Leonardo

=**__INDIA WIKI__**= = =

=**__ INDIA'S GEOGRAPHY


 * The subcontinent of India has mixed climates. It has wet and humid jungles in the Northwest, and arid deserts in the West. The geography of India also varies. In the North, there are the Himalayans, which include Mount Everest, the tallest mountain in the world. The East side of India has deserts. The most fertile lands are in the Indus Valley. An interesting fact about the Himalayans, is that many years ago acted as a wall to keep out the invaders.****

=**__INDIA'S EARLY CIVILIZATIONS__**=


 * The earliest civilization of India were the Harappans. They were a large nation of farmers and craftsmen. The Harappans were known for their advanced cities and technology. They were also merchants that traded many precious items around Asia. Some items they traded were cloth, grain, gems, copper pots, elephant ivory, and many others. Also the Harappans traveled around on elephants for transportation.**
 * But then came the Aryans. The Aryans were a nomadic civilization who lived in central Asia. Some historians thought that the Aryans wiped out the Harappans, but that cold be wrong. One thing that the Aryans did was mingle religion and culture with the Harappans.**
 * There is one** **theory of how the Harappans were ended. The most realistic one is that earthquakes changed the course of the Indus river to change course and flood miles of land. Another reason is that the Saraswati river dried up causing massive droughts and lack of transportation. With no transportation and no trade, the Harappans could not survive. S****cientists and historians are still digging up remains of this great civilization today.**



= = =__**LIFE OF THE ARYANS**__=


 * The Aryans were a nomadic** **civilization that originated in were modern day Iran is. They were related to the Harappans with their way of life. They were also very different. The Aryan's laws were strict. They had many laws regarding marriage. One law was that if someone was to marry someone else outside of their** **social caste, they would be killed. A social caste is like a rank in society. The highest social caste were the Brahmans, or priests. The next caste were Kshatriyas, or warriors. The next one down is the Vaisyas. They were farmers. The next one is the Sundras. This social caste was made up of** **servants and laborers. Then the lowest caste is the Dasas. These were considered untouchable and were the indigenous people of the valley.** *
 * Children began work at an early age. The sons of farmers worked and herded in the fields, while the daughters did house work. Boys from the Brahman caste**
 * went to school to learn about the sacred Vedas from gurus. The Aryans religion was called Vedic. So they learned of their religion from the Vedas. Girls had no formal education in the Aryan civilization.



=__**FACTS ABOUT THE COUNTRY OF INDIA...**__=


 * -India leads the world with the most murders. (32,799). With Russia in second place. (29,904)**


 * -India is the most** **democratic country in the world!**


 * -Rabies is an endemic in India. Delhi Belly (diarrhea) is also common due to contaminated drinking water.**


 * -The Bengal Tiger is the national animal of India. There are also fewer then 4,000 of them left in the world**




 * -Dubai, India is home to the tallest tower in the world. The Burj Kalifa! It is 830 meters tall!**

=__**THE INVASIONS OF INDIA...**__=


 * India has been invaded many times. From the time of the Harrapans, to the time of the Greeks. The first to invade were the Aryans . Historians thought that the Aryans wiped out the Harrapans. But that could be wrong. The Aryans left a big imprint on the history of India. The Harrapans also had a big imprint on the Aryans. The next** **civilization to invade India were the Persians. This civilization entered india through the Hindu Kush mountains. The Persians had many impacts on india. Some good, some bad. Some of the positives were that the Persians taught the Indians how to use a Arabic form of writing. Also the Persian currency system was used in india for a while. The most famous influences were the arts. The most common type of art was sculpting out of stone.**
 * The bad thing for the indians was that now the Greeks new how to enter India. Then came the Greeks. led by Alexander the great...**
 * The invasion of the greeks was Led by Alexander The Great from Macedonia. As the Persians did, the Greeks traveled through the Hind Kush mountains to get to India. During this invasion, Trade of silk, spices, and gold flourished between Greece and India.**
 * A little later in the invasion, Alexander the Great left back to Greece from india. But he left troops behind to lead the trade routs in.**
 * But then came the Huns. The Huns were a barbaric tribe that came from Mongolia. The huns brought down the Gupta Empire and spread chaos. The Huns did not come to trade with the Indians, just to attack them.**
 * So as you see, the invasions of India have brought many changes the Indian history.**



