All SAT II World History Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Other Enlightenment History
Tsar Alexander II of Russia is best remembered for doing which of the following?
Emancipating the serfs
Modernizing the Russian army
Ushering in the Russian Revolution by being murdered
Establishing St. Petersberg as the Russian capital
Gaining control of the Crimea by defeating the French and the British
Emancipating the serfs
Alexander II is often called "Alexander the Liberator" because in 1861, he ended the centuries long economic system of serfdom by emancipating the serfs. Serfdom was effectively slavery by another name. A serf was the property of his or her landowner and could not move without the landowner's permission. Serfs were expected to work the land and provide for their master's prosperity.
Example Question #2 : Other Enlightenment History
In what century were the Russian serfs emancipated?
The sixteenth century
The eighteenth century
The seventeenth century
The twentieth century
The nineteenth century
The nineteenth century
The Russian serfs were emancipated in 1861 by Tsar Alexander II. The institution of serfdom was very similar to the institution of slavery and underpinned the whole feudal system of economic and social life throughout much of Europe from the fall of the Roman empire until the Industrial Revolution. It is worth noting that the emancipation of the serfs in Russia and the slaves in the United States happened at very much the same time. Clearly there was a global movement away from forced labor.
Example Question #3 : Other Enlightenment History
In pre-revolution France, the First Estate was comprised of __________.
The peasants
The clergy
Nobility
Royalty
The press
The clergy
In France, under the Old Regime (before the French Revolution), France was partially governed by the Estates-General. This was a form of political representation where various classes of people, or “estates,” were represented as a group. The First Estate was composed of clergymen; the Second Estate was made up of noblemen; and the Third Estate was comprised of the common man (everyone else).
Example Question #4 : Other Enlightenment History
Catherine the Great, Frederick the Great, and Maria Theresa of Austria are all examples of __________.
All of these answers are correct.
Holy Roman Emperors
constitutional monarchs
enlightened despots
Protestant supporters
enlightened despots
Catherine the Great of Russia, Frederick the Great of Prussia, and Maria Theresa of Austria are three well-known examples of "enlightened despots." During the Enlightenment era, many absolute rulers came to embrace the practices and ideals of the Enlightenment thinkers. These rulers did little to encourage democracy or constitutionalism in their countries and still ruled in an autocratic style, but they were more likely to favor freedom of speech, along with freedom of religion and expression.
Example Question #418 : Sat Subject Test In World History
Which of these statements about the "Grand Tour" is NOT true?
A Grand Tour involved an organized trip around Europe.
Only aristocrats were able to undertake a Grand Tour.
It only became practical with the advent of the railroad.
It was meant to serve as an education in art and the origins of western civilization.
It was primarily undertaken by young men, after finishing university.
It only became practical with the advent of the railroad.
Throughout the Enlightenment period, it was common for young aristocratic men, particularly from Britain or Northern Europe, to undergo a "Grand Tour." This involved a months-long trip around the major sites of Enlightenment Europe. It was particularly focused on Italy and France. The purpose was to gain a greater understanding of art history and the history of western civilization. The only one of these statements that is not true is that it only became practical with the advent of the railroad—the railroad merely made it easier; people had been doing it since the early-seventeenth century.
Example Question #5 : Other Enlightenment History
The War of Austrian Succession began with challenges to which ruler?
Leopold II
Joseph I
Joseph II
Marie Antoinette
Maria Theresa
Maria Theresa
The War of Austrian Succession was fought in the 1740s over the issue of whether Maria Theresa was fit to inherit the Hapsburg throne of Austria from her father. Those contending that she was unfit were doing so on the premise that, as a woman, she was ineligible for the throne. The war ended with Maria Theresa victorious and sitting on the throne of Austria, which she would continue to do for the next several decades.
Example Question #7 : Other Enlightenment History
How did the declining influence of the Catholic Church most directly contribute to the commercial and banking revolution?
It allowed investors to lend money and charge interest in return.
It freed individuals in Northern Europe to pursue a more academic and secular life.
None of these answers are correct; the decline of the Catholic Church had no influence on the commercial and banking revolution.
It opened up the New World to European colonialism and flooded the European economy with gold and silver specie.
All of these answers are correct.
It allowed investors to lend money and charge interest in return.
Under Catholic tradition, it is forbidden to lend money with the expectation that the loanee will then pay back the money plus interest. This is called usury. When Catholicism was the dominant expression of Christianity in Europe, any type of business venture (as we understand them now) was largely impossible, or relied on one incredibly wealthy patron making himself slightly more wealthy. The rise of Protestantism and the decline of Catholicism allowed many of the Northern European countries in particular to start funding colonizing missions, explorations, and long-distance trading ventures through lending money. This radically altered the direction of European history and inspired the commercial and banking revolutions of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries.
Example Question #1 : Other Enlightenment History
Conservatives during the Enlightenment period favored __________.
slow and gradual change within society to prevent chaos and disorder
rapid and progressive change within society to prevent autocracy and tyranny
completely eliminating the influence of religion on secular and political life
an immediate return to previous autocratic institutions or a preservation of the tyrannical status quo
None of these answers is correct.
slow and gradual change within society to prevent chaos and disorder
During the Enlightenment period, political philosophy generally fell under two headings: conservatism and liberalism. Liberals favored rapid, progressive change, often brought about through revolution or bloodshed, and they desired an immediate end to autocracy and absolute monarchy. Conservatives, on the other hand, favored slower, more gradual change to society and feared chaos and disorder more than they feared autocracy.
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All SAT II World History Resources
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