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Last Updated: Monday, 5 April, 2004, 12:39 GMT 13:39 UK
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Quiz: Do you know your history?
Blackadder and friends
What's history and what's Baldrick?
Have Hollywood films and TV shows eroded your understanding of history? Test your knowledge of some of the key events and figures of the past.

A survey to mark the 300th anniversary of the Battle of Blenheim has found that many Britons have trouble distinguishing between fact and fiction. One in three believes the Cold War did not happen, while more than one in 10 thinks that Adolf Hitler never existed.

And historians are concerned that script writers have convinced us that fictional characters like Xena Warrior Princess and Edmund Blackadder are real.

How clued up are you? Test yourself.

Question 1
Just one in four of those surveyed knew the Battle of Blenheim was a real event. What happened?
A: The first Duke of Marlborough beat Louis XIV's forces by the River Danube, near the village of Blindheim
B: King James’ forces were outflanked by those of William, forcing him to flee to France
C: Napoleon's troops were turned back at Blenheim, swiftly leading to Nelson's victory at Trafalgar
Question 2
Some thought fictional events had actually taken place. Which of the following did most believe really happened?
A: Martian invasion of Earth, from War of the Worlds
B: Earth taken over by apes, from Planet of the Apes
C: Battle of Helm's Deep, from The Two Towers
D: Battle of Endor, from Return of the Jedi
Question 3
"Many that live deserve death. And some die that deserve life. Can you give it to them? Then be not too eager to deal out death in the name of justice, fearing for your own safety. Even the wise cannot see all ends." Said who?
A: Winston Churchill
B: JRR Tolkien
C: Yoda
Question 4
Wartime PM Winston Churchill provided a mine of quotable quotes. Which of the following did he NOT say?
A: "I have nothing to offer but blood, toil, tears, and sweat"
B: "I like pigs. Dogs look up to us. Cats look down on us. Pigs treat us as equals"
C: "He has all the virtues I dislike and none of the vices I admire"
D: "A riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma"
E: All are his
F: None are his
Question 5
"I don't know why anyone complains because no-one had heard of this before the film." Inaccuracies in which historical movie?
A: U-571
B: Braveheart
C: The Great Escape
Question 6
1066 and All That was a humorous history of the British Isles which took huge liberties with the truth, and helped sow myths and mistaken beliefs which persist 74 years after its publication. Which important battle falls into the "all that" category, having not been fought in 1066?
A: The Battle of Hastings
B: The Battle of Culloden
C: The Battle of Stamfordbridge
Question 7
Which of the following is not a real historical figure?
A: Robin Hood
B: Ethelred the Unready
C: Dick Turpin
D: Guy Fawkes
Question 8
The Tudor king Henry VIII set in motion radical reforms of the church. What was the main reason?
A: A pious man, he disliked the ornate trappings of Catholicism
B: Obsessed with power, he wanted to supplant the Pope's supremacy
C: Keen for a male heir, he wanted to take a new wife
Question 9
Britain has had 51 prime ministers since Robert Walpole first held the office in 1721. Which of these four came first?
A: Arthur James Balfour
B: Sir Henry Campbell-Bannerman
C: David Lloyd George
D: Stanley Baldwin
Question 10
There are many and various theories as to how America got its name. Pick the possible namesake who was a Briton.
A: America, Christopher Columbus' daughter
B: Amerike, a merchant who bankrolled a voyage of discovery
C: Amerigo, a mapmaker who surveyed the coastline after Columbus' discovery

 Press the button and see how you have done

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