Divyanshu67/squad_v2 huggingface dataset:
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The Red Cross Society of China flew 557 tents and 2,500 quilts valued at 788,000 yuan (US$113,000) to Wenchuan County. The Amity Foundation already began relief work in the region and has earmarked US$143,000 for disaster relief. The Sichuan Ministry of Civil Affairs said that they have provided 30,000 tents for those left homeless.

Question: How many tents were flown to the region?
Answer: 557

Question: How many quilts were flown to the region?
Answer: 2,500

Question: How much were both supplies worth?
Answer: 788,000 yuan

Question: What county were the supplies flown to?
Answer: Wenchuan County

Question: How many tents did the Sichuan Ministry provide for the homeless?
Answer: 30,000

Question: What group took tents and quilts to Wenchuan county?
Answer: Red Cross Society of China

Question: How much has the Amity Foundation designated for disaster relief?
Answer: US$143,000

Question: How many tents did the Sichuan Ministry of Affairs provide?
Answer: 30,000

Question: What were all these tents and quilts for?
Answer: those left homeless

Question: What foundation had already begun relief work in the area?
Answer: The Amity Foundation
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The central government estimates that over 7,000 inadequately engineered schoolrooms collapsed in the earthquake. Chinese citizens have since invented a catch phrase: "tofu-dregs schoolhouses" (Chinese: 豆腐渣校舍), to mock both the quality and the quantity of these inferior constructions that killed so many school children. Due to the one-child policy, many families lost their only child when schools in the region collapsed during the earthquake. Consequently, Sichuan provincial and local officials have lifted the restriction for families whose only child was either killed or severely injured in the disaster. So-called "illegal children" under 18 years of age may be registered as legal replacements for their dead siblings; if the dead child was illegal, no further outstanding fines would apply. Reimbursement would not, however, be offered for fines that were already levied.

Question: How many schoolrooms collapsed in the quake?
Answer: 7,000

Question: What catch-phrase was invented as a result of collapsed schools?
Answer: tofu-dregs schoolhouses

Question: Why did so many schools collapse during the earthquake?
Answer: inadequately engineered

Question: What are the estimations of how many schoolrooms collapsed?
Answer: over 7,000

Question: What has the citizenry started calling these type of schools?
Answer: tofu-dregs schoolhouses

Question: What can illegal children be registered as in place of their dead siblings?
Answer: legal replacements
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

On the evening of May 18, CCTV-1 hosted a special four-hour program called The Giving of Love (simplified Chinese: 爱的奉献; traditional Chinese: 愛的奉獻), hosted by regulars from the CCTV New Year's Gala and round-the-clock coverage anchor Bai Yansong. It was attended by a wide range of entertainment, literary, business and political figures from mainland China, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. Donations of the evening totalled 1.5 billion Chinese Yuan (~US$208 million). Of the donations, CCTV gave the biggest corporate contribution at ¥50 million. Almost at the same time in Taiwan, a similarly themed programme was on air hosted by the sitting president Ma Ying-jeou. In June, Hong Kong actor Jackie Chan, who donated $1.57 million to the victims, made a music video alongside other artists entitled "Promise"; the song was composed by Andy Lau. The Artistes 512 Fund Raising Campaign, an 8-hour fundraising marathon, was held on June 1 in Hong Kong; it was attended by some 200 Sinosphere musicians and celebrities. In Singapore, MediaCorp Channel 8 hosted a 'live' programme 让爱川流不息 to raise funds for the victims.

Question: What did CCTV-1 host on the evening of May 18th?
Answer: four-hour program called The Giving of Love

Question: Who was the show hosted by?
Answer: Bai Yansong

Question: How large were the donations from the program?
Answer: Donations of the evening totalled 1.5 billion Chinese Yuan

Question: How much did Jackie Chan donate to support?
Answer: $1.57 million

Question: What was the name of the music video that Jackie Chan made for the event?
Answer: Promise

Question: What was the program that CCTV-1 hosted?
Answer: The Giving of Love

Question: What did the donations total for the program?
Answer: US$208 million

Question: What company gave the most?
Answer: CCTV

Question: How much did actor Jackie Chan donate?
Answer: 1.57 million

Question: What was the name of Chan's music video?
Answer: Promise
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Rescue efforts performed by the Chinese government were praised by western media, especially in comparison with Myanmar's blockage of foreign aid during Cyclone Nargis, as well as China's previous performance during the 1976 Tangshan earthquake. China's openness during the media coverage of the Sichuan earthquake led a professor at the Peking University to say, “This is the first time [that] the Chinese media has lived up to international standards”. Los Angeles Times praised China's media coverage of the quake of being "democratic".

