praj-17/QA-MCQ-Open-ended huggingface dataset:
Title: British_Empire
Context: In 1869 the Suez Canal opened under Napoleon III, linking the Mediterranean with the Indian Ocean. Initially the Canal was opposed by the British; but once opened, its strategic value was quickly recognised and became the "jugular vein of the Empire". In 1875, the Conservative government of Benjamin Disraeli bought the indebted Egyptian ruler Isma'il Pasha's 44 percent shareholding in the Suez Canal for £4 million (£340 million in 2013). Although this did not grant outright control of the strategic waterway, it did give Britain leverage. Joint Anglo-French financial control over Egypt ended in outright British occupation in 1882. The French were still majority shareholders and attempted to weaken the British position, but a compromise was reached with the 1888 Convention of Constantinople, which made the Canal officially neutral territory.

question: When did the Suez Canal open? 

answer: 1869

question: Which ocean did the Suez Canal connect the Mediterranean to? 

answer: Indian Ocean

question: Which French leader ruled when the Suez Canal opened? 

answer: Napoleon III

question: How much did Britain spend to buy Egypt's share of the Suez Canal? 

answer: £4 million

question: The Suez Canal became neutral territory by what treaty? 

answer: Convention of Constantinople
Title: British_Empire
Context: With French, Belgian and Portuguese activity in the lower Congo River region undermining orderly incursion of tropical Africa, the Berlin Conference of 1884–85 was held to regulate the competition between the European powers in what was called the "Scramble for Africa" by defining "effective occupation" as the criterion for international recognition of territorial claims. The scramble continued into the 1890s, and caused Britain to reconsider its decision in 1885 to withdraw from Sudan. A joint force of British and Egyptian troops defeated the Mahdist Army in 1896, and rebuffed a French attempted invasion at Fashoda in 1898. Sudan was nominally made an Anglo-Egyptian Condominium, but a British colony in reality.

question: Where did France try to invade in 1898? 

answer: Fashoda

question: What army did Britain and Egypt defeat together? 

answer: Mahdist

question: When did Britain withdraw from Sudan? 

answer: 1885

question: What was the period of European empires competing to control Africa called? 

answer: the "Scramble for Africa"

question: Where was a conference held in 1884 to regulate European competition for Africa? 

answer: Berlin
Title: British_Empire
Context: The path to independence for the white colonies of the British Empire began with the 1839 Durham Report, which proposed unification and self-government for Upper and Lower Canada, as a solution to political unrest there. This began with the passing of the Act of Union in 1840, which created the Province of Canada. Responsible government was first granted to Nova Scotia in 1848, and was soon extended to the other British North American colonies. With the passage of the British North America Act, 1867 by the British Parliament, Upper and Lower Canada, New Brunswick and Nova Scotia were formed into the Dominion of Canada, a confederation enjoying full self-government with the exception of international relations. Australia and New Zealand achieved similar levels of self-government after 1900, with the Australian colonies federating in 1901. The term "dominion status" was officially introduced at the Colonial Conference of 1907.

question: When was it proposed to unify Upper and Lower Canada? 

answer: 1839

question: The Act of Union unified Canada into a territory by what name? 

answer: Province of Canada

question: When was the British North America Act passed? 

answer: 1867

question: When did Australia achieve self-government? 

answer: after 1900

question: When did New Zealand achieve self-government? 

answer: after 1900
Title: British_Empire
Context: The last decades of the 19th century saw concerted political campaigns for Irish home rule. Ireland had been united with Britain into the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland with the Act of Union 1800 after the Irish Rebellion of 1798, and had suffered a severe famine between 1845 and 1852. Home rule was supported by the British Prime minister, William Gladstone, who hoped that Ireland might follow in Canada's footsteps as a Dominion within the empire, but his 1886 Home Rule bill was defeated in Parliament. Although the bill, if passed, would have granted Ireland less autonomy within the UK than the Canadian provinces had within their own federation, many MPs feared that a partially independent Ireland might pose a security threat to Great Britain or mark the beginning of the break-up of the empire. A second Home Rule bill was also defeated for similar reasons. A third bill was passed by Parliament in 1914, but not implemented because of the outbreak of the First World War leading to the 1916 Easter Rising.

