Lauren

__India __

Geography

The highlands of Himalchal Pradesh is is where the Himalayas are. The Indian subcontinent is south of the Himalayas. The three main rivers in South Asia are the Ganges River, the Brahmaputra River, and the Indus River. India has two coastal mountain ranges the Western Ghants and the Eastern Ghants. The Himalayas help regulate India's climate by blocking a lot of cold and dry air. The Western Ghants block all of the moisture on the west coast of India so the land to the east of the Western Ghants has a semiarid climate. Twenty nine percent of India is urban. In India there is subsistence farming where farmers grow most of the food for themselves and send only a little of it to the market.



History

The earliest civilization was the Harappans who built highly advanced cities from 2600 B.C. Around 1800 B.C. the Indus river changed its course moving slightly eastward. The Harappans built clay-walled cities that had sewage systems. The Himalaya Mountains in the North were a source of flint which the Harappans used for tools. Forests in the west provided wood for tool handles and firewood. By 1800 B.C. the people had destroyed most of the forests around the valley. Farmers raised crops and live stock in the fertile plains of the Indus River. Around 322 B.C., Chandragupta Maurya seized the throne of Magadha. He conquered and united the divided kingdoms of northern India and central India. The Indus River Valley Civilization is the first civilization in the world to develop precise measuring and weighing equipment.

 Life of the Aryans

The Aryans lived in ganas. A gana is made up of several families. Each gana has a raja. A raja is a king. Aryan priests were brahmans. Warrior and rulers were kshatriyas. Farmers were members of the vaisyas caste, and servants and laborers were sudras. Aryan boys herded animals. Aryan girls did housework and fetched water. In about 1500 B.C. India was invaded by Indo-European people that came from a place between the Black Sea and the Caspian Sea. We know this because there are written records in Sanskrit. The Aryans brought the domesticated horse. In about 1100 A.D. Muslim invaders from Abbasid Empire conquered most of Northern India. They did it because they needed mosques to pray in. They got Indian builders to build them more new mosques. Facts **__India's Top 5 Imports:__**  1.Electronic Goods   2.Metalifers Ores and Metal Scrap   3.Transport Equipments   4.Gold   5.Fertilezers Manufactured **__India's Top 5 Exports:__**  1.Inorganic/Organic/Agricultureral Chemicals   2.Machinery And Instruments   3.Marine Products   4.Cotton Yarn, Fabrics, Madeupsetc   5.Electronic Goods **__National Symbols__** India's national animal is the tiger. Panthera tigris is the type of tiger that is the national animal. India's national bird is the peacock. It is the symbol of beauty and grace. Indian's national flower is the lotus. It symbolizes long life, honor, and good fortune and its scientifically known as Nelumbo Nucifera. India's national fruit is the mango. There are over one hundred varieties of mangos. India's national tree is the banyan tree. The Banyan tree is called the immortal tree. India's national sport is hockey. They have eight olympic gold medals for it. India's national anthem is jana-gana-mana. India's national song is Vande Mataram. The song was composed in Sanskrit by Rabindranath Tagore. The song has five stanzas the first one is the national anthem. **__Holidays __**  Some holidays that happen in India but not in the U.S. are: Pongal on Sunday January 5th, Baneshwar Fair on Friday February 3, Sikh New Year's Day on Thursday March 15th, Himachal day on Sunday April 15th, and Raja Ram Mohan Roy Jayanti on Sunday May 21st. Government Leaders and Warriors The Laws of Manu says that the Kshatriya caste were "to protect the people, to bestow gifts [on Brahmans],to offer sacrifices" and "to study [the Vedas]." The Arthsastra says the council's role was "to propose projects, to bring works under taken to a successful conclusion, to examine new possibilities, to maintain discipline in the administration." Civil servants collected tolls and taxes, supervised road construction and maintenance, counted the population, measured the land, regulated water use, and policed the streets. Provincial governors appointed deputes. Goverment officials kept an eye on business operations throughout the kingdom. Secrect agents enquired and superintended all that went on in India, and made reports secretly to the king. Spies watched for signs of disloyalty, dishonest, and unrest. They also brought regular reports from their territories to the capital. Definitions __Shiva__- Shiva is a god of destruction and creation. He rides on a sacred white bull Nandi. __Brahma__- Brahma created the universe and set it in motion. Brahma is the god of Hindu Trinity. __Bhagavad Gita__- Bhagavad Gita is part of book 6 of the Mahabharata. It is a summary of the beliefs of Hinduism. __Food__ Durring the Gupta period cows were sacred so no one ate beef. Instead they ate flatbreads, lentils, rice, yogurt, and spicy peppers. More Facts media type="custom" key="22393614" width="350" height="350" Here is a video of Ancient India **__Facts About Ancient India__** -Slavery did not exist in Ancient India -Aryabahtta discovered the concept of zero in Ancient India -The Indus Valley Civilization was the only advanced civilization -Ancient India was known as the golden bird because of its wealth -Chess was a popular game in Ancient India The Caste System Priests <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Warriors and rulers  Skilled traders, merchants, and minor officials Unskilled workers Untouchables <span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Gods of the Hindu Trinity Brahma- created the universe Vishnu- preserver of the universe Shiva- god of destruction and creation