Question: What did a professor at the Peking University say about the handling of the earthquake?
Answer: This is the first time [that] the Chinese media has lived up to international standards

Question: What did Myanmar block after Cyclone Nargis?
Answer: foreign aid

Question: What did a Peking professor say about Chinese media coverage?
Answer: up to international standards

Question: Who praised Chinese media coverage as being democratic?
Answer: Los Angeles Times

Question: In which previous catastrophe not live up to international standards?
Answer: 1976 Tangshan earthquake
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

As a result of the magnitude 7.9 earthquake and the many strong aftershocks, many rivers became blocked by large landslides, which resulted in the formation of "quake lakes" behind the blockages; these massive amounts of water were pooling up at a very high rate behind the natural landslide dams and it was feared that the blockages would eventually crumble under the weight of the ever-increasing water mass, potentially endangering the lives of millions of people living downstream. As of May 27, 2008, 34 lakes had formed due to earthquake debris blocking and damming rivers, and it was estimated that 28 of them were still of potential danger to the local people. Entire villages had to be evacuated because of the resultant flooding.

Question: What formed behind blockages?
Answer: quake lakes

Question: How many quake lakes formed?
Answer: 34

Question: How many of the lakes were a danger to people?
Answer: 28

Question: What was the magnitude of the Sichuan earthquake?
Answer: 7.9

Question: What blocked many of the area's rivers?
Answer: large landslides

Question: What formed behind the blocked rivers?
Answer: quake lakes

Question: By May 27, how many earthquake lakes had formed up behind landslide debris?
Answer: 34

Question: What had to be evacuated due to potential flooding?
Answer: Entire villages
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The most precarious of these quake-lakes was the one located in the extremely difficult terrain at Mount Tangjia in Beichuan County, Sichuan, accessible only by foot or air; an Mi-26T heavy lift helicopter belonging to the China Flying Dragon Special Aviation Company was used to bring heavy earthmoving tractors to the affected location. This operation was coupled with the work done by PLAAF Mi-17 helicopters bringing in PLA engineering corps, explosive specialists and other personnel to join 1,200 soldiers who arrived on site by foot. Five tons of fuel to operate the machinery was airlifted to the site, where a sluice was constructed to allow the safe discharge of the bottlenecked water. Downstream, more than 200,000 people were evacuated from Mianyang by June 1 in anticipation of the dam bursting.

Question: Where was the most precarious quake lake located?
Answer: Mount Tangjia in Beichuan County, Sichuan

Question: How could you only get to this quake lake?
Answer: by foot or air

Question: What machinery was airlifted into the location?
Answer: tractors

Question: How many people were evacuated downstream?
Answer: 200,000

Question: What was the fear that caused 200,000 people to be evacuated from Mianyang?
Answer: the dam bursting

Question: Where was the worst of the quake lakes located?
Answer: Mount Tangjia

Question: Where is Mount Tangjia?
Answer: Beichuan County, Sichuan

Question: How many soldiers had to travel to the area by foot?
Answer: 1,200
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The State Council declared a three-day period of national mourning for the quake victims starting from May 19, 2008; the PRC's National Flag and Regional Flags of Hong Kong and Macau Special Administrative Regions flown at half mast. It was the first time that a national mourning period had been declared for something other than the death of a state leader, and many have called it the biggest display of mourning since the death of Mao Zedong. At 14:28 CST on May 19, 2008, a week after the earthquake, the Chinese public held a moment of silence. People stood silent for three minutes while air defense, police and fire sirens, and the horns of vehicles, vessels and trains sounded. Cars and trucks on Beijing's roads also came to a halt. People spontaneously burst into cheering "Zhongguo jiayou!" (Let's go, China!) and "Sichuan jiayou" (Let's go, Sichuan!) afterwards.

Question: Who declared the mourning period?
Answer: The State Council

Question: What did the State Council declare a period of?
Answer: national mourning

Question: This was the biggest display of mourning since the death of who?
Answer: Mao Zedong

Question: When did the Chinese hold a moment of silence?
Answer: May 19, 2008

Question: What came to a halt during the moment of silence?
Answer: Cars and trucks

Question: How long was the national mourning for the quake victims to last?
Answer: three-day period
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The Ningbo Organizing Committee of the Beijing Olympic torch relay announced that the relay, scheduled to take place in Ningbo during national morning, would be suspended for the duration of the mourning period. The route of the torch through the country was scaled down, and there was a minute of silence when the next leg started in city of Ruijin, Jiangxi on the Wednesday after the quake.

Question: What was suspended for the duration of the mourning period?
Answer: Olympic torch relay

Question: Where was the relay scheduled to take place?
Answer: Ningbo

Question: What was suspended during the period of mourning?
Answer: Beijing Olympic torch relay

Question: Where was the torch relay supposed to take place?
Answer: in Ningbo

Question: What part of the relay did they change?
Answer: The route

Question: Where was there a minute of silence during the relay?
Answer: Ruijin, Jiangxi
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Many websites converted their home page to black and white; Sina.com and Sohu, major internet portals, limited their homepages to news items and removed all advertisements. Chinese video sharing websites Youku and Tudou displayed a black background and placed multiple videos showing earthquake footage and news reports. The Chinese version of MSN, cn.msn.com, also displayed banner ads about the earthquake and the relief efforts. Other entertainment websites, including various gaming sites, such as the Chinese servers for World of Warcraft, had shut down altogether, or had corresponding links to earthquake donations. After the moments of silence, in Tiananmen Square, crowds spontaneously burst out cheering various slogans, including "Long Live China". Casinos in Macau closed down.

