Q 01/05

Which British author served in Burma's Imperial Police in the 1920s before turning to writing?

A) George Orwell

B) Rudyard Kipling

C) Graham Greene

D) Somerset Maugham

Answer · why

A) George Orwell

George Orwell left Burma on sick leave in 1927 and, once back in England, resigned from the police to become a writer.

Q 02/05

What is the capital city of Myanmar?

A) Mandalay

B) Bago

C) Mawlamyine

D) Naypyidaw

Answer · why

D) Naypyidaw

Naypyidaw: the government began moving there in 2005, but the new capital was only proclaimed under that name in March 2006.

Q 03/05

What is Myanmar's largest city?

A) Mandalay

B) Yangon

C) Taunggyi

D) Pathein

Answer · why

B) Yangon

Yangon, Myanmar's commercial hub, is where the British exiled Bahadur Shah II, the last Mughal emperor, after India's 1857 revolt.

Q 04/05

Which Second World War route did Japan force Allied prisoners to build between Thailand and Burma?

A) The Death Railway

B) The Burma Road

C) The Ledo Road

D) The Hump

Answer · why

A) The Death Railway

The Death Railway ran 415 km from Ban Pong in Thailand to Thanbyuzayat in Burma, and more than 12,000 Allied prisoners died building it.

Q 05/05

Myanmar holds what distinction among the countries of mainland Southeast Asia?

A) Most populous

B) Largest by area

C) Richest per capita

D) Longest coastline

Answer · why

B) Largest by area

Largest by area: Britain needed three wars, between 1824 and 1885, to annex all of it.