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Environmental Problems

As the population of India grows the amount of pollution is also growing. Deforestation and pollution are some environmental problems. Deforestation is when too many trees are chopped down in not protected forest areas that they are forced to use the protected areas where animals are living. It is estimated that 70 million meters of roundwood are cut down each year. Since there is a lot of pollution in some of the rivers in India a lot of animals habitats that are near the rivers are destroyed. Also since a lot of the rivers are polluted there is not a lot of clean drinking water in India and clean water for agriculture.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Indian Sports

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Some sports that are played in India are cricket, hockey, kho kho, golf, kabaddi, and lawn tennis. Cricket was first played 250 years ago. It was brought to India by the British. The British brought the game of hockey too. Hockey is the national game of India. Kho kho is a traditional game in India. Each team for kho kho has 12 players. Each match has two innings. For each inning you run around chasing people for seven minutes. Golf has been played in India for 59 years. India was the second country to take up golf. Kabaddi was first played 4,000 years ago. It is a team sport that combines wrestling and rugby. Lawn tennis is like regular tennis except it's played on grass.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">India's Voting Process and Current Government Officials

The president of India right now is Shri Pranab Kumar Mukherjee. The vice president of India right now is Shri Mohd. The president of India right now is Hamid Ansari. The prime minister of India right now is Dr. Manmohan Singh.



When you vote in India you elect the house of people and the state assemblies. Then the council of states elects the president. The state assembles elect the president too. The house of people also elects the president. Then drawn from the majority party of the parliament the prime minister is picked. The parliament is the house of people and the council of states.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Take Home History Quiz

__The Fertile Crescent__

The Fertile Crescent was a time period in Mesopotamia that is now called Iraq. The land there was fertile. This is why it is called the fertile crescent. There are five steps that the people did there to develop a civilization. The first one was to domesticate animals and grow crops. The second step was to build permanent homes. The third step was to develop technology. The fourth step was to make intellectual achievements. The last step was to create laws. The Hebrews lived in Canaan for a long time until there was a drought. Then they all moved to Egypt where there was fertile land. The Egyptians turned the Hebrews into slaves. Then Moses led the Hebrews across the desert back to Canaan.

__Ancient Egypt__

The Egyptians that lived in Ancient Egypt believed in a god named Ra who was the god of the sun. Egyptians also believed that human life was like the sun and people would live again after death. Egyptians developed a way to protect bodies called mummification where they would put chemicals on the bodies, wrap them in long strips of cloth, and put a mixture of tar on the cloth that made them waterproof. Then they put the body in a tomb or a place or a building where the dead are buried. Pharaohs built pyramids which were their tombs. The great pyramid, which is the largest pyramid in Egypt, is 45 stories tall and was built 4,500 years ago. About 100,000 people worked 20 years to build it. Each stone was 2 1/2 tons and was covered with pure white limestone. The Egyptians used simple machines instead of trucks and cranes to build pyramids. Tutankhamen was a boy king who died when he was 18 years old. His tomb is the only one that has not been robbed. His tomb was discovered in 1922.