Question: What colors did many websites convert their home pages to?
Answer: black and white

Question: What did internet portals remove from their home pages?
Answer: all advertisements

Question: Many of what shut down completely?
Answer: various gaming sites

Question: What did the crowds in Tiananmen Square do after the moment of silence?
Answer: burst out cheering

Question: What business closed in Macau?
Answer: Casinos
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Ye Zhiping, the principal of Sangzao Middle School in Sangzao, one of the largest in An County, has been credited with proactive action that spared the lives of all 2,323 pupils in attendance when the earthquake happened. During a three-year period that ended in 2007, he oversaw a major overhaul of his school. During that time he obtained more than 400,000 yuan (US$60,000) from the county education department, money used to widen and strengthen concrete pillars and the balcony railing of all four storeys of his school, as well as secure its concrete floors.

Question: Who was the principal of Sangzao Middle School? 
Answer: Ye Zhiping

Question: What was the principal credited with?
Answer: proactive action that spared the lives of all 2,323 pupils in attendance when the earthquake happened

Question: How many students attended the school?
Answer: 2,323

Question: How much money was used to strengthen the construction of the school?
Answer: 400,000 yuan

Question: What school principal strengthened his school?
Answer: Ye Zhiping

Question: Where is the Sangzao Middle School?
Answer: Sangzao

Question: The Sangzao school is one of the biggest in what county?
Answer: An County

Question: How many years was Ye Zhiping involved in the school overhaul?
Answer: three-year period
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The New York Times reported that "government officials in Beijing and Sichuan have said they are investigating the collapses. In an acknowledgment of the weakness of building codes in the countryside, the National Development and Reform Commission said on May 27 that it had drafted an amendment to improve construction standards for primary and middle schools in rural areas. Experts are reviewing the draft, the commission said." To limit protests, officials pushed parents to sign a document, which forbade them from holding protests, in exchange of money, but some who refused to sign were threatened. The payment amounts varied from school to school but were approximately the same. In Hanwang, parents were offered a package valued at 8,800 USD in cash and a per-parent pension of nearly 5,600 USD. Furthermore, officials used other methods of silencing: riot police officers broke up protests by parents; the authorities set up cordons around the schools; and officials ordered the Chinese news media to stop reporting on school collapses.

Question: What was given in exchange of signing the document?
Answer: money

Question: What other methods were used to break up protests?
Answer: riot police

Question: Who did the New York Times report was investigating the school collapses?
Answer: government officials

Question: What are officials seeking to do about protesting parents?
Answer: limit protests

Question: What are officials offering parents in exchange of protests?
Answer: money

Question: What has happened to some who refuse to agree to not protest?
Answer: were threatened

Question: What did officials order Chinese news media to stop reporting?
Answer: on school collapses
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Besides parents, Liu Shaokun (刘绍坤), a Sichuan school teacher, was detained on June 25, 2008 for "disseminating rumors and destroying social order" about the Sichuan earthquake. Liu’s family was later told that he was being investigated on suspicion of the crime of inciting subversion. Liu had travelled to the Shifang, taken photos of collapsed school buildings, and put them online. He had also expressed his anger at “the shoddy tofu-dregs buildings” (豆腐渣工程) in a media interview. He was ordered to serve one year of re-education through labor (RTL). According to the organization Human Rights in China, Liu has been released to serve his RTL sentence outside of the labor camp.

Question: Who was a Sichuan school teacher?
Answer: Liu Shaokun

Question: What was Liu's family told?
Answer: that he was being investigated on suspicion of the crime of inciting subversion

Question: What was Liu Shaokun's profession?
Answer: Sichuan school teacher

Question: Why was he investigated?
Answer: crime of inciting subversion

Question: What did Liu Shankun do with the pictures he took of collapsed schools?
Answer: put them online

Question: Where did he call the schoolhouses shoddy?
Answer: in a media interview

Question: What was his assigned punishment ?
Answer: one year of re-education
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

In January 2010, Hong Kong-based English newspaper The Standard reported that writer Tan Zuoren attempted to document shoddy construction that may have led to massive casualties in schools, was sentenced to in prison ostensibly for his writing an article in 2007 in support of the pro-democracy movement in 1989.

Question: When did the sentencing occur?
Answer: in 2007

Question: When was the article published about the case?
Answer: January 2010

Question: What did he think that the poor construction led to?
Answer: massive casualties
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Because of the magnitude of the quake, and the media attention on China, foreign nations and organizations immediately responded to the disaster by offering condolences and assistance. On May 14, UNICEF reported that China formally requested the support of the international community to respond to the needs of affected families.

