SAT II World History : Impact of the Ottoman Empire

Study concepts, example questions & explanations for SAT II World History

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Example Questions

Example Question #1 : Impact Of The Ottoman Empire

Which empire was often referred to as “the sick man of Europe” during the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries?

Possible Answers:

The Austro-Hungarian Empire

The Spanish Empire

The British Empire

The Ottoman Empire

The Russian Empire

Correct answer:

The Ottoman Empire

Explanation:

The “sick man of Europe” was a term first applied to the Ottoman Empire in the middle of the nineteenth century. At the time, the Ottoman Empire was suffering from extreme economic stagnation and had been, for some time, hemorrhaging territory to other empires in a series of disastrous wars. The term has since been used liberally to describe several failing European states and empires.

Example Question #1 : Impact Of The Ottoman Empire

What motivated the British to support the Ottoman Empire in the late nineteenth century?

Possible Answers:

Repayment of a debt sustained during the Crimean War 

Respect for the history and traditions of the Ottoman Empire

Loss of economic opportunities and trading rights in the region 

Desire to prevent the French Empire from expanding into the Middle East

Fears of Russian expansion into the Mediterranean 

Correct answer:

Fears of Russian expansion into the Mediterranean 

Explanation:

Much of British foreign policy in the latter decades of the nineteenth century was intended to combat Russian desires for territorial expansion. The British initially opposed the Russians in the Crimean War and then turned their attentions to bolstering the weakened Ottoman Empire against Russian occupation. The British were very fearful of the consequences to British hegemony if Russia was able to capture Istanbul, or any other important Ottoman city on the Mediterranean.

Example Question #3 : Impact Of The Ottoman Empire

Janissaries were __________.

Possible Answers:

Islamic missionaries who spread the faith to Indonesia and the Philippines

Christian missionaries who established outposts in the Ottoman Empire and encouraged religious toleration across the empire

Christian boys kidnapped and raised as highly trained troops in the Ottoman army

None of the other answer choices is correct; Janissaries were troops in the Russian Empire of Peter the Great

Outcasts in Ottoman society who helped undermine the regime of the Sultans from within

Correct answer:

Christian boys kidnapped and raised as highly trained troops in the Ottoman army

Explanation:

Janissaries were elite troops in the Ottoman army from the middle of the fourteenth century until the early nineteenth century. They were Christian boys kidnapped from the Balkans and Central Europe and raised to be members of a highly organized fighting force.

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