__The Middle Ages__

The years between A.D. 476 and A.D. 1500 are called the Middle Ages. Europe had a government in the Middle Ages called feudalism. The king gave the rich men who were nobles or vassals of the king land. The nobles gave the land to common people who were serfs that farmed the land and the nobles protected the serfs from attack in return. In A.D. 1000 most of the people of western Europe were Christians. The church saved education from disappearing. Even some kings and queens didn't know how to read and write. The church also kept the knowledge of Greece and Rome from disappearing. Monks and Nuns copied hundreds of books by hand because there were no copy machines. Around A.D. 1000 Jerusalem no longer welcomed Christian visitors. Christians went on several journeys that were called Crusades to capture Jerusalem.

Eridu is Mesopotamia's oldest city. Mesopotamia has had frequent innovations and droughts because they don't have natural barriers. The Great Sphinx is a human head lion carved out of rock that is in front of Khafra's pyramid. In between the Great Sphinx paws is half of a story written on a stone slab. The beard of the great Sphinx was added later on during the New Kingdom. Five of the popes in the middle ages are Pope Alexander II who ruled from 1061 - 1073, Pope Gregory VII who ruled from 1073 - 1085, Pope Victor III who ruled from 1086 - 1087, Pope Urban II who ruled from 1088 - 1099, and Pope Paschal II who ruled from 1099 - 1118.

<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Middle East

The Middle East is a small part of Europe, Asia, and Africa. Nomads are people who move from place to place to find food and water. Islam is a religion founded by a religious leader named Mohammad. When Mohammad was praying in a cave he heard a voice tell him there was one god named Allah and that he was the messenger of Allah. Muslims have five religious duties know as the five Pillars of Islam. They are faith, prayer, alms, fasting, and pilgrimage. In the first pillar, faith, muslims must state they only believe in one god. In the second pillar, prayer, Muslims must pray five times each day. In the third pillar, alms, muslims must give alms (money) to the poor. In the fourth pillar, fasting, during ramadan (the ninth month on the Muslim calendar) Muslims are not supposed to eat or drink between dawn and sunset. In the last pillar, pilgrimage, Muslims are expected to travel to Mecca at least once. The population of the Middle East is about 368,927,551. There are about 2,742,000 square miles in the Middle East. People in The Middle East are very religious. If a Muslim does not obey one of the five Pillars of Islam they will probably not be a Muslim anymore.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Modern Day Africa

European explorers brought the news that the continent of Africa was full of resources back to Europe. Two of Africa's resources were gold and ivory. In the late 1400s many European nations built plantations on land they claimed in North and South America. The Europeans needed people to work on the plantations so they traveled to Africa to capture Africans. One in Six Africans died on the trip to America. The Europeans thought that they were better than the Africans, this thinking led to racism. The population of European countries went up during the Industrial Revolution. Europeans followed a policy called imperialism. Imperialism means the control of the economy and government of one country by another. Sugar plantations were the first plantation. After that there were cotton, indigo, and tobacco plantations. Europe did not understand the African's culture. They should have asked themselves would I like it if they did what I am doing to them to me?



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Early Modern Europe

The time period after the Crusades is called the Renaissance. Renaissance is a French word that means rebirth. During this time period people developed new ideas about literature, art, and science. Michelangelo, Leonardo, and Petrarch are three artists during the Renaissance. Martin Luther was angry at the Roman Catholic Church because if you did something against the teachings of the church you would have to pay money to be forgiven. In 1955 he nailed a list of 95 of his beliefs to a cathedral door in Wittenberg, Germany. The time where new machines and industries made a great change in how people live is now called the Industrial Revolution. Galileo Galilei and Nicolaus Copernicus were scientists during the Renaissance. During the early Renaissance art and science was intermingled. The Renaissance is a time period where people thought about things more. A lot of things were changed during this time period.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Canada