Question: What did UNICEF report?
Answer: that China formally requested the support of the international community

Question: What did foreign nations offer China because of the severity of the quake?
Answer: condolences and assistance

Question: When did China formally ask for help from the international community?
Answer: May 14

Question: What organization reported that China asked for help?
Answer: UNICEF

Question: Why did the world community notice the need for help?
Answer: magnitude of the quake
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

By May 14, the Ministry of Civil Affairs stated that 10.7 billion yuan (approximately US$1.5 billion) had been donated by the Chinese public. Houston Rockets center Yao Ming, one of the country's most popular sports icons, gave $214,000 and $71,000 to the Red Cross Society of China. The association has also collected a total of $26 million in donations so far. Other multinational firms located in China have also announced large amounts of donations.

Question: How much did Yao Ming donate?
Answer: $214,000 and $71,000

Question: How much did the Red Cross collect in donations?
Answer: $26 million

Question: How much money had been donated by May 14?
Answer: 10.7 billion yuan

Question: What group donated the 10.7 yuan?
Answer: the Chinese public

Question: What famous basketball player made two large donations to the crisis?
Answer: Yao Ming

Question: How much has the Red Cross Society  collected?
Answer: 26 million
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Francis Marcus of the International Federation of the Red Cross praised the Chinese rescue effort as "swift and very efficient" in Beijing on Tuesday. But he added the scale of the disaster was such that "we can't expect that the government can do everything and handle every aspect of the needs". The Economist noted that China reacted to the disaster "rapidly and with uncharacteristic openness", contrasting it with Burma's secretive response to Cyclone Nargis, which devastated that country 10 days before the earthquake.

Question: What did Francis Marcus say of the Chinese relief effort?
Answer: swift and very efficient

Question: What uncharacteristic attitude did China display?
Answer: openness

Question: What kind of attitude did Burma display in response to a cyclone a few days earlier?
Answer: secretive

Question: How long before the quake did Cyclone Nargis strike Burma?
Answer: 10 days

Question: What organization did Francis Marcus represent?
Answer: International Federation of the Red Cross
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

Although the Chinese government was initially praised for its response to the quake (especially in comparison to Myanmar's ruling military junta's blockade of aid during Cyclone Nargis), it then saw an erosion in confidence over the school construction scandal.

Question: What government blocked aid after Cyclone Nargis?
Answer: Myanmar

Question: Over what scandal did the Chinese government lose in public opinion?
Answer: school construction scandal

Question: What was the Chinese government first praised for?
Answer: response to the quake
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

On May 29, 2008, government officials began inspecting the ruins of thousands of schools that collapsed, searching for clues about why they crumbled. Thousands of parents around the province have accused local officials and builders of cutting corners in school construction, citing that after the quake other nearby buildings were little damaged. In the aftermath of the quake, many local governments promised to formally investigate the school collapses, but as of July 17, 2008 across Sichuan, parents of children lost in collapsed schools complained they had yet to receive any reports. Local officials urged them not to protest but the parents demonstrated and demanded an investigation. Furthermore, censors discouraged stories of poorly built schools from being published in the media and there was an incident where police drove the protestors away.

Question: What did parents accuse builders of doing?
Answer: cutting corners

Question: As of July 17, 2008 what did parents complain of not receiving?
Answer: any reports

Question: What kind of stories were being censored in the media?
Answer: poorly built schools
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

The AP reported that "The state-controlled media has largely ignored the issue, apparently under the propaganda bureau's instructions. Parents and volunteers who have questioned authorities have been detained and threatened."

Question: Who has ignored the school issue?
Answer: state-controlled media

Question: Who gave instructions to ignore the school issue?
Answer: propaganda bureau

Question: What media source has reported this happening?
Answer: The AP
2008_Sichuan_earthquake

However questions still remain, as some of the corrupt government officials have still not been brought to justice, while the many families who lost their only child, are still seeking compensation and justice to what had happened. According to the Times, many parents were warned by the government not to stage a protest under the threat of arrest.

Question: Who has not been brought to justice?
Answer: corrupt government officials

Question: Who is still looking for compensation and justice?
Answer: many families

Question: What has the government threatened people with to keep them from protesting?
Answer: threat of arrest

Question: What media reported the threat of arrest?
Answer: the Times

Question: What did many families lose in the earthquake?
Answer: their only child
New_York_City

New York—often called New York City or the City of New York to distinguish it from the State of New York, of which it is a part—is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York metropolitan area, the premier gateway for legal immigration to the United States and one of the most populous urban agglomerations in the world. A global power city, New York exerts a significant impact upon commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and entertainment, its fast pace defining the term New York minute. Home to the headquarters of the United Nations, New York is an important center for international diplomacy and has been described as the cultural and financial capital of the world.

Question: What city in the United States has the highest population?
Answer: New York

Question: In what city is the United Nations based?
Answer: New York

Question: What city has been called the cultural capital of the world?
Answer: New York

Question: What American city welcomes the largest number of legal immigrants?
Answer: New York

Question: The major gateway for immigration has been which US city?
Answer: New York City

Question: The most populated city in the United States is which city?
Answer: New York City
New_York_City

Situated on one of the world's largest natural harbors, New York City consists of five boroughs, each of which is a separate county of New York State. The five boroughs – Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island – were consolidated into a single city in 1898. With a census-estimated 2014 population of 8,491,079 distributed over a land area of just 305 square miles (790 km2), New York is the most densely populated major city in the United States. As many as 800 languages are spoken in New York, making it the most linguistically diverse city in the world. By 2014 census estimates, the New York City metropolitan region remains by a significant margin the most populous in the United States, as defined by both the Metropolitan Statistical Area (20.1 million residents) and the Combined Statistical Area (23.6 million residents). In 2013, the MSA produced a gross metropolitan product (GMP) of nearly US$1.39 trillion, while in 2012, the CSA generated a GMP of over US$1.55 trillion, both ranking first nationally by a wide margin and behind the GDP of only twelve and eleven countries, respectively.

