Europe History Test Study Guide
1. Three causes of the Russian Revolution and explain who they revolted against and why.
 Great wealth and power held by the czar and the government
 Bloody Sunday
 Hunger and poverty of the serfs
 Food shortages, poverty, poor working conditions
 They revolted against Czar Nicholas II because he did not acknowledge his peoples’
problems- eventually he was overthrown- Lenin and communism took over
2. Describe the four terms of the Treaty of Versailles. What countries were involved?
 Germany had to take all the blame
 Germany had to pay 33 billion in reparations
 Germany had to shrink their military
 Germany had to give up all their colonies obtained during WW1
 Great Britain, France, and USA wrote the Treaty for Germany
3. Describe (specifically) why life was especially difficult for Germans after WW1.
 The world entered a depression that hit Germany especially hard because they also
were in a great amount of debt because of the Treaty of Versailles (reparations for war)
4. Put these empires in order from biggest to smallest-- Portugal, Great Britain, France, and
Spain. Include area(s) where their empires were located and any other important information
(route they sailed, famous explorers…)
 Great Britain-largest- all over the world- by mid-1900’s, controlled 1/4th of the world
 France- 2nd largest- much in NW Africa and Canada
 Spain- “New World” Columbus discovered 2 new continents by sailing west to get to the
east
 Portugal- Prince Henry wanted to sail around Africa to get to the Spice Islands. Their
biggest colony is Brazil in South America
5. How do the Crusades fit into this unit (why did we talk about them)?
 The Europeans mapmaking skills improved, they learned more about the spices and
natural resources available in Asia and Africa, and they also learned better trade routes.
Prince Henry (from Portugal) wanted to explore the coast of Africa to find a route to
Asia in order to break the Muslim hold on trade- also wanted to stop Venice and Genoa
(in Italy- Italian peninsula) from dominating trade routes
6. Describe the scramble to Africa (Who? When? Why? What is the term to describe the taking
over of other countries?)
 Because of the industrial revolution (late 1800s to early 1900s- right before WW1),
European countries wanted more raw materials and workers (slaves for their factories
and plantations). They were motivated by the idea of imperialism or the taking over of
other lands to control them, their government, and their economy. Also were driven by
nationalism (making their country feel more important and successful than other
countries). Great Britain and France controlled most of Africa
7. Describe the spark that was the immediate cause of WW1
 Archduke of Austria-Hungary was assassinated by a Serbian terrorist. A-H declared war
on Serbia, Russia declared war on A-H, Germany declared war on Serbia and Russia…All
the alliances came into play, which eventually led to a world war
8. How did Hitler rise to power (what happened after WW1 that led to him as the leader?)
 German economy was in ruins after WW1 (because of war and because of the terms of
the Treaty of Versailles) and the Germany people wanted to rebuild their economy.
Hitler promised them that Germany would be great again. He eventually broke his
treaties with Britain and France and invaded Poland- this was the start of WWII
9. How did Prince Henry change Europe?
 Opened a school to study navigation, developed better technology for sailing,
encouraged sailing about the coast of Africa, introduced slave trade
10. Name and describe the three G’s
 God- spread Christianity
 Glory- wanted to control the markets and trading posts, expand their territories- the
idea of imperialism and nationalism
 Gold- needed raw materials, precious materials, spices, gather riches
11. What all contributed to the outbreak of World War I (not the immediate cause)?
 Militarism- building of militaries because other countries were doing the same
 Alliances- signing agreements/treaties that ensured countries would support one
another
 Imperialism- building of empires and expanding control over other lands governments
and economies (greed!)
 Nationalism- love of one’s country and willingness to fight for it. Also the desire to
expand country’s empire to feel important and more successful than other countries
12. Complete the phrase “the sun never set on ….” and explain
 The British Empire- Britain was by far the largest empire with territories and colonies all
over the world. By the mid-1900’s they controlled ¼ of the world’s population. They
were driven by the idea of imperialism (controlling other lands governments and
economies) and the idea of nationalism (making their country feel more important and
successful than other countries)
13. Describe what happened in Russia after Czar Nicholas II was taken out of power (who came
into power? His new idea…etc)
 He was the last czar of Russia- was taken out of power in 1917 after the Russian
Revolution. Lenin came into power and promoted the idea of communism