The importance of the acquisition and retention of key strategic bases around the globe, 1763-1914

Question 1

When did Britain originally capture Gibraltar and Minorca?

Answer 1

Gibraltar= 1704 and Minorca= 1708

Question 2

When did Spain first try to recapture Gibraltar?

Answer 2

1727

Question 3

When was Admiral Byng executed for not deciding not to attack a French fleet at Minorca?

Answer 3

1757

Question 4

When was the Treaty of Aranjuez that meant the French agreed to help Spanish forces recapture Gibraltar and Minorca?

Answer 4

1779

Question 5

How many ships did Britain have in 1779 and 1781?

Answer 5

1779=90 and 1781=94

Question 6

How many ships did the French and Spanish have in 1779 and 1781?

Answer 6

1779= 121 ships and 1781=137 ships (with Dutch support as well)

Question 7

When was Gibraltar blockaded?

Answer 7

1779

Question 8

When did French-Spanish fleet land to besiege Minorca?

Answer 8

1781

Question 9

When did the British troops in Minorca led by General Murray surrender to the French-Spanish invasion?

Answer 9

February 1782

Question 10

When was there a major assault on Gibraltar that ultimately failed?

Answer 10

September 1782

Question 11

Which spice did Ceylon produce much of until the end of the 18th century?

Answer 11

Cinnamon

Question 12

How much did the capture of Ceylon immediately yield for the British?

Answer 12

£300,000

Question 13

When was the Treaty of Amiens that allowed Ceylon to be retained by the British?

Answer 13

1802

Question 14

When was the rebellion in Kandy (Ceylon) suppressed by Governor Brownrigg?

Answer 14

1817-1818

Question 15

Who arrived in Cape Town in 1795 demanding the colony hand itself over to the British for ‘safekeeping’?

Answer 15

Sir George Elphinstone

Question 16

When was the treaty with the Dutch that agreed to the British control of Cape Town?

Answer 16

1814

Question 17

When did Napoleon capture Malta?

Answer 17

1798

Question 18

When did Nelson blockade Valetta in response to the French invasion of Malta?

Answer 18

1799 and the French surrendered in 1800

Question 19

Britain left Malta in the temporary peace of 1802 but returned in which year?

Answer 19

1803

Question 20

When was the acquisition of the Falkland Islands after the surrender of the United Provinces’ leader Luis Vernet?

Answer 20

1833

Question 21

By 1800, how many people lived in Aden?

Answer 21

1,000

Question 22

When were the French defeated in Egypt after initial interest in Aden in 1798?

Answer 22

1801

Question 23

What was the name of the local ruler in Egypt during the 1830s that was of concern to the British?

Answer 23

Mehmet Ali Pasha

Question 24

When did the East India Company agree to pay for two ships to secure the steaming between Bombay and the Suez Canal?

Answer 24

1837

Question 25

Which island in 1835 did the East India Company take before going to Aden?

Answer 25

The Island of Socotra

Question 26

When did Commander Stafford Haines of the British Navy arrive in Aden?

Answer 26

1837

Question 27

How many frigates and men were sent to Aden without the prior approval of the British Government (a case of fat accompli)?

Answer 27

2 Frigates and 700 men

Question 28

When was Commander Stafford Haines tried for fraud and embezzlement after running a deficit of £28,000 in Aden?

Answer 28

1854

Question 29

When were the Russian conquests of Tashkent, Samarkand and Bukhara?

Answer 29

Tashkent= 1865; Samarkand= 1868 and Bukhara=1868

Question 30

When was the Washington Treaty that agreed lasting peace between the USA and the British?

Answer 30

1871

Question 31

When was Queen Victoria declared ‘Empress of India’?

Answer 31

1876

Question 32

When did the Russo-Turkish War break out?

Answer 32

1877

Question 33

How much did Disraeli get the parliament to approve for in terms of preparing for war after the Russian army defeated the Ottoman army?

Answer 33

£6 million

Question 34

When did the Ottoman empire surrender to the Russian therefore ceding most of the Balkans to Russia?

Answer 34

1878

Question 35

When was the acquisition of Cyprus to monitor the position of Russia in the area?

Answer 35

1878 for £93,000 annually

Question 36

When was the annexation of Transvaal?

Answer 36

1877

Question 37

When was the British invasion of Afghanistan?

Answer 37

1878

Question 38

When was the British conquest of Zetland?

Answer 38

1879

Question 39

When was Gladstone criticised for the under-funding of the Navy?

Answer 39

1884

Question 40

When had spending on the Royal Navy returned to a high level after Gladstone was criticised?

Answer 40

1889