Islam
This mostly Islamic nation was a founding member of the United Nations. It is known for the Suez Canal; standing alongside India in the Non-Aligned Movement; wars with Israel; and making peace with Israel in 1979.
What is Egypt?
The Congress of Vienna of 1815 aimed to create a balance of power after the defeat of this general/emperor.
Who is Napoleon (Napoleon Bonaparte)?
While she didn't have the exact title of "queen," Empress Dowager Cixi ("TSEE-see") ruled this country because her emperor son was just a boy. During the 1800s, she took small steps to modernize: railroads were constructed; the military was reformed.
What is China?
Mr. Westhoff's 10th great-grandfather is King Felipe IV, who reigned over this country from 1621 to 1665. Two-hundred-and-seventy years after Felipe's death, this same country had a brutal civil war, in which the Nazis and the Soviet Communists involved themselves: each on opposite sides.
What is Spain?
East Asia includes: Japan, China, and the Koreas. This includes: France, Belgium, Spain.
What is Western Europe?
In 2026, these are the two nations on the Indian Subcontinent with mostly Islamic populations.
What are Pakistan and Bangladesh?
This communist "empire" collapsed in 1991 after decades of economic stagnation, political reform attempts, and growing nationalist movements among its republics.
What is the Soviet Union (USSR)?
Queen Marie Antoinette was executed during this famous (or infamous) "Reign" in European history.
What is the Reign of Terror?
Mr. Westhoff's third-great-grandfather, James Whelan, arrived in New York in 1849. He was fleeing this tragic event in human history: caused by a fungus, and a UK parliament that didn't care much about the neighbors it controlled to the west.
What is the Irish Potato Famine (Irish Potato Blight)?
This country was welcomed into NATO in 1955. (The Soviet Union was furious).
What is West Germany?
This mostly Islamic people in the Balkan region of Europe generally commemorate Prime Minister Tony Blair of the UK, and President Bill Clinton of the United States, as heroes: these leaders organized NATO airstikes to protect them from ethnic cleansing, in 1999.
Who are the Albanians (Kosovar Albanians)?
The Austro-Hungarian Empire was finally broken up after this war: caused by a poisonous set of European alliances; plagued by trench warfare; igniter of Russian Revolutions; trigger for about 19 million deaths!
What is World War I (The Great War)?
Maria Theresa, wife of King Louis XIV, was queen consort from 1660 to 1683. She was a member of this Estate.
What is the Second Estate?
Mr. Westhoff's third-great-grandfather, Friedrich Wilhelm Wüstof, was born in Prussia. Also born in Prussia was this politician and strategist, who used nationalism and wars to create a unified Germany.
Who is Otto von Bismarck?
Thanks to American and British planes, Stalin couldn't keep supplies out of this resilient place. (Or "vittles" out its kids' stomachs)
What is West Berlin?
Controlling most of the Middle East, Ottoman rulers claimed this title, signifying their role as leaders of the Islamic community and guardians of the holy cities of Mecca, Medina, and Jerusalem.
What is caliph (or, sultan)?
This 19th-century Latin American independence leader helped break South America away from Spanish control, earning the nickname “El Libertador.”
Who is Simón Bolívar?
In 1689, Queen Mary of England was offered to take the throne along with her husband William: as long as she accepted the fact that the people had rights; and that Parliament was now in charge, not the monarch. The British have been ruled by this type of government ever since.
What is constitutional monarchy?
Mr. Westhoff's second-great grandmother, Luiga Bacigalupo, was born in this newly unified nation: nationalists supported this unification, but its most famous resident, Pope Pius IX, despised unfication, and his own loss of power.
What is Italy?
This colony started shortly after the Berlin Conference, lasting until 1958. It's capital was Dakar. "French ______________ ________________. "
What is French West Africa?
This Shiite Muslim cleric led the 1979 Iranian Revolution, overthrew the Shah, and became the first Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran.
Who is Ayatollah Khomeini?
This policy of “restructuring” to allow some capitalism, introduced by Mikhail Gorbachev, contributed to the breakup of the Soviet Union in 1991. ("Glasnost" was about personal freedoms, and is therefore a little different)
What is perestroika?
After the Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, the British East India Company lost control of India. Direct UK rule was created: the British Raj. She was given the title "Empress of India."
Who is Queen Victoria?
Many of Mr. Westhoff's ancestors sailed into New York Harbor, past the Statue of Liberty: a gift from France to commemorate this type of government, shared by both France and the United States for many many years.
What is democracy (or, republicanism)?
This process was embraced by the Meiji Emperor. Also, this process helped Kemal Atatürk to end his rule successfully.....the Shah of Iran: not so much!
What is westernization?