home

British History True or False #1

Can you guess whether these historical statements about Great Britain and the British Empire are true or false?
Quiz by
Quizmaster
Featured Quiz
Rate:
Last updated: August 25, 2021
You have not attempted this quiz yet.
More quiz info >>
First submittedAugust 25, 2021
Times taken37,337
Average score80.0%
Rating4.55
Quiz and answer stats >>
Shared scores >>
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. At its peak, the British Empire was the largest empire in world history
True
False
2. The Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain
True
False
3. No woman has ever served as Prime Minister of the U. K.
There have been three: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss
True
False
4. King Arthur is buried in Westminster Abbey
True
False
5. No English king has ever died in battle
Richard III was the most recent to die in battle, in 1485
True
False
6. The Royal Navy once issued rum rations to its sailors
True
False
7. The patron saint of England, St. George, actually spent most of his life in Scotland
St. George lived in what is today Turkey
True
False
8. Queen Victoria is thought to have died a virgin
She had nine children. Her numerous descendants sit on the thrones of many European kingdoms today.
True
False
9. In the year 1500, Wales had a higher population than England
Then as now, England was much more populous than Wales
True
False
10. The Hundred Years' War was a conflict between England and France
True
False
11. Henry VIII was excommunicated by the pope
True
False
12. The Saxons were the original inhabitants of Great Britain
True
False
13. England was the first country to colonize the Americas
True
False
14. The Stuart dynasty of England originally came from Scotland
True
False
15. The Good Friday Agreement of 1998 is often considered to have ended "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland
True
False
Save Your Stats
Your Next Quiz
Name the English Monarchs
Can you guess the names of the kings and queens who have ruled England since the time of the Norman conquest?
Top 10 Biggest Economies in Asia
Can you name the ten Asian countries with the largest GDPs?
British History Multiple Choice #2
Can you answer these multiple choice questions about the history of Great Britain?
Marvel Superheroes - Sudden Death
Click all the superheroes that come from Marvel comics while avoiding the ones that don't.
46 Comments
OfficerDibble
+3
Level 86
Aug 26, 2021
Ooh, 5/5 first time. Wish I could say that was a common occurrence.
BlackJohn
+1
Level 79
Dec 29, 2022
you wouldn't be lvl 78 if it wasn't
Sifhraven
+2
Level 76
May 28, 2024
Quantity vs quality? Or learn from the mistakes and take the quiz again at a later date. (If you immediately do it again just for points, you will definitely have not learned from it. I often make the same mistakes when I retake a quiz a couple of years later)
Kevinmak
+2
Level 69
Aug 26, 2021
Are The Troubles in NI really considered to have ended?
Swellowl
+20
Level 55
Aug 26, 2021
Mostly, yes. Car bombs and setting fire to police stations aren't really that common any more
Fresco3
+1
Level 70
Aug 27, 2021
They’re not exactly uncommon compared to the rest of Western Europe..
Quizmaster
+2
Level ∞
Aug 29, 2021
Yes.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Troubles

The Troubles (Irish: Na Trioblóidí) were an ethno-nationalist conflict in Northern Ireland that lasted about 30 years from the late 1960s to 1998.

The conflict began in the late 1960s and is usually deemed to have ended with the Good Friday Agreement of 1998.

WalkyTalkyBook
+2
Level 61
Sep 1, 2021
Dissident factions such as the RIRA and CIRA carried out attacks afterwards, especially at Omagh where 31 died including unborn twins. Such groups are still around, although they are not as active as their predecessors.
Quizmaster
+8
Level ∞
May 7, 2023
The quiz remains accurate as per the wording of the question.
davrousseau
+8
Level 75
Aug 26, 2021
Wasn't the mongol empire ever? Or maybe it was the largest land empire ever and I'm confused
TWM03
+15
Level 72
Aug 26, 2021
The Mongol empire is second, and yes it was a land empire in that it consisted of continuous land.
WelshWizard
+11
Level 89
Aug 29, 2021
The Mongol Empire was the largest contiguous land empire to ever exist, i.e. all of it was connected. The British Empire was a maritime one.
BlackJohn
+4
Level 79
Dec 29, 2022
Yeah, the Brits snatched first place by conquering vast swathes of land which was very sparsely populated (e.g Canada, Australia, parts of Africa and Arabia) without encountering much resistance since the natives usually had much inferior technology and armament.

The Mongols on the other hand, straight up terrorised the world and destroyed highly skillful opponents all the way from China to Europe, beginning from the Steppes with little more than hordes of horse archers.

