Random Mode Keyboard shortcut: Command/Ctrl + Shift + R
thumbnail

European History for Dummies

Can you answer these easy multiple choice questions about the history of Europe?
Quiz by Quizmaster
Rate:
Last updated: October 28, 2021
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
First submittedOctober 28, 2021
Times taken54,558
Average score93.3%
Rating4.81
4:00
The quiz is paused. You have remaining.
Scoring
You scored / = %
This beats or equals % of test takers also scored 100%
The average score is
Your high score is
Your fastest time is
Keep scrolling down for answers and more stats ...
1. What city is known as the "Birthplace of Democracy"?
Athens
London
Moscow
2. True or False: The population of Europe is higher now than it was a thousand years ago.
True
False
3. Which of these was invented in Europe?
The airplane
Gunpowder
The steam engine
4. What was the official language of the Soviet Union?
French
German
Russian
Soviet
5. Who was the leader of Germany for most of WWII?
Adolf Hitler
Genghis Khan
Kaiser Wilhelm
6. What was the largest and most important city in Europe when Jesus was alive?
Paris
Rome
Sparta
7. What was the nickname of Romanian ruler Vlad III?
The Fat
The Impaler
The Terrible
8. Who paid for Christopher Columbus's voyages?
France
Spain
Russia
9. How many wives did Henry VIII have?
None
1
6
47
10. Why is Martin Luther famous?
He invented the printing press
He said "I have a dream"
He started the Protestant Reformation
11. Did the Vikings use guns?
Yes
No
12. Which one of these years was during the Middle Ages?
1000 BC
1
1200 AD
1900 AD
13. Who wrote "The Communist Manifesto"?
Karl Marx
Socrates
Winston Churchill
14. Who painted the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel?
Donatello
Leonardo
Michelangelo
Raphael
15. What language did Alexander the Great speak?
Greek
Hebrew
Latin
+11
Level 57
Oct 28, 2021
In question 3, gunpowder is misspelled gunpower.
+4
Level ∞
Oct 28, 2021
Fixed
+26
Level 66
Jan 5, 2022
In fairness, one leads to the other.
+4
Level 27
Nov 24, 2023
lol
+24
Level 78
Oct 29, 2021
I would have betted, that the question about the Sistine Chapel would have the least percentage of correct answers.
+21
Level 81
Oct 29, 2021
caught me on martin luther.. well played.. i'm off to have a word with myself.
+7
Level 57
Oct 29, 2021
Just out of curiosity, are you American?
+21
Level 81
Oct 29, 2021
nope... UK and proud (until today).. didnt even read the title of the quiz.. what a bellend
+2
Level 89
Oct 29, 2021
All right in 39 seconds. Does that make me a real dummy? :-)
+5
Level 82
Nov 24, 2023
No, but bragging about your performance on a quiz specifically made to be really easy does! :-)
+9
Level 79
Oct 29, 2021
Some of the options are pretty funny ;D
+1
Level 53
Nov 8, 2022
Vlad the Fat...
+7
Level 60
Nov 24, 2023
In the year 1000 BC, during the peak of the Middle Ages, Henry the 8th's 47th wife was shot by the Viking Vlad the Fat following the invention of gunpowder in Europe. This momentous event inspired the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to paint the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel to depict the tragedy. It also served as the catalyst for the decline of Europe's population.

World War II was a tragedy with one of the main belligerents being Genghis Khan on behalf of Germany. At one point, he sent Alexander the Great to negotiate with the Soviet Union, but their effort was hampered by the language barrier - Latin and Soviet were entirely different languages.

+5
Level 71
Nov 7, 2021
Pedantic, but I feel like you should specify 1 AD or 1 BC in the middle ages question. Or don't, it really doesn't matter since it's not the right answer.
+5
Level 76
Nov 7, 2021
I think it was meant to be the year 0. But since there was no year 0, he had to go for the next best option.
+4
Level 65
Nov 7, 2021
For the sake of accuracy, it was Castille that funded Clumbus' voyages.

Also, Splinter should be an option for the Sistine Chapel question, tho have the complete set. Adding April O'neil might be overkill.

