THE ASSASSINATION OF ARCHDUKE
FERDINAND, THE PROCLAMATION OF THE NEW 1921
CONSTITUTION, THE TITO-STALIN SPLIT, AND MANY,
MANY OTHER EVENTS ALL OCCURRED ON
VIDOVDAN, OR ST. VITUS’ DAY, A SERBIAN
NATIONAL AND RELIGIOUS HOLIDAY. WHAT DATE IS
ST. VITUS’ DAY? (WHAT MONTH)
Answer: June 28
8. WHAT WAS THE LAST CITY HELD BY
THE MOORS IN SPAIN DURING THE
RECONQUISTA?
Grenada
9. WHICH GROUP OF PEOPLE WERE THE
FIRST TO SACK ROME IN 387 B.C.?
Answer: The Gauls (technically the Gallic Celts)
10. WHO WAS CPSU (COMMUNIST PARTY
OF THE SOVIET UNION) SECRETARY
GENERAL AFTER BREZHNEV (BREZHNEV
WAS 8 APRIL 1966 – 10 NOVEMBER
1982). THIS PERSON WAS SECRETARY
GENERAL FROM 12 NOVEMBER 1982 – 9
FEBRUARY 1984
Yuri Andropov
ROUND 3
ASIA
1. AFTER PARTITION IN 1947, WHAT WAS
THE MOST COMMONLY-SPOKEN
LANGUAGE IN NEWLY-INDEPENDENT
PAKISTAN?
Bengali (East Pakistan comprised ~55% of the country’s population)
2. IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LEBANESE CIVIL WAR,
SUBHI AL-TUFAYI SPEARHEADED THE CREATION
OF HEZBOLLAH, BECOMING ITS FIRST LEADER.
HOWEVER, HE SOON DISTANCED HIMSELF
FROM THE MOVEMENT, STEPPING DOWN FROM
LEADERSHIP IN 1985 AND REMAINS A VOCAL
CRITIC OF THE GROUP TO THIS DAY. WHAT
WAS HIS REASON FOR LEAVING HEZBOLLAH?
It maintained ties to the Iranian government; (other possible answers could include signing of Ta’if
Accords, involvement with state government, etc.)
3. IN 1970, THE AYATOLLAH RUHOLLAH
KHOMEINI CALLED FOR PAHLAVI RULE TO BE
REPLACED BY A TRANSITIONAL GOVERNMENT
RULED, STAFFED, AND MANAGED BY THE ULEMA
UNTIL THE ARRIVAL OF THE HIDDEN IMAM.
WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE THEORY HE
ADVANCED TO MAKE THIS ARGUMENT?
Wilayat al-faqih;Velayet-e faqih; Guardianship of the Jurists; Deputyship of the Ulema; (some
variation because of translations)
4. WHICH SUFI SAINT DID THE MUGHAL
EMPEROR AKBAR THE GREAT ARDENTLY
FOLLOW, TO THE EXTENT THAT HE NAMED
HIS SON (THE LATER EMPEROR
JAHANGIR) AFTER THE SAINT AND BUILT
THE TOWN OF FATEHPUR SIKRI NEAR HIS
KHANQAH?
Salim Chishti
5. IN 1851, THE TAIPING HEAVENLY
KINGDOM OF GREAT PEACE WAS FORMED
BY THE SELF-PROCLAIMED BROTHER OF
JESUS CHRIST AS AN OPPOSITIONAL
STATE TO THE QING EMPIRE. WHO WAS
ITS SPIRITUAL AND POLITICAL LEADER?
Hong Xiuquan
6. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE POST-
WWI TREATY THAT STIPULATED FOR A
REFERENDUM TO DETERMINE THE FATE OF
KURDISTAN? NOTE: THIS CLAUSE NEVER
CAME TO BECAUSE ITS PARENT TREATY
WAS REPLACED ALTOGETHER BY THE
TREATY OF LAUSANNE IN 1923:
Treaty of Sevres (1920)
7. IN JUNE 1919 DURING THE PARIS PEACE
CONFERENCE, A GROUP OF NATIONALISTS
PETITIONED FOR THE INDEPENDENCE OF THEIR
COUNTRY FROM THE FRENCH, BUT, LIKE THE IRISH,
WERE IGNORED ALTOGETHER. THIS GROUP HAD
BEEN PUBLISHING ARTICLES IN PARIS FOR YEARS
UNDER A PSEUDONYM. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF
THE GROUP’S NEWEST MEMBER, WHO WOULD LEAD
THEIR COUNTRY TO INDEPENDENCE DECADES
LATER?