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Elevation is how high a place is. The Vikings were the first Europeans to visit Canada. They reached the region we now call Newfoundland in about A.D.1000. After five hundred years passed another group of European explorers came to Canada. In 1497 John Cabot claimed Newfoundland for England. The most famous explorer of Canada was Henry Hudson who explored a huge bay in northern Canada in 1610. Later the bay was named Hudson Bay after Henry Hudson. Between 1754 and 1763, the British and French fought the French and Indian war. Great Britain won and took control over Canada. Canada has Multiculturalism. Multiculturalism means many cultures. In the 1990s Canada had its first woman prime minister. Canada's northern lands, Nuharut, Yukon, and the North West territories, have less than 100,000 people. Canada's northern lands are also rich in oil and minerals. One of John Cabot's three sons accompanied him on his trip to find a seaway to Asia. The son that accompanied him is named Sebastian Cabot. The French part of Canada tried to break away from Canada at one point. Other parts of Canada wanted the French culture to stay. The French part of Canada is still connected to Canada today.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Oceania

Hawaii is made up of several different islands in Polynesia. One third of Australia is desert. The outback is Australia's hot, dry plains. Aborigines means the first known people to live in a place. The Aborigines of Australia hunted and gathered their food. The traveled in groups of a few families. The Maori were the first people to live in New Zealand. The Maori were hunters like the Aborigines. They also grew some crops. Abel Tasman was a dutch explorer who landed on an island near Australia. Later the island was named Tasmania after him. The first British settlers to come to Australia were convicts. Convicts are people who are guilty of breaking the law. Forty percent of Australia is sand dunes. Australia is the driest inhabited continent. Australia was owned by the British first. The British used Australia as a jail. Soon people how were not convicts came to Australia.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">The Western Hemisphere: Geography and Climate

Earth has seven continents and two Hemispheres. The Eastern Hemisphere has the continents Asia, Africa, Australia, and Europe. The Western Hemisphere has the continents North America and South America. Antarctica is in both Hemispheres. The largest part of Canada is the Canada Shield. It is a flat region that borders the Hudson Bay. These valleys became long, narrow bays called fjords.The Panama canal is over 50 miles long. Ships sailing between New York and California can shorten their trip by almost 8,000 miles by using this canal. Without the canal ships would have to go all the way around South America. Locks had to be built for the panama canal. Locks are gated areas in a canal where ships can be raised from one level to another. In 1920 president U.S. Woodrow Wilson officially opened the Panama Canal. The first ship to sail through the Panama Canal from the Atlantic side of the ocean to the Pacific side of the ocean was the Panama Railroad Company's S.S. Ancon. The Panama Canal is very useful. During the gold rush lots of people had to take a boat to Panama cross Panama by foot and then get back on another boat. Some people went went around South America but that was a much longer trip and a lot of passengers got sea sick.



<span style="font-family: 'Arial Black',Gadget,sans-serif; font-size: 120%;">Ancient Africa

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">Africa is the birthplace of humanity. Scientists believe that human kind began in Zimbabwe, Africa. The grasslands of Africa are called the savanna. More than two thousand years ago an African king named Piankhi defeated Egypt. The Kingdom of Kush was the most important civilization in Africa. The capital of Kush was a beautiful city called Meroe capital. Kush was surrounded by powerful neighbors. These neighbors were Egypt and Ethiopia. About one thousand eight hundred years ago to the west of Kush and Ethiopia a new kingdom began to grow. The ruler of this kingdom was known as a ghana. In 1324 Mansa Musa set out to visit Egypt in a caravan. A caravan is a group of people and animals that travel together. Axum and Ghana both had no written language. They developed interesting cultures based on trade. The Sahara Desert is the largest desert in the world. During the day it can be 130 degrees. In ancient times when Egypt and Kush wanted the gold, salt and ivory that West Africa had they had to cross the Sahara Desert. Ancient Africa is where everyone in the worlds ancestors came from. Africa is always trying to break up more. Some of the countries in Africa are smaller than some of the states in the United States of America.