+8
Level 76
Nov 7, 2021
For the sake of accuracy, it's Castile, not Castille :)
+5
Level 43
Nov 24, 2023
This comment is 2 years late, but if you truly want accuracy, it's Castilla ;)
+5
Level 83
Nov 24, 2023
and it's Columbus not Clumbus but the latter is funnier
+5
Level 75
Nov 7, 2021
Ok, I'll say it - Henry VIII technically didn't have 6 wives. kind of.
+3
Level 63
Nov 10, 2021
Maybe the question should be how many times he got married. I mean even an annulment meant a wedding beforehand.
+1
Level 66
Feb 25, 2022
I read children instead of wives in the question and was so confused when reading your comment lol
+1
Level 60
Nov 24, 2023
It would have been hilarious if that one's answer was actually 3.
+8
Level 67
Nov 7, 2021
The Communist Manifesto was written by Karl Marx AND Friedrich Engels.
+1
Level 60
Nov 7, 2021
which two percent thought the Vikings used guns?
+15
Level 69
Nov 7, 2021
I work at the Viking Ship Museum in Roskilde, and I have at least twice been asked by a guest if the oarholes on the sides of the ships were for the cannons...
+3
Level 60
Nov 24, 2023
Well, were they?
+4
Level 53
Nov 7, 2021
Correction at #6: 'Jesus' was never actually alive because he is a fictional character and was never a real person.
+25
Level 58
Nov 7, 2021
What is your goal with this statement? Like do you just want people to see this and argue or do you think everyone is going to unanimously agree and say yes there is no Jesus. Why make a statement that at best will only start a comment war and at worst will make someone new to Jetpunk not feel welcome on the sight because you know there is no actual purpose for this comment other than to argue and cause division.
+26
Level ∞
Nov 7, 2021
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jesus#Historicity_of_events

"Nearly all historical scholars accept Jesus' historical existence as a real person."

+12
Level 63
Nov 8, 2021
Is 100% certain Jesus didn't exist.

Also believes himself to be Batman.

*facepalm*

+1
Level 28
Nov 8, 2021
sort of like Sikhism, there were 10 religious figures but they were real people
+7
Level 53
Nov 9, 2021
You may not believe he was the son of God or whatever but he was definitely an objectively real person who was known outside of the Bible as well.
+3
Level 63
Nov 10, 2021
You could say the bible is based on a true story or better yet stories. How much is real is the question. I am not religious but still believe Jesus existed as a person. He just didn't walk on water or turn water into wine. At least that's what I think.
+1
Level 68
Nov 24, 2023
I feel like, in this case, it's not useless to stir the pot a little, because if nobody does, you'll get people confidently stating that "he was definitely an objectively real person", when that is absolutely not the case.

Many historians do believe it is lkely or very likely he existed, but as far as I know, no serious historian says that this is a "definite and objective fact", because, well, it isn't - and I'm pretty sure that if there was conclusive evidence, it wouldn't be discovered in this Jetpunk comments section.

+1
Level 68
Nov 24, 2023
My personal opinion, and I realise nobody asked for it, is that the question is ill-defined. What criteria would someone have to meet to be considered the "real, historical Jesus"?

Does he have to be exactly as in the Bible? In that case, I think we can confidently rule out his existence, which would violate the laws of physics.

Is it enough to assert that there once was an apocalyptic Jewish preacher who was killed by the Romans? In that case, not only did he exist, but there were likely several!

So, unless someone puts forth a definitive set of criteria a "historial Jesus" has to meet, I think the conversation is pointless.

+3
Level ∞
Nov 24, 2023
I don't think it's as difficult as you are making it @dunking.

The historical Jesus would be the person whose followers became Christians and spread their religion over the world. The alternative theory, that Jesus was made up later (when? by whom?), has no evidence at all.

The divinity of Jesus is of course a completely separate issue.

+1
Level 17
Nov 24, 2023
My RE teacher always told me that there is more historical evidence that Jesus existed than Julius Caesar
+1
Level 68
Nov 25, 2023
Well, your teacher was wrong. I've also heard some religious people say the same thing about Ramesses II (of whom we have the actual physical body) or of Alexander the Great (when we can trace the physical movement of his armies through Europe, Africa and Asia).

That's not a knock on Jesus, by the way. Most people don't leave significant traces of their lifetime. Political and military leaders are much more likely to.

Even if Jesus did exist, it's entirely expected that we would find a lot less archaeological evidence of him than of word leaders.