question: Which British Prime Minister first supported home rule of Ireland? 

answer: William Gladstone

question: The first Home Rule bill would have given Ireland less self-control than what other territory? 

answer: Canada

question: When was the Easter Rising? 

answer: 1916

question: When was a Home Rule bill passed? 

answer: 1914

question: The passed Home Rule Bill wasn't implemented because of which war? 

answer: the First World War
Title: British_Empire
Context: By the turn of the 20th century, fears had begun to grow in Britain that it would no longer be able to defend the metropole and the entirety of the empire while at the same time maintaining the policy of "splendid isolation". Germany was rapidly rising as a military and industrial power and was now seen as the most likely opponent in any future war. Recognising that it was overstretched in the Pacific and threatened at home by the Imperial German Navy, Britain formed an alliance with Japan in 1902 and with its old enemies France and Russia in 1904 and 1907, respectively.

question: Which country seemed like Britain's most likely threat in the early 20th century? 

answer: Germany

question: Which country did Britain ally with in 1902? 

answer: Japan

question: Which country did Britain ally with in 1904? 

answer: France

question: Which country did Britain ally with in 1907? 

answer: Russia
Title: British_Empire
Context: Britain's fears of war with Germany were realised in 1914 with the outbreak of the First World War. Britain quickly invaded and occupied most of Germany's overseas colonies in Africa. In the Pacific, Australia and New Zealand occupied German New Guinea and Samoa respectively. Plans for a post-war division of the Ottoman Empire, which had joined the war on Germany's side, were secretly drawn up by Britain and France under the 1916 Sykes–Picot Agreement. This agreement was not divulged to the Sharif of Mecca, who the British had been encouraging to launch an Arab revolt against their Ottoman rulers, giving the impression that Britain was supporting the creation of an independent Arab state.

question: When did the First World War begin? 

answer: 1914

question: When WW1 began, Britain took the opportunity to take over most of which country's colonies? 

answer: Germany

question: Who took over German New Guinea? 

answer: Australia

question: Who took over Samoa? 

answer: Sykes–Picot Agreement

question: The Sykes–Picot Agreement was signed in what year? 

answer: 1916
Title: British_Empire
Context: The British declaration of war on Germany and its allies also committed the colonies and Dominions, which provided invaluable military, financial and material support. Over 2.5 million men served in the armies of the Dominions, as well as many thousands of volunteers from the Crown colonies. The contributions of Australian and New Zealand troops during the 1915 Gallipoli Campaign against the Ottoman Empire had a great impact on the national consciousness at home, and marked a watershed in the transition of Australia and New Zealand from colonies to nations in their own right. The countries continue to commemorate this occasion on Anzac Day. Canadians viewed the Battle of Vimy Ridge in a similar light. The important contribution of the Dominions to the war effort was recognised in 1917 by the British Prime Minister David Lloyd George when he invited each of the Dominion Prime Ministers to join an Imperial War Cabinet to co-ordinate imperial policy.

question: When was the Gallipoli Campaign? 

answer: 1915

question: Which British Prime Minister recognized the Dominions' contributions in 1917? 

answer: David Lloyd George

question: The Gallipoli Campaign fought against which country? 

answer: the Ottoman Empire

question: The Imperial War Cabinet was created by which British Prime Minister? 

answer: Gallipoli Campaign

question: How many people were in the Dominions' armies? 

answer: Over 2.5 million
Title: British_Empire
Context: Under the terms of the concluding Treaty of Versailles signed in 1919, the empire reached its greatest extent with the addition of 1,800,000 square miles (4,700,000 km2) and 13 million new subjects. The colonies of Germany and the Ottoman Empire were distributed to the Allied powers as League of Nations mandates. Britain gained control of Palestine, Transjordan, Iraq, parts of Cameroon and Togo, and Tanganyika. The Dominions themselves also acquired mandates of their own: the Union of South Africa gained South-West Africa (modern-day Namibia), Australia gained German New Guinea, and New Zealand Western Samoa. Nauru was made a combined mandate of Britain and the two Pacific Dominions.