=**__ANCIENT INDIA'S GOVERNMENT...__**=


 * India had a very advanced ancient government. It was a bureaucracy. It is some what related to ours today, and Japan's in the past. It had many ranks in it,** **which i almost like ours, and it was very military based like the Japanese ancient government. the highest rank was the __King__. He mostly ruled over the kingdom and its people. He also had a life of honor and privilege and had many servants tending to all his needs. The other rank that was tied with him with power was __the Council of Ministers.__ These people approved and decided on the kings actions and rules. They basically kept the king in line and approving his rule. The next ranks are C__ivil Servants__ and S__pies__ and others. The Civil Servants collect tax and tolls, supervise road contraction and maintenance, counting the population, measuring the land, regulating water use, and policing the streets of the cities. Another rank was the __Government magistrates__. These people were in charge of the laws and courts. Kind of like a judge. The magistrates may come from the Brahman or Kshatriya caste. Another rank is** T**he __Government Officials__. These officials kept an eye on businesses in the kingdom. They also may have owned farms, mines, metal workshops, and weapon factories. They also observed private industries. Such as gambling houses. Then there is the rank, the spies. These people keep watch for dishonesty, disloyalty and other crimes, and report them to the king. Also if a civil servant or spy is injured or killed on the job, the family of that Civil Servant or Spy will receive an allowance. Almost like insurance.**
 * The next ranks are mostly __warriors__. The Indian army was divided into 4 sections. The __elephants, chariots, calvary and infantry.__ The war elephants were almost like tanks. They were on the front lines destroying anything in their path. These elephants were manned by 3 men. One directing the elephant, and 2 armed with spears and bows and arrows. Next was the calvary. This rank was used for surprise attacks and other battles needing speed. A odd fact about the calvary is that the horses were giving a big drink of wine. Then was the chariots. The earliest chariots were light and fast. But in later years, they became more large and bulkier. which made them slow and heavy. This made operating them a challenge. The chariots began getting stuck in dirt and mud, and failing. Then next came the Infantry. This was the largest division of the Indian army. They were mostly on the ground fighting with spears, large bows, shields, battle axes, daggers and swords. One fact about the Chandragupta Maurya army had a total of 600,000 men.**
 * As said, the ranks and armies make up most of India's history.**

media type="youtube" key="IAHtMrT9Vgw" width="425" height="350"

=__**CRICKET IN INDIA**__=


 * For many years, other countries have had large influences on India. But india has had large influences on many countries to. Some for religion, some for agriculture, and some for recreation. The biggest influence on India's recreation has to be the game Cricket. This baseball like game is India's national games. The origin of this game was was in Europe. The game was always considered a child's game, but** **the in the 17th century, the game also attracted adults. Then a couple years later, during the British occupation on India, cricket was brought to India. India liked the game a lot and began to play it a lot. Ever since the growing popularity of Cricket in most of Europe and in India, there is now a world cup for Cricket. Cricket has become a very popular game, even people in America enjoy this game. And all this started with some children in a street playing cricket.**



=**__THE INDIAN CASTE SYSTEM__**=


 * Years ago, the way the Indian people were divided by the Caste system. India was not the only civilization to have a caste system. The one in Japan was mostly military based. The Samurais were the highest on that caste. But the Indian one is fairly different. The basic order of it is this. The Brahmins, or priests, the Kshatriya, or warriors and rulers, the Vaishya, or skilled traders and merchants, the Sundras, or unskilled workers, then at the bottom, the lowest on the caste, is the Pariah. These people were considered "untouchables." The reason the are called this is because they were so low on the caste, they could not be touched. But all this changed when Mahatma Gandhi fought against this system. He fought for the rights of the lowest of the caste system. And succeeded in doing so. But Later in 1984, Gandhi was assassinated.**
 * The caste system was good for the people in the highest part, but terrible for people in the lowest part. But is shows how far humans have advanced in government.**



= =

=__BOLLYWOOD__=


 * Bollywood is a very famous film** **industry, in India. Bollywood is basically the Indian version of Hollywood in America. Bollywood produces an estimated total of 1,000 films a year. Hollywood makes about 600 a year. Bollywood was founded in Bombay, India.(known today as Mumbai).That is how it got the name "Bollywood." Bollywood has been very successful in most years. Bollywood overtook Hollywood in 2004 and is still leading today. The viewer rate for Hollywood is 2.6 billion. And Bollywood has 3 billion. Bollywood movies are known to be very long and include a lot of dancing and signing. Romance is the most common plot for the films. Bollywood films are also cheaper to make than Hollywood films. The average Bollywood film is 2 million dollars, and Hollywood films are about 35 million dollars. Bollywood seems to be more efficient then the American Hollywood by far.**



=__**THE ATTACKS OF 26/11**__=


 * On November 26, 2008, there was a massive terrorist attack on India's largest city, Mumbai. These attacks were coordinated shootings and bombings. The total amount of lives lost were estimated to be 166. There were teams of heavily armed terrorists that entered** **Mumbai by boat. All of them were neutralized exempt for one who was captured, and later executed. His name was Ajmal Kasab. He could be considered the most known of the terrorists.**
 * Today, people in India and around the world, pay tribute to the lives lost in the 26/11 attacks. There are many anti-terrorist around the world today also. Next to 9/11, this attack will never be forgotten.**

=__**INDIA'S VOTING SYSTEM**__=


 * India, has a very different voting system then the one we have in the United States. Their voting technology is a lot more older and cheaper then the ones in America. The way it works is fairly** **simple. The voters elect a House of People and a State Assembly. The House of People elect a Prime Minister. Now back to the State Assemblies. They elect the Council of States, who elects the President. Also, the State Assemblies elect the President. The current Prime Minister of India, is Manmohan Singh. And the current president of India is Shri Pranab Mukherjee. These two people are the most powerful in India today. There are many other government officials and minor officials. so many all can not be named.**



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=__**TAKE HOME HISTORY QUIZ**__=


 * __THE FERTILE CRESCENT__**

http://www