+1
Level 28
Nov 8, 2021
Got the Martin Luther one wrong. And I blame it on being half-asleep.
+3
Level 43
Nov 8, 2021
i got the martin luther one wrong, so 14/15 it is. i got fooled. im a shame, im a sham, im a scam.
+1
Level 54
Nov 8, 2021
To quizmaster: why is a super-easy quiz like this where most people get 100% or close to it still worth 5 points? Why not grade the points on a logarithmic scale of difficulty and time/effort/knowledge required?

Better yet, find a way by how long it takes to answer a given question to test if the quiz taker was using google or other means to find the answers. There definitely are ways to do that, though not easy.

+3
Level 63
Nov 24, 2023
It's not a school exam, implementing cheat detection would be ridiculous.
+1
Level 60
Nov 24, 2023
I mean, you can cheat on most quizzes.
+3
Level 63
Nov 10, 2021
Wow, one of the few multiple choice quizzes where I got 100%. Though Vlad the Fat would have been a funny choice.
+2
Level 24
Nov 11, 2021
Got the painting one wrong.
+2
Level 54
Dec 11, 2021
It's true that the steam machine is a "truer" answer, but the airplane was also invented in Europe, for some historians, by the French Clément Ader. Of course some people consider that Eole was not a real plane, and that the Wright brothers are the true creator of the airplane, but I think there still is a possible confusion. Couldn't you change this suggestion for another one with less ambiguity? Thanks!
+2
Level ∞
Dec 11, 2021
Sorry, but no. I don't believe there is any ambiguity here.
+4
Level 76
Mar 29, 2022
Then you would be wrong, as the invention of the airplane, like many others, was a progressive endeavour that happened through many decades and by many individuals, not a single lightbulb moment by one man (or two). The Wright brothers came at the tail-end of a long process. You could argue theirs was the first actual airplane, but that is very much debatable, and Ader has just as good a claim, if not better.
+1
Level 66
Feb 25, 2022
I thought that Santos Dumont invented the airplane
+1
Level 89
Nov 24, 2023
I thought it was George Santos.
+1
Level 66
Jan 5, 2022
So, Vlad the Impaler was not a wrestler?
+1
Level 76
Mar 6, 2022
Having worked with high schoolers, I can attest that including that MLK choice would elicit a lot of people choosing that one. They did even when there wasn't multiple choice.
+1
Level 56
Mar 23, 2022
I really don't think the vikings use to fight bare handed
+4
Level 76
Mar 29, 2022
They did when they were drunk.
+2
Level 68
Nov 24, 2023
This. In fact, I think we can state with near 100% certainty that the Vikings used to, at least occasionally, fight bare handed!
+3
Level 76
Jun 2, 2022
There is a wide variety of weapons other than guns that were available to them.
+1
Level 61
Apr 25, 2022
Oh my god. Freaking Greece's lowering population made me think #2 was false. Also Belarus and Russia
+2
Level 29
Sep 9, 2022
The airplane was invented in France, by Santos Dumont, a brazilian inventor
+1
Level 90
Nov 2, 2022
I love the idea of 19% of people getting to the last question on the quiz and suddenly deciding that THIS is the time to second-guess the obvious answer.
+1
Level 72
Dec 13, 2022
I thought vikings used guns, that's why they terrorized Europe for so long. I think someone should fact check this piece of information. I am so disappointed I got this wrong because of someone's ignorance, I call for better background research, and better judgment before you would make a sorry excuse for a quiz like this one.
+1
Level 52
Dec 15, 2022
you thought, you didn't know
+1
Level 60
Nov 24, 2023
This is a joke, right? In case it's not: If you're so indignant, then you should fact check it yourself...
+1
Level 66
Feb 10, 2023
Can't believe i got 14/15 since i'm not really good in history 😆
+1
Level 60
Jun 26, 2023
I got 14/15, question 3 made me think of the first fighter plane that was invented in Germany, of course it was the steam engine!
+1
Level 29
Oct 25, 2023
The airplane was invented in France by Santos Dumont, a brazilian, so the airplane was invented in Europe too
+4
Level 72
Nov 24, 2023
If Vikings didn't use guns, why were so many of them known as Gunnar?
+1
Level 49
Nov 24, 2023
Vi + kings = Wekings/Vikungar.
+1
Level 43
Nov 27, 2023
all on the first try, and for some I lucky guessed :D
+1
Level 12
Dec 8, 2023
LMAO i've read martin luther KING
+1
Level 43
Jan 18, 2024
alexader the great did not speak greek, he spoke hellen version of macedonian language called ilirian thracian.

thank you and long live macedonia