A recurring factual component in regional civil services prelims. It maps modern political states to their historical, colonial, or pre-colonial nomenclatures ($toponyms$), helping trace geopolitical evolution.
Correct Answer:
(A) Southern Rhodesia
Zimbabwe was earlier known as Southern Rhodesia. It was a British colony. Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, was earlier known as Salisbury. Economic instability caused many Zimbabweans to emigrate. Prior to its recognized independence as Zimbabwe in 1980, the nation had been known by several names: Rhodesia, Southern Rhodesia, and Zimbabwe Rhodesia. It was a British colony. Harare, the capital of Zimbabwe, was earlier known as Salisbury.
Ques: 2
Which country was previously known as “Siam”?
Correct Answer:
(A) A) Thailand
Siam, as Thailand was officially called until 1939, was never brought under European colonial domination. Independent Siam was ruled by an absolute monarchy until a revolution there in 1932.
Ques: 3
Which country was formerly known as “Ceylon”?
Correct Answer:
(A) A) Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait.
Ques: 4
Which country was formerly known as Abyssinia?
Correct Answer:
(C) C) Ethiopia
In English, and generally outside of Ethiopia, the country was historically known as Abyssinia. This toponym was derived from the Latinized form of the ancient Habash.
Ques: 5
Which country was previously known as Rhodesia?
Correct Answer:
(B) B) Zimbabwe
In the 1880s the country became a British Colony, called Southern Rhodesia, which lasted until 1965 when the white minority declared independence from Britain to avoid having majority rule. After this the Country was known as Rhodesia. In 1980 the Country gained independence, after a 15 year long Civil War.
Ques: 6
What is the current name of the country formerly known as the Gold Coast?
Correct Answer:
(A) A) Ghana
Until its independence from British Colonial rule on 6th March, 1957, Ghana was called the “Gold Coast” a name given it by early Portuguese explorers who first set foot on the shores of the country in the fifteenth century.
Ques: 7
What is the new name of the country formerly known as Kampuchea?
Correct Answer:
(C) C) Cambodia
Democratic Kampuchea was the official name of the Cambodian state from 1976 to 1979, under the government of Pol Pot and the Communist Party of Kampuchea (CPK), commonly known as the Khmer Rouge. The Khmer Rouge's capture of the capital Phnom Penh in 1975 effectively ended the United States-backed Khmer Republic of Lon Nol.
Ques: 8
What is the current name of the country formerly known as Formosa?
Correct Answer:
(B) B) Taiwan
In 1517 a Portuguese ship sailed through the Taiwan Strait, and the ship's log recorded the words “Ilha Formosa,” meaning “Beautiful Island” in Portuguese. Formosa subsequently became the Western term for Taiwan.
Ques: 9
Which country was formerly known as the Dutch East Indies?
Correct Answer:
(B) B) Indonesia
The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies (Dutch: Nederlands(ch)-Indië; Indonesian: Hindia Belanda), was a Dutch colony with territory mostly comprising the modern state of Indonesia, which declared independence on 17 August 1945.
Ques: 10
Which country was previously known as Upper Volta?
Correct Answer:
(B) B) Burkina Faso
On 2 August 1984, on Sankara's initiative, the country's name changed from "Upper Volta" to "Burkina Faso", or land of the honest men; (the literal translation is land of the upright men).
Ques: 11
Which country was formerly known as the Gilbert Islands?
Correct Answer:
(C) C) Kiribati
The United States recognized the Republic of Kiribati (formerly the Gilbert Islands) on September 20, 1979, when the two nations signed a Treaty of Friendship. The Gilbert Islands, previously a British colony, had gained independence on July 12, 1979, under the name of Kiribati.
Ques: 12
What is the other name of Japan?
Correct Answer:
(A) Nippon
The name for Japan in Japanese is written using the kanji 日本 and is pronounced Nihon or Nippon. Before 日本 was adopted in the early 8th century, the country was known in China as Wa (倭, changed in Japan around 757 to 和) and in Japan by the endonym Yamato.