question: When was the Treaty of Versailles signed? 

answer: 1919

question: How many square miles did the Treaty of Versailles add to the British Empire? 

answer: 1,800,000

question: Which countries' colonies were given to the Allied powers in 1919? 

answer: Germany and the Ottoman Empire

question: What modern-day country is South-West Africa? 

answer: Namibia

question: How many people did the Treaty of Versailles add to the British Empire? 

answer: 13 million
Title: British_Empire
Context: The changing world order that the war had brought about, in particular the growth of the United States and Japan as naval powers, and the rise of independence movements in India and Ireland, caused a major reassessment of British imperial policy. Forced to choose between alignment with the United States or Japan, Britain opted not to renew its Japanese alliance and instead signed the 1922 Washington Naval Treaty, where Britain accepted naval parity with the United States. This decision was the source of much debate in Britain during the 1930s as militaristic governments took hold in Japan and Germany helped in part by the Great Depression, for it was feared that the empire could not survive a simultaneous attack by both nations. Although the issue of the empire's security was a serious concern in Britain, at the same time the empire was vital to the British economy.

question: When did Britain sign the Washington Naval Treaty? 

answer: 1922

question: The Great Depression helped which countries' governments become more militaristic? 

answer: Japan and Germany

question: When Britain had to choose between its Japanese alliance or the US, which did it choose? 

answer: United States

question: British imperialism was being reconsidered in light of which territories' independence movements? 

answer: India and Ireland
Title: British_Empire
Context: In 1919, the frustrations caused by delays to Irish home rule led members of Sinn Féin, a pro-independence party that had won a majority of the Irish seats at Westminster in the 1918 British general election, to establish an Irish assembly in Dublin, at which Irish independence was declared. The Irish Republican Army simultaneously began a guerrilla war against the British administration. The Anglo-Irish War ended in 1921 with a stalemate and the signing of the Anglo-Irish Treaty, creating the Irish Free State, a Dominion within the British Empire, with effective internal independence but still constitutionally linked with the British Crown. Northern Ireland, consisting of six of the 32 Irish counties which had been established as a devolved region under the 1920 Government of Ireland Act, immediately exercised its option under the treaty to retain its existing status within the United Kingdom.

question: When did Ireland establish their own assembly? 

answer: 1919

question: What political party established Ireland's assembly? 

answer: Sinn Féin

question: When did the Anglo-Irish War end? 

answer: 1921

question: What treaty was signed after the Anglo-Irish War? 

answer: Anglo-Irish Treaty

question: How many counties of Ireland are in Northern Ireland? 

answer: six
Title: British_Empire
Context: A similar struggle began in India when the Government of India Act 1919 failed to satisfy demand for independence. Concerns over communist and foreign plots following the Ghadar Conspiracy ensured that war-time strictures were renewed by the Rowlatt Acts. This led to tension, particularly in the Punjab region, where repressive measures culminated in the Amritsar Massacre. In Britain public opinion was divided over the morality of the event, between those who saw it as having saved India from anarchy, and those who viewed it with revulsion. The subsequent Non-Co-Operation movement was called off in March 1922 following the Chauri Chaura incident, and discontent continued to simmer for the next 25 years.

question: When was the Government of India Act passed? 

answer: 1919

question: What event stoked fears of communist plots in India? 

answer: the Ghadar Conspiracy

question: In what region was the Amritsar Massacre? 

answer: Punjab

question: The Chauri Chaura incident led to the end of what movement? 

