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Islands in History

Can you name these islands based on an anecdote from their history?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Last updated: May 9, 2022
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First submittedMay 9, 2022
Times taken23,835
Average score75.0%
Rating4.93
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Answer
Ruled by Fidel Castro for more than 50 years
Cuba
Struck by a potato blight in the 1840s
Ireland
Home to the Minoan civilization
Crete
This island's Colossus was a 33 meter high statue of the god Helios
Rhodes
Hadrian's Wall divided it in half in the 2nd century AD
Great Britain
Inhabitants built large stone faces known as "moai"
Easter Island
Home to the world's oldest Parliament, the Althing
Iceland
Before the 1500s, it was possible to walk to this island from India
Sri Lanka
Where Chiang Kai-shek and his army fled to in 1949
Taiwan
Mediterranean island ruled by the Knights Hospitaller from 1530–1798
Malta
Dutch settlers bought this island from Native Americans for goods
worth 60 guilders (about $1000 in today's money)
Manhattan
Formerly known as Van Diemen's Land, it joined Australia in 1901
Tasmania
This island's "Cosa Nostra" crime syndicate evolved from private security
forces in the 19th century
Sicily
The western half of this island was ruled by "Papa Doc" and "Baby Doc" Duvalier
Hispaniola
Turkey invaded this island in 1974 and today controls about 40% of its land
Cyprus
In 1819, Stamford Raffles established a British colony on this strategic site near
the Strait of Malacca
Singapore
Where Rastafarian religion got its start in the 1930s
Jamaica
A weapons ban contributed to the development of karate on this island
Okinawa
"Inescapable" prison island where Al Capone spent some time
Alcatraz
Remote island in the middle of the Atlantic where Napoleon died in 1821
Saint Helena
+5
Level 87
May 9, 2022
I enjoyed this! So far, the lowest percentage island is standing at 75%. Maybe throw in a few lesser known islands on a (hopeful) #2 quiz?
+6
Level 83
May 12, 2022
The percentages will definitely decrease as the number of takes increases, especially once it's more than just those of us who trawl the New and Reset Quizzes page
+1
Level 60
Oct 29, 2023
It's down to 42% for the lowest.
+9
Level 70
May 10, 2022
There was no "potato blight" in relation to question 2, there was never a shortage of food except by way of theft by an invading country. It was a genocide perpetrated by the English.
+17
Level ∞
May 10, 2022
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Great_Famine_(Ireland)

"The proximate cause of the famine was a potato blight"

+12
Level 58
May 22, 2022
Ireland certainly was struck by potato blight which caused the potato harvest to fail for several years in the 1840s. Whatever other causes contributed to widespread starvation and emigration, it's just weird to claim there was no potato blight.
+11
Level 76
Oct 29, 2023
Yeah, the potato blight was only such a devastating issue because the actions of the British had locked so many of the Irish people into a single-crop dependency and had a wholly inadequate response once it happened, but there very much was a blight.
+1
Level 89
May 21, 2022
Could "The Rock" be acceptable for Alcatraz?
+2
Level 48
Jul 27, 2022
weird that they used the potato famine for ireland and not something else
+3
Level 66
Oct 29, 2023
It's very famous with Americans, but you are correct, Ireland has a long history that should be used.
+1
Level 54
Jan 27, 2023
could have used some islands that aren't part of the western world
+6
Level 71
Aug 9, 2023
I counted 8/20 islands that are not in the Western world.
+3
Level 76
Oct 29, 2023
You mean like Taiwan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, and Okinawa?
+1
Level 57
Jun 29, 2023
would long island be an acceptable answer for manhattan?
+5
Level 76
Oct 29, 2023
It shouldn't be. It's a completely separate (and much larger) island, nor was it part of the sale mentioned in the clue.
+1
Level 81
Feb 17, 2024
It's quite a bit longer, as well.
+2
Level 49
Aug 9, 2023
I got almost all the questions I got correct by typing random islands I can think of
+4
Level 61
Oct 29, 2023
This quiz should have a yellow box
+2
Level 60
Oct 29, 2023
Yes, please add yellow box. Otherwise the best strategy is just guessing islands.
+4
Level 65
Oct 29, 2023
Maybe add Formosa as a type-in for Taiwan. It was the common English name at the time mentioned in the clue.
+2
Level 73
Oct 29, 2023
Second question would be improved if "blight" was removed and "giant, man-eating" added before potato
+1
Level 67
Oct 30, 2023
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