Ho Chi Minh
8. IN WHAT BODY OF WATER DID AN
EVENT TAKE PLACE WHICH LED TO
DIRECT AMERICAN INVOLVEMENT IN
VIETNAM WAR?
The Tonkin Gulf
9. DURING MOST OF THE EDO PERIOD, ON
WHICH ISLAND WAS THE ONLY PLACE OF
DIRECT TRADE AND EXCHANGE BETWEEN
JAPAN AND THE OUTSIDE WORLD?
BONUS: WHO TRADED ON DEJIMA?
The artificially built island of Dejima, and the Portuguese, Dutch, and later, the Chinese.
10. TEMPURA, A FAMOUS JAPANESE WAY
OF FOOD PREPARATION, HAS ITS ORIGINS
IN WHICH EUROPEAN COUNTRY?
Portugal
ROUND 4
AFRICA
1. WHAT IS THE NAME OF GHANA’S FIRST
PRESIDENT, A FOUNDING MEMBER OF THE
ORGANIZATION OF AFRICAN UNITY AND
THE NON-ALIGNED MOVEMENT, AS WELL
AS AN ADVOCATE FOR PAN-AFRICANISM?
Kwame Nkrumah
2. WHAT IS THE NAME OF THE ISLAND
NATION THAT THE BRITISH OFTEN USED
TO EXILE LEADERS OF INDEPENDENCE
MOVEMENTS, INCLUDING THOSE FROM
CYPRUS, EGYPT, PALESTINE, AND
ZANZIBAR?
Seychelles
3. THE MOROCCAN-US TREATY OF
FRIENDSHIP, SIGNED IN 1786, IS THE
LONGEST UNBROKEN TREATY
RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN THE US AND A
FOREIGN POWER. THE TREATY ENDED
WHAT TYPE OF ACTIVITY OR PRACTICE
THAT THREATENED AMERICAN INTERESTS
IN THE MEDITERRANEAN?
Piracy by Moroccan (or by Barbary Pirates in Morocco)
4. WHICH FAMOUS SINGER-SONGWRITER
WAS INVITED TO PERFORM AT THE
INDEPENDENCE DAY CELEBRATIONS IN
ZIMBABWE IN 1980?
Bob Marley
5. THE RASTAFARI MOVEMENT IS AN
ABRAHAMIC RELIGION THAT DEVELOPED
IN JAMAICA IN THE 1930S. WHICH
AFRICAN LEADER, CENTRAL TO
RASTAFARIANISM, IS SAID TO BE EITHER
A HUMAN PROPHET OR THE SECOND
COMING OF CHRIST?
Emperor Haile Selassie I of Ethiopia
6. IN 1961, AFTER THE UN REQUESTED THAT
FRANCE AND BRITAIN DECOLONIZE, THE
BRITISH NORTH CAMEROONS VOTED TO JOIN
NIGERIA, WHEREAS THE BRITISH SOUTH
CAMEROONS VOTED TO JOIN LA REPUBLIQUE
DU CAMEROUN. THIS, AS WELL AS THE
SUCCEEDING 1961 FOUMBAN CONFERENCE,
WOULD LEAD TO WHAT MODERN-DAY CRISIS?
Anglophone problem // Anglophone Crisis // Ambazonia War //
Cameroonian Civil War
7. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE EMPIRE,
HEADQUARTERED IN GAO, THAT BEGAN TO
SURPASS THE MALIAN EMPIRE UNDER
EMPEROR SONNI ALI, IN TERMS OF AREA,
WEALTH, AND POWER AS THE LATTER
SLOWLY BEGAN TO DISINTEGRATE?
Songhai Empire
8. WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE
ALBANIAN-DESCENDED OTTOMAN
GOVERNOR OF EGYPT FROM 1805 TO
1848, AND IS OFTEN KNOWN AS THE
FOUNDER OF MODERN EGYPT - THE
DYNASTY HE WOULD ESTABLISH WOULD
RULE UNTIL 1952.
Muhammad Ali
9. WHAT WAS THE NAME GIVEN TO THE
LOOSE COALITION OF AFRICAN COUNTRIES
FROM THE 1960S TO THE EARLY 1990S
COMMITTED TO ENDING APARTHEID IN
SOUTH AFRICA, PROVIDING EXILE FOR
EXILED ACTIVISTS, AND ALLOWING FOR
MASS ENTRANCE OF YOUTH TO RECEIVE
TRAINING IN GUERILLA WARFARE?
Frontline States
10. THE LARGEST ANCIENT STRUCTURE
SOUTH OF THE SAHARA DESERT BELONGS
TO WHAT GREAT EMPIRE?