answer: Non-Co-Operation
Title: British_Empire
Context: In 1922, Egypt, which had been declared a British protectorate at the outbreak of the First World War, was granted formal independence, though it continued to be a British client state until 1954. British troops remained stationed in Egypt until the signing of the Anglo-Egyptian Treaty in 1936, under which it was agreed that the troops would withdraw but continue to occupy and defend the Suez Canal zone. In return, Egypt was assisted to join the League of Nations. Iraq, a British mandate since 1920, also gained membership of the League in its own right after achieving independence from Britain in 1932. In Palestine, Britain was presented with the problem of mediating between the Arab and Jewish communities. The 1917 Balfour Declaration, which had been incorporated into the terms of the mandate, stated that a national home for the Jewish people would be established in Palestine, and Jewish immigration allowed up to a limit that would be determined by the mandatory power. This led to increasing conflict with the Arab population, who openly revolted in 1936. As the threat of war with Germany increased during the 1930s, Britain judged the support of the Arab population in the Middle East as more important than the establishment of a Jewish homeland, and shifted to a pro-Arab stance, limiting Jewish immigration and in turn triggering a Jewish insurgency.

question: When did Egypt regain formal independence from Britain? 

answer: 1922

question: When did Egypt stop being a British client state? 

answer: 1954

question: What treaty was signed in 1936? 

answer: Anglo-Egyptian Treaty

question: When did Iraq gain independence from Britain? 

answer: 1932

question: Britain became more pro-Arab in the 1930s at the expense of which race? 

answer: Jewish
Title: British_Empire
Context: The ability of the Dominions to set their own foreign policy, independent of Britain, was recognised at the 1923 Imperial Conference. Britain's request for military assistance from the Dominions at the outbreak of the Chanak Crisis the previous year had been turned down by Canada and South Africa, and Canada had refused to be bound by the 1923 Treaty of Lausanne. After pressure from Ireland and South Africa, the 1926 Imperial Conference issued the Balfour Declaration, declaring the Dominions to be "autonomous Communities within the British Empire, equal in status, in no way subordinate one to another" within a "British Commonwealth of Nations". This declaration was given legal substance under the 1931 Statute of Westminster. The parliaments of Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Union of South Africa, the Irish Free State and Newfoundland were now independent of British legislative control, they could nullify British laws and Britain could no longer pass laws for them without their consent. Newfoundland reverted to colonial status in 1933, suffering from financial difficulties during the Great Depression. Ireland distanced itself further from Britain with the introduction of a new constitution in 1937, making it a republic in all but name.

question: When was the right of Dominions to determine their own foreign policy recognized? 

answer: 1923

question: Which treaty did Canada ignore? 

answer: Treaty of Lausanne

question: When was the Balfour Declaration issued? 

answer: 1926

question: When was the status of Dominions as equal autonomous communities given legal force? 

answer: 1931

question: When did Ireland issue a new constitution? 

answer: 1937
Title: British_Empire
Context: After the German occupation of France in 1940, Britain and the empire stood alone against Germany, until the entry of the Soviet Union to the war in 1941. British Prime Minister Winston Churchill successfully lobbied President Franklin D. Roosevelt for military aid from the United States, but Roosevelt was not yet ready to ask Congress to commit the country to war. In August 1941, Churchill and Roosevelt met and signed the Atlantic Charter, which included the statement that "the rights of all peoples to choose the form of government under which they live" should be respected. This wording was ambiguous as to whether it referred to European countries invaded by Germany, or the peoples colonised by European nations, and would later be interpreted differently by the British, Americans, and nationalist movements.

question: When was France occupied by Germany? 

answer: 1940

question: When was the Atlantic Charter signed? 

answer: August 1941

question: Which British Prime Minister signed the Atlantic Charter? 

answer: Churchill

question: Which US President signed the Atlantic Charter? 

answer: Roosevelt

question: Which country first entered World War 2 after France's defeat? 