Question: How many boroughs comprise New York City?
Answer: five

Question: In what year were the five boroughs combined into one city?
Answer: 1898

Question: In 2014, what did the census estimate the population of New York City to be?
Answer: 8,491,079

Question: What is the size of New York City in square miles?
Answer: 305

Question: What is the population of New York's Combined Statistical Area?
Answer: 23.6 million

Question: How man boroughs does New York City contain?
Answer: five

Question: The five boroughs of New York City are named what?
Answer: Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, the Bronx, and Staten Island

Question: All five boroughs of New York City formed into one city on what date?
Answer: 1898

Question: What is the population of New York City as of 2014?
Answer: 8,491,079

Question: How many languages are spoken by the people of New York City?
Answer: 800
New_York_City

New York City traces its roots to its 1624 founding as a trading post by colonists of the Dutch Republic and was named New Amsterdam in 1626. The city and its surroundings came under English control in 1664. New York served as the capital of the United States from 1785 until 1790. It has been the country's largest city since 1790. The Statue of Liberty greeted millions of immigrants as they came to the Americas by ship in the late 19th and early 20th centuries and is a globally recognized symbol of the United States and its democracy.

Question: What was the trading post that preceded New York City called?
Answer: New Amsterdam

Question: What nation founded New Amsterdam?
Answer: the Dutch Republic

Question: In what year did New York become the largest city in the United States?
Answer: 1790

Question: When did the English take over the area from the Dutch?
Answer: 1664

Question: In what year did New York cease the be the capital of the United States?
Answer: 1790

Question: When was New York City established?
Answer: 1624

Question: New Amsterdam became the title of New York City in what past date?
Answer: 1626

Question: The English occupied New York City beginning on what date?
Answer: 1664

Question: New York City is the biggest city in the United States since what historical date?
Answer: 1790
New_York_City

Many districts and landmarks in New York City have become well known, and the city received a record 56 million tourists in 2014, hosting three of the world's ten most visited tourist attractions in 2013. Several sources have ranked New York the most photographed city in the world. Times Square, iconic as the world's "heart" and its "Crossroads", is the brightly illuminated hub of the Broadway Theater District, one of the world's busiest pedestrian intersections, and a major center of the world's entertainment industry. The names of many of the city's bridges, skyscrapers, and parks are known around the world. Anchored by Wall Street in the Financial District of Lower Manhattan, New York City has been called both the most economically powerful city and the leading financial center of the world, and the city is home to the world's two largest stock exchanges by total market capitalization, the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ. Manhattan's real estate market is among the most expensive in the world. Manhattan's Chinatown incorporates the highest concentration of Chinese people in the Western Hemisphere, with multiple signature Chinatowns developing across the city. Providing continuous 24/7 service, the New York City Subway is one of the most extensive metro systems worldwide, with 469 stations in operation. New York City's higher education network comprises over 120 colleges and universities, including Columbia University, New York University, and Rockefeller University, which have been ranked among the top 35 in the world.

Question: How many tourists visited New York in 2014?
Answer: 56 million

Question: How many stations are operated by the New York City Subway?
Answer: 469

Question: In what borough is Wall Street located?
Answer: Manhattan

Question: How many school and universities are in NYC?
Answer: 120

Question: NYC has the two largest stock exchanges in the world which are called what?
Answer: New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ
New_York_City

During the Wisconsinan glaciation, the New York City region was situated at the edge of a large ice sheet over 1,000 feet in depth. The ice sheet scraped away large amounts of soil, leaving the bedrock that serves as the geologic foundation for much of New York City today. Later on, the ice sheet would help split apart what are now Long Island and Staten Island.

Question: What island was once a part of Long Island?
Answer: Staten Island

Question: During what period was the area around New York City located at the edge of an ice sheet 1,000 feet deep?
Answer: the Wisconsinan glaciation

Question: Long Island and Staten Island were split in half by what geographical phenomenon?
Answer: ice sheet
New_York_City

The first documented visit by a European was in 1524 by Giovanni da Verrazzano, a Florentine explorer in the service of the French crown, who sailed his ship La Dauphine into New York Harbor. He claimed the area for France and named it "Nouvelle Angoulême" (New Angoulême).