HyddenRizz
+1
Level 67
May 28, 2023
Damn, this is the only one that I got wrong, for this exact reson. I should never underestimate the crown's ability to conquer...
JackintheBox
+1
Level 82
Aug 29, 2021
Argh, I only got the Saxons question wrong!!
erikj
+4
Level 67
Aug 29, 2021
Northern Ireland is not part of Great Britain ;) But it is part of the UK. So the last question surprised me on this quiz.
Englishbub
+5
Level 70
Nov 10, 2021
Technically correct, though one could argue that the title of the quiz applies because Northern Ireland is part of the 'British Isles', and because British is the generally accepted demonym for citizens of the United Kingdom (though some from NI definitely would not identify as British!).
Croppies98
+1
Level 70
Dec 2, 2025
He is not technically correct, it is a fact. He is however, wrong in his surprise. It's not that difficult to understand why the GFA is part of both British and Irish history, given that the island is split in two and therefore has two governments, one British and one Irish. The history of the two islands is inextricably linked. NI is both British by the fact that it is part of the UK and governed from Westminster (with a devolved government in Belfast for local affairs) and Irish by the fact that it is on the island of Ireland.
CardinalSin
+1
Level 82
Aug 29, 2021
St George probably didn't exist. can we please have a new patron saint? St Alban?
bigo80
+3
Level 43
Sep 4, 2021
St Harry Kane?
duckwantbread
+2
Level 66
Oct 26, 2021
Even if he did exist he never set foot in England so he's an odd choice for a patron saint.
brandybuck96
+1
Level 82
Nov 16, 2023
Try telling that to the 10 or so countries he's the patron saint of
Croppies98
+1
Level 70
Dec 2, 2025
He most likely existed, he is a thought to have been a Roman soldier. People aren't exactly sure where he was born, with Italy, Greece and Turkey all having been suggested. He is thought to have been buried at Lydda (modern Israel), where you can visit his supposed grave. The dragon he supposedly slayed was, however, completely fictional, as his connection to England. England's original patron saint was St. Edmund, who actually fought alongside King Alfred The Great against the Vikings. He was martyred by the Vikings when he refused to renounce his faith after capture. St. George was only made patron saint well after the Norman conquest in order to get rid of the last vestiges of the Anglo-Saxons in the English Church.
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
I learned yesterday he's the patron saint of Moscow. The dude just got around, driving dragons toward extinction.
lilpeepot
+4
Level 48
Aug 29, 2021
The Saxon's question is a bit vague, as the Saxon's obviously did inhabit the UK 1000 years ago, and some were descendants of the Celts / romans, so they partially were 'originals' that were conquered by Vikings and Normans, no? IDK just feels a bit of a weirdly phrased question.
Quizmaster
+18
Level ∞
Aug 29, 2021
There is no possible ambiguity. The Saxons were not the original inhabitants of Great Britain. Neither were the Celts for that matter.
Jango
+1
Level 63
Aug 29, 2021
Nice quiz (mainly because I got them all right 😮); it would be great to have wee explanations, like the St George one, for other answers, eg the one about colonizing the Americas (knew Britain wasn't the first, but not sure who was - Portugal?).
Carry
+4
Level 63
Aug 31, 2021
The first European community in North America was established by the Vikings.
NoahGBurns
+1
Level 37
Aug 30, 2021
Northern Ireland one was the only one I got wrong. I knew it was True, but put False cos im a numpty
Zenelle
+1
Level 47
Aug 31, 2021
Glad I got most of these correct as a Brit myself xD

The only one I got wrong was St. George... I knew he didn't spend a lot of time in his patron country but couldn't remember in which country he mostly lived.

maple
+3
Level 52
Sep 1, 2021
I got all but 2 correctly; I mixed up Queen Victoria with Queen Elizabeth I, because she was known as the Virgin Queen.
bigo80
+1
Level 43
Sep 4, 2021
Did Robert Dudley also call her Virgin Queen?
quizzesarefun
+1
Level 18
Nov 13, 2021
I thought wales would be a trick question
SanderQuiz
+1
Level 21
Feb 13, 2022
the biggest empire ever was actually the mongol empire but apparently its the british so i got the first question wrong
AlmostAGenius
+5
Level 89
May 27, 2022
The biggest empire ever was actually the British empire, so you’re wrong. Sorry, not sorry.
KittMonroe
+6
Level 80
Sep 22, 2022
Don't say "sorry not sorry" like you were someone. It's a perfectly reasonable objection that simply confuses the distinctions of "largest ever" and "largest single tract of land."
Adelie
+1
Level 56
Oct 25, 2022
you should update the female pm question

"Actually, theres 3"

Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Oct 25, 2022
Done
DictatorTalia
+1
Level 96
Dec 25, 2022
It's also notable that occasional violence has occurred after the agreement, even though it is widely agreed to have ended the conflict. According to Wikipedia, "There has been sporadic violence since the Agreement, including punishment attacks, loyalist gangs’ control of major organized crime rackets (e.g. drugs supply, community coercion and violence, intimidation, and other criminality) and violent crime linked to dissident republican groups."
BlackJohn
+1
Level 79
Dec 29, 2022
May I suggest you rephrase "in what is today Turkey"? I know it's an accurate statement but I am afraid it's misleading especially for Americans, having encountered many people on social media who think Thales, Herodotus, St Nicholas or St George were Turks
vermiciousknid
+5
Level 91
Jun 8, 2023
Maybe I don't understand your objection, but I don't see any need to rephrase the question. How would you prefer it to be phrased? Also not sure why you feel it is misleading "especially for Americans".
nick270502
+1
Level 57
Mar 6, 2023
only got the last question wrong... guess it's true (as seen in previous comments), I was just thinking about the troubles there rather than "The Troubles"
Manxman
+1
Level 35
Oct 13, 2023
there are still IRA terrorists active in Northern Ireland
Sifhraven
+1
Level 76
May 28, 2024
Wow! @ only 66% correct for the saxon question?!
kitkat2137
+1
Level 61
Feb 13, 2026
Somehow misread the Victoria question and thought it said Elizabeth
MovieQuizGuy
+1
Level 64
Apr 20, 2026
15/15, all thanks to Philomena Cunk.
British History True or False
Quiz series by Quizmaster
Copyright H Brothers Inc, 2008–2026
Contact Us | Go To Top | View Desktop Site | Site Map