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British History True or False

Can you guess whether these historical statements about Great Britain and the British Empire are true or false?
Quiz by Quizmaster
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Featured Quiz
Last updated: August 25, 2021
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First submittedAugust 25, 2021
Times taken16,109
Average score80.0%
Rating4.46
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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.
True ✓
False ✓
There have been three: Margaret Thatcher, Theresa May, and Liz Truss
4. King Arthur is buried in Westminster Abbey
True ✓
False ✓
5. No English king has ever died in battle
True ✓
False ✓
Richard III was the most recent to die in battle, in 1485
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
True ✓
False ✓
St. George lived in what is today Turkey
8. Queen Victoria is thought to have died a virgin
True ✓
False ✓
She had nine children. Her numerous descendants sit on the thrones of many European kingdoms today.
9. In the year 1500, Wales had a higher population than England
True ✓
False ✓
Then as now, England was much more populous than Wales
10. England fought against France during the Hundred Years' War
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 ✓
ruftytufty
+7
Level 77
Aug 25, 2021
I think that "most historians think there's insufficient proof that Arthur existed" would be rather more accurate.
stevediverse
+14
Level 91
Aug 26, 2021
Although I hold your point as well taken, there's no King Arthur buried in Westminster Abbey, and so, no matter the wording of the question, "False" will be the correct answer.
phalocrocorax
+2
Level 81
Aug 26, 2021
Yes, most think there's insufficient proof he existed but there's certainly insufficient proof that he didn't exist! However, it seems pretty certain that even if he existed he would have died at least 400 years before Westminster Abbey was built.
ruftytufty
+2
Level 77
Aug 26, 2021
yes, the question's fine - it's the supplemental comment that goes too far.
stylus
+2
Level 72
Aug 29, 2021
you don’t need proof he didn’t exist, that’s not how the burden of proof works. show any kind of evidence he did exist first, then a counterargument is required, but not before
ruftytufty
+2
Level 77
Aug 29, 2021
Any kind of proof? His name's mentioned first in Y Gododdin, from around the 9th century. Your go then...
stusum
+1
Level 62
Sep 2, 2021
A name in a book isn't sufficient evidence.
ruftytufty
+1
Level 77
Sep 2, 2021
I agree, hence my comment starting this thread. We know there was prolonged Romano-British/Brythonic resistance to the Anglo-Saxons. Whether one of their war leaders was actually called Arthur is a pretty empty question. The reference to Arthur in Y Gododdin is as a paradigm warrior so he's already legendary in one sense but plainly the whole round table/Sir Lancelot malarkey is a wholly distinct medieval confection.
OfficerDibble
+3
Level 78
Aug 26, 2021
Ooh, 5/5 first time. Wish I could say that was a common occurrence.
BlackJohn
+1
Level 72
Dec 29, 2022
you wouldn't be lvl 78 if it wasn't
Kevinmak
+2
Level 59
Aug 26, 2021
Are The Troubles in NI really considered to have ended?
ManOfQuality
+9
Level 47
Aug 26, 2021
Mostly, yes. Car bombs and setting fire to police stations aren't really that common any more
Fresco3
+1
Level 67
Aug 27, 2021
They’re not exactly uncommon compared to the rest of Western Europe..
Quizmaster
+1
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
+1
Level 63
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.
davrousseau
+6
Level 69
Aug 26, 2021
Wasn't the mongol empire ever? Or maybe it was the largest land empire ever and I'm confused
TWM03
+9
Level 67
Aug 26, 2021
The Mongol empire is second, and yes it was a land empire in that it consisted of continuous land.
WelshWizard
+6
Level 80
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
+1
Level 72
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.

JackintheBox
+1
Level 77
Aug 29, 2021
Argh, I only got the Saxons question wrong!!
erikj
+2
Level 62
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
+1
Level 67
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!).
CardinalSin
+1
Level 75
Aug 29, 2021
St George probably didn't exist. can we please have a new patron saint? St Alban?
bigo80
+1
Level 40
Sep 4, 2021
St Harry Kane?
duckwantbread
+1
Level 58
Oct 26, 2021
Even if he did exist he never set foot in England so he's an odd choice for a patron saint.
lilpeepot
+4
Level 49
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
+9
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 62
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
+2
Level 63
Aug 31, 2021
The first European community in North America was established by the Vikings.
NoahGBurns
+1
Level 35
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
+1
Level 53
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 40
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
+2
Level 74
May 27, 2022
The biggest empire ever was actually the British empire, so you’re wrong. Sorry, not sorry.
KittMonroe
+3
Level 78
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 50
Oct 25, 2022
you should update the female pm question

"Actually, theres 3"

Quizmaster
+1
Level ∞
Oct 25, 2022
Done
DictatorTal
+1
Level 66
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 72
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
nick270502
+1
Level 54
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"
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