Question: In what year did the first European arrive in the New York area?
Answer: 1524

Question: What was the name of the first European who arrived in the New York area?
Answer: Giovanni da Verrazzano

Question: What was the name of Giovanni da Verrazzano's ship?
Answer: La Dauphine

Question: What nation did Giovanni da Verrazzano serve?
Answer: France

Question: What did Giovanni da Verrazzano call the area when he staked claim on it?
Answer: Nouvelle Angoulême

Question: When was the first European to visit the area of NYC?
Answer: 1524

Question: Giovanni da Verrazzano's ship that sailed to New York was named what?
Answer: La Dauphine

Question: Giovani da Verrazzano was an explorer from which country?
Answer: France
New_York_City

A Spanish expedition led by captain Estêvão Gomes, a Portuguese sailing for Emperor Charles V, arrived in New York Harbor in January 1525 aboard the purpose-built caravel "La Anunciada" and charted the mouth of the Hudson River, which he named Rio de San Antonio. Heavy ice kept him from further exploration, and he returned to Spain in August. The first scientific map to show the North American East coast continuously, the 1527 world map known as the Padrón Real, was informed by Gomes' expedition, and labeled the Northeast as Tierra de Esteban Gómez in his honor.

Question: In what year did a Spanish expedition visit New York Harbor?
Answer: 1525

Question: Who commanded the Spanish expedition?
Answer: Estêvão Gomes

Question: What was the nationality of Estêvão Gomes?
Answer: Portuguese

Question: What monarch did Estêvão Gomes serve?
Answer: Charles V

Question: What was the name of Estêvão Gomes's ship?
Answer: La Anunciada

Question: The front of the Hudson River was named what by Estevao Gomes?
Answer: Rio de San Antonio

Question: What was the first map to show the whole North American East coast?
Answer: Padrón Real
New_York_City

In 1609, English explorer Henry Hudson re-discovered the region when he sailed his ship the Halve Maen ("Half Moon" in Dutch) into New York Harbor while searching for the Northwest Passage to the Orient for his employer, the Dutch East India Company. He proceeded to sail up what he named the North River, also called the Mauritis River, and now known as the Hudson River, to the site of the present-day New York State capital of Albany in the belief that it might represent an oceanic tributary. When the river narrowed and was no longer saline, he realized it was not a maritime passage and sailed back downriver. He made a ten-day exploration of the area and claimed the region for his employer. In 1614, the area between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay would be claimed by the Netherlands and called Nieuw-Nederland (New Netherland).

Question: What was the name of the explorer who visited the area in 1609?
Answer: Henry Hudson

Question: Who was Henry Hudson working for?
Answer: Dutch East India Company

Question: In what year did the Netherlands claim the area between Delaware Bay and Cape Cod?
Answer: 1614

Question: How many days did Henry Hudson spend exploring the region?
Answer: ten

Question: What did Henry Hudson call the river that is now called the Hudson River?
Answer: North River

Question: Henry Hudson worked for which company in the 1600s?
Answer: Dutch East India Company

Question: In what year was the land between Cape Cod and Delaware Bay claimed by the Dutch?
Answer: 1614

Question: Which explorer sailed his ship into New York harbor in 1609?
Answer: Henry Hudson
New_York_City

The first non-Native American inhabitant of what would eventually become New York City was Dominican trader Juan Rodriguez (transliterated to Dutch as Jan Rodrigues). Born in Santo Domingo of Portuguese and African descent, he arrived in Manhattan during the winter of 1613–1614, trapping for pelts and trading with the local population as a representative of the Dutch. Broadway, from 159th Street to 218th Street, is named Juan Rodriguez Way in his honor.

Question: Where was Juan Rodriguez born?
Answer: Santo Domingo

Question: What did the Dutch call Juan Rodriguez?
Answer: Jan Rodrigues

Question: What was Juan Rodriguez's occupation?
Answer: trader

Question: What is the street that is named after Juan Rodriguez?
Answer: Juan Rodriguez Way

Question: During what season did Juan Rodriguez first come to New York?
Answer: winter

Question: Who was the first non-Indian person to live in what is now NYC?
Answer: Juan Rodriguez

Question: Which street in NYC today is now named after Juan Rodriguez?
Answer: Broadway, from 159th Street to 218th Street
New_York_City

A permanent European presence in New Netherland began in 1624 – making New York the 12th oldest continuously occupied European-established settlement in the continental United States  – with the founding of a Dutch fur trading settlement on Governors Island. In 1625, construction was started on a citadel and a Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island, later called New Amsterdam (Nieuw Amsterdam). The colony of New Amsterdam was centered at the site which would eventually become Lower Manhattan. The Dutch colonial Director-General Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan from the Canarsie, a small band of the Lenape, in 1626 for a value of 60 guilders (about $1000 in 2006); a disproved legend says that Manhattan was purchased for $24 worth of glass beads.

Question: On what island did the Dutch set up a settlement to trade furs?
Answer: Governors Island

Question: On what island was Fort Amsterdam built?
Answer: Manhattan Island

Question: In what year did construction begin on Fort Amsterdam?
Answer: 1625

Question: What person bought Manhattan from the Canarsie for the Dutch?
Answer: Peter Minuit

Question: In what year did the Dutch buy Manhattan?
Answer: 1626

Question: New Netherland established a permanent European presence in what year?
Answer: 1624

Question: What year did building begin of Fort Amsterdam on Manhattan Island?
Answer: 1625

Question: What was the myth that Manhattan was bought for by General Peter Minuit ?
Answer: glass beads
New_York_City

In 1664, Peter Stuyvesant, the Director-General of the colony of New Netherland, surrendered New Amsterdam to the English without bloodshed. The English promptly renamed the fledgling city "New York" after the Duke of York (later King James II).