answer: Soviet Union
Title: British_Empire
Context: In December 1941, Japan launched, in quick succession, attacks on British Malaya, the United States naval base at Pearl Harbor, and Hong Kong. Churchill's reaction to the entry of the United States into the war was that Britain was now assured of victory and the future of the empire was safe, but the manner in which British forces were rapidly defeated in the Far East irreversibly harmed Britain's standing and prestige as an imperial power. Most damaging of all was the fall of Singapore, which had previously been hailed as an impregnable fortress and the eastern equivalent of Gibraltar. The realisation that Britain could not defend its entire empire pushed Australia and New Zealand, which now appeared threatened by Japanese forces, into closer ties with the United States. This resulted in the 1951 ANZUS Pact between Australia, New Zealand and the United States of America.

question: Which country attacked British Malaya in 1941? 

answer: Japan

question: Which country attacked Hong Kong in 1941? 

answer: Japan

question: When was the ANZUS Pact formed? 

answer: 1951

question: Which countries were in the ANZUS Pact? 

answer: Australia, New Zealand and the United States

question: Which territory had been compared to Gibraltar? 

answer: Singapore
Title: British_Empire
Context: Though Britain and the empire emerged victorious from the Second World War, the effects of the conflict were profound, both at home and abroad. Much of Europe, a continent that had dominated the world for several centuries, was in ruins, and host to the armies of the United States and the Soviet Union, who now held the balance of global power. Britain was left essentially bankrupt, with insolvency only averted in 1946 after the negotiation of a $US 4.33 billion loan (US$56 billion in 2012) from the United States, the last instalment of which was repaid in 2006. At the same time, anti-colonial movements were on the rise in the colonies of European nations. The situation was complicated further by the increasing Cold War rivalry of the United States and the Soviet Union. In principle, both nations were opposed to European colonialism. In practice, however, American anti-communism prevailed over anti-imperialism, and therefore the United States supported the continued existence of the British Empire to keep Communist expansion in check. The "wind of change" ultimately meant that the British Empire's days were numbered, and on the whole, Britain adopted a policy of peaceful disengagement from its colonies once stable, non-Communist governments were available to transfer power to. This was in contrast to other European powers such as France and Portugal, which waged costly and ultimately unsuccessful wars to keep their empires intact. Between 1945 and 1965, the number of people under British rule outside the UK itself fell from 700 million to five million, three million of whom were in Hong Kong.

question: How much money did the US loan to Britain after WW2? 

answer: $US 4.33 billion

question: When did Britain finish paying back the US loan? 

answer: 2006

question: When did the US make a large loan to Britain? 

answer: 1946

question: Though the US and the Soviet Union were both against colonialism, what was the US more afraid of? 

answer: communism

question: How many people outside the UK were under British rule in 1945? 

answer: 700 million
Title: British_Empire
Context: The pro-decolonisation Labour government, elected at the 1945 general election and led by Clement Attlee, moved quickly to tackle the most pressing issue facing the empire: that of Indian independence. India's two major political parties—the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League—had been campaigning for independence for decades, but disagreed as to how it should be implemented. Congress favoured a unified secular Indian state, whereas the League, fearing domination by the Hindu majority, desired a separate Islamic state for Muslim-majority regions. Increasing civil unrest and the mutiny of the Royal Indian Navy during 1946 led Attlee to promise independence no later than 1948. When the urgency of the situation and risk of civil war became apparent, the newly appointed (and last) Viceroy, Lord Mountbatten, hastily brought forward the date to 15 August 1947. The borders drawn by the British to broadly partition India into Hindu and Muslim areas left tens of millions as minorities in the newly independent states of India and Pakistan. Millions of Muslims subsequently crossed from India to Pakistan and Hindus vice versa, and violence between the two communities cost hundreds of thousands of lives. Burma, which had been administered as part of the British Raj, and Sri Lanka gained their independence the following year in 1948. India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka became members of the Commonwealth, while Burma chose not to join.

question: Who led the British government elected in 1945? 

answer: Clement Attlee

question: What were India's two largest political parties in the 1940s? 

answer: the Indian National Congress and the Muslim League

question: What was India's majority religion in the 1940s? 

answer: Hindu

question: When India was split into Hindu and Muslim areas, what country did the Muslim area become? 

answer: Pakistan

question: When did Burma get its independence? 

answer: 1948