Great Enclosure (i.e. walls) of Great Zimbabwe, capital of the Kingdom of Zimbabwe
ROUND 5
O N T H I S D AY / M I S C E L L A N E O U S
1. WHAT MUSICAL GENRE WAS A
CATEGORY FOR ONE YEAR, AND ONE YEAR
ONLY, AT THE GRAMMY’S IN 1979?

DISCO
2. THOUGH TECHNICALLY FIRST
RELEASED IN 1998, THIS SONG HIT
NUMBER 1 ON THE BILLBOARD CHARTS IN
1999, AND IS CREDITED AS PIONEERING
AND POPULARIZING THE USE OF
AUTOTUNE, AND SECURING A COMEBACK
FOR ITS SINGER. WHAT SONG WAS IT?
Believe by Cher
3. RECENTLY INTENTIONALLY RECREATED IN
HONG KONG, WHAT WAS THE NAME OF THE
PEACEFUL POLITICAL DEMONSTRATION
THAT OCCURRED IN ESTONIA, LITHUANIA,
AND LATVIA WHEREBY 2 MILLION PEOPLE
JOINED HANDS TO FORM A LINE THAT WAS
NEARLY 700KM LONG?
Baltic Way/Baltic Chain
4. NAME OF THE FRATERNAL
ORGANIZATION TO WHICH EVERY
PRESIDENT BETWEEN ROOSEVELT AND
JFK BELONGED TO?

The Elks Lodge, or “The Elks” (Benevolent and Protective Order of the Elks)
5. OTD IN 1066: EDGAR AETHELING WAS
ELECTED KING BY THE WITENAGEMOT, BUT
WAS NOT CROWNED FOR THE NORMS AND
WILLIAM THE CONQUEROR HAD ALREADY
TAKEN CONTROL OVER MOST OF THE LAND.
WHAT POPULAR SERIES DRAWS INSPIRATION
FROM THE WITENAGEMOT BY HAVING A
SIMILAR INSTITUTION, THIS TIME AS A
COUNCIL OR COURT?
Wizengamot in Harry Potter
6. OTD IN 1529: THE FIRST SIEGE OF THIS
CITY ENDED, WHEREBY THE OTTOMANS
UNDER SULEYMAN THE MAGNIFICENT
WAS FORCED TO WITHDRAW AFTER A
DECISIVE HABSBURG VICTORY - THE
SECOND SIEGE OF THIS CITY WOULD NOT
OCCUR FOR ANOTHER 154 YEARS. WHAT
WAS THE NAME OF THE CITY?
Vienna
7. OTD IN 1815: NAPOLEON ARRIVED ON THE
ISLAND OF ST. HELENA, OVER 2000KM FROM
THE NAMIBIAN-ANGOLAN BORDER. SIR
HUDSON LOWE, GOVERNOR OF THE ISLAND,
ONLY MET WITH NAPOLEON 6 TIMES BUT THEIR
RELATIONSHIP IS DOCUMENTED AS BEING
TENSE. WHY?
– Lowe refused to refer to Napoleon as Emperor of the French
8. OTD IN 1888: THE CHAIRPERSON OF
THE WHITECHAPEL VIGILANCE
COMMITTEE RECEIVED THE INFAMOUS
“FROM HELL” OR “LUSK” LETTER, WHICH
WAS A LETTER POSTED WITH HALF OF A
HUMAN KIDNEY. WHO WAS PURPORTEDLY
THE AUTHOR OF THIS LETTER?
Jack the Ripper
9. OTD IN 1932: AIR INDIA, AS IT IS NOW KNOWN,
CONDUCTED ITS FIRST FLIGHT FROM KARACHI TO
BOMBAY, AND THEN TO CHENNAI. OVER ITS FIRST
YEAR OF OPERATION, IT WOULD RAKE IN 60 K
RUPEES IN MAIL DELIVERY SERVICES. WHAT
PROMINENT INDIAN COMMERCE FAMILY FOUNDED
THE AIRLINES, GIVING IT ITS ORIGINAL NAME, AS
WELL AS THE NAME OF THE MULTINATIONAL
CONGLOMERATE THAT STILL EXISTS TODAY?
Tata family
10. OTD IN 1964: NGUYEN VAN TROI WAS
EXECUTED AFTER ATTEMPTING TO BLOW
UP A BRIDGE AS A MOTORCADE CROSSED
IT. AS THE FIRST PUBLICLY EXECUTED
MEMBER OF THE VIET CONG, WHICH
MEMBER(S) OF THE LBJ ADMINISTRATION
DID NGUYEN TRY TO ASSASSINATE?
SecDef McNamara, also future Amb Henry Cabot Lodge Jr