Question: What did the English call New Amsterdam after its capture?
Answer: New York

Question: What was the regnal name of the Duke of York?
Answer: James II

Question: What person gave up New Amsterdam to the English?
Answer: Peter Stuyvesant

Question: What was Peter Stuyvesant's title?
Answer: Director-General

Question: In what year did the English take over New Amsterdam?
Answer: 1664

Question: Who gave up New Amsterdam to the English without a fight in 1664?
Answer: Peter Stuyvesant
New_York_City

On August 24, 1673, Dutch captain Anthonio Colve took over the colony of New York from England and rechristened it "New Orange" to honor the Prince of Orange, King William III. However, facing defeat from the British and French, who had teamed up to destroy Dutch trading routes, the Dutch returned the island to England in 1674.

Question: What was the regnal name of the Prince of Orange?
Answer: William III

Question: What was the date of Anthonio Colve's capture of New York?
Answer: August 24, 1673

Question: What did Colve call New York after he captured it?
Answer: New Orange

Question: In what year did the Dutch give New York back to the English?
Answer: 1674

Question: August 24, 1673 is when which Dutch officer  took control of NYC?
Answer: Anthonio Colve

Question: The Dutch gave back the island to which country in 1674 after their trade routes had been destroyed?
Answer: England

Question: New York was called New Orange for a period based off which historical figure?
Answer: King William III
New_York_City

At the end of the Second Anglo-Dutch War, the English gained New Amsterdam (New York) in North America in exchange for Dutch control of Run, an Indonesian island. Several intertribal wars among the Native Americans and some epidemics brought on by contact with the Europeans caused sizable population losses for the Lenape between the years 1660 and 1670. By 1700, the Lenape population had diminished to 200.

Question: After what war did the English receive New Amsterdam?
Answer: Second Anglo-Dutch War

Question: How many Lenape lived in the area in 1700?
Answer: 200

Question: What was the name of the island the English traded to the Dutch in return for New Amsterdam?
Answer: Run

Question: In 1700, the Lenape Native American population had dwindled to how many?
Answer: 200

Question: After which war did England gain New York in exchange for Run, an Indonesian island?
Answer: Second Anglo-Dutch War
New_York_City

New York grew in importance as a trading port while under British rule in the early 1700s. It also became a center of slavery, with 42% of households holding slaves by 1730, more than any other city other than Charleston, South Carolina. Most slaveholders held a few or several domestic slaves, but others hired them out to work at labor. Slavery became integrally tied to New York's economy through the labor of slaves throughout the port, and the banks and shipping tied to the South. Discovery of the African Burying Ground in the 1990s, during construction of a new federal courthouse near Foley Square, revealed that tens of thousands of Africans had been buried in the area in the colonial years.

Question: In 1730, what percentage of New York households were slave-holding?
Answer: 42%

Question: In 1730, what American city had the highest percentage of slaveholders?
Answer: Charleston, South Carolina

Question: Near what square was the African Burial Ground unearthed?
Answer: Foley Square

Question: What was being built that resulted in the discovery of the African Burial Ground?
Answer: courthouse

Question: Which city in North America held the most slaves in the 1700s?
Answer: Charleston, South Carolina

Question: When was as African burial ground discovered after the building of new courthouse?
Answer: 1990s
New_York_City

The trial in Manhattan of John Peter Zenger in 1735 helped to establish the freedom of the press in North America. In 1754, Columbia University was founded under charter by King George II as King's College in Lower Manhattan. The Stamp Act Congress met in New York in October 1765 as the Sons of Liberty organized in the city, skirmishing over the next ten years with British troops stationed there.

Question: In what year was John Peter Zenger tried?
Answer: 1735

Question: On what island did Zenger's trial occur?
Answer: Manhattan

Question: In what year was Columbia University chartered?
Answer: 1754

Question: Under what king did the founding of Columbia University occur?
Answer: George II

Question: What was the original name of Columbia University?
Answer: King's College

Question: Which trial in Manhatten helped establish the right of freedom of the press?
Answer: John Peter Zenger

Question: Columbia University of New York was founded in what year?
Answer: 1754

Question: The Stamp Act Congress had a meeting in 1765 in which US city?
Answer: New York
New_York_City

The Battle of Long Island, the largest battle of the American Revolutionary War, was fought in August 1776 entirely within the modern-day borough of Brooklyn. After the battle, in which the Americans were defeated, leaving subsequent smaller armed engagements following in its wake, the city became the British military and political base of operations in North America. The city was a haven for Loyalist refugees, as well as escaped slaves who joined the British lines for freedom newly promised by the Crown for all fighters. As many as 10,000 escaped slaves crowded into the city during the British occupation. When the British forces evacuated at the close of the war in 1783, they transported 3,000 freedmen for resettlement in Nova Scotia. They resettled other freedmen in England and the Caribbean.

Question: What was the biggest battle of the American Revolution?
Answer: Battle of Long Island

Question: In what borough did the Battle of Long Island occur?
Answer: Brooklyn

Question: In what month and year was the Battle of Long Island fought?
Answer: August 1776

Question: About how many escaped slaves were in New York during the time the British occupied it?
Answer: 10,000

Question: In what year did the American Revolutionary War end?
Answer: 1783

Question: Which battle was the largest battle of the American Revolutionary war?
Answer: The Battle of Long Island

Question: Which borough of New York was the Battle of Long Island fought?
Answer: Brooklyn

Question: When did the English army start to retreat and evacuate NYC during the Battle of Long Island?
Answer: 1783
New_York_City

The only attempt at a peaceful solution to the war took place at the Conference House on Staten Island between American delegates, including Benjamin Franklin, and British general Lord Howe on September 11, 1776. Shortly after the British occupation began, the Great Fire of New York occurred, a large conflagration on the West Side of Lower Manhattan, which destroyed about a quarter of the buildings in the city, including Trinity Church.

Question: On what date did the peace conference on Staten Island occur?
Answer: September 11, 1776

Question: Who was the British representative at the Conference House meeting?
Answer: Lord Howe

Question: What notable catastrophe took place under the British occupation?
Answer: Great Fire of New York

Question: In what modern-day borough did the Great Fire happen?
Answer: Manhattan

Question: What noted religious building was destroyed in the Great Fire?
Answer: Trinity Church

Question: Who was the English general who met with Benjamin Franklin on Septermber 11, 1776?
Answer: Lord Howe

Question: Which natural disaster happened after English occupation of Lower Manhattan?
Answer: the Great Fire of New York
New_York_City

In 1785, the assembly of the Congress of the Confederation made New York the national capital shortly after the war. New York was the last capital of the U.S. under the Articles of Confederation and the first capital under the Constitution of the United States. In 1789, the first President of the United States, George Washington, was inaugurated; the first United States Congress and the Supreme Court of the United States each assembled for the first time, and the United States Bill of Rights was drafted, all at Federal Hall on Wall Street. By 1790, New York had surpassed Philadelphia as the largest city in the United States.

Question: In what year did New York become the United States capital?
Answer: 1785

Question: Who was the United States' first President?
Answer: George Washington

Question: In what building did the Supreme Court of the United States first sit?
Answer: Federal Hall

Question: On what street did the writing of the Bill of Rights occur?
Answer: Wall Street

Question: What was the second largest city in the United States in 1790?
Answer: Philadelphia

Question: Which organization made New York the national capital in 1785?
Answer: Congress of the Confederation

Question: New York City became the first what under the new Constitution of the United States?
Answer: capital

Question: The first president, George Washington, took office in what year?
Answer: 1789

Question: By which year, did New York City become the largest city in the United States?
Answer: 1790
New_York_City

Under New York State's gradual abolition act of 1799, children of slave mothers were born to be eventually liberated but were held in indentured servitude until their mid-to-late twenties. Together with slaves freed by their masters after the Revolutionary War and escaped slaves, a significant free-black population gradually developed in Manhattan. Under such influential United States founders as Alexander Hamilton and John Jay, the New York Manumission Society worked for abolition and established the African Free School to educate black children. It was not until 1827 that slavery was completely abolished in the state, and free blacks struggled afterward with discrimination. New York interracial abolitionist activism continued; among its leaders were graduates of the African Free School. The city's black population reached more than 16,000 in 1840.

Question: In what year did the state of New York pass a law to free the slaves?
Answer: 1799

Question: What borough was home to a notable population of free African-Americans?
Answer: Manhattan

Question: Along with John Jay, who founded the New York Manumission Society?
Answer: Alexander Hamilton

Question: In what year did the state of New York eliminate slavery?
Answer: 1827

Question: In 1840, about how many African-Americans lived in New York City?
Answer: 16,000

Question: The gradual abolition act in New York was formed in what year?
Answer: 1799

Question: When was slavery completely outlawed in the state of New York?
Answer: 1827
New_York_City

In the 19th century, the city was transformed by development relating to its status as a trading center, as well as by European immigration. The city adopted the Commissioners' Plan of 1811, which expanded the city street grid to encompass all of Manhattan. The 1825 completion of the Erie Canal through central New York connected the Atlantic port to the agricultural markets and commodities of the North American interior via the Hudson River and the Great Lakes. Local politics became dominated by Tammany Hall, a political machine supported by Irish and German immigrants.

Question: What plan of 1811 spread a grid of streets across Manhattan?
Answer: Commissioners' Plan

Question: In what year did the Erie Canal finish building?
Answer: 1825

Question: What political machine controlled New York politics in this era?
Answer: Tammany Hall

Question: Along with German immigrants, immigrants of what nationality supported Tammany Hall?
Answer: Irish

Question: The Erie Canal was finished being built in what year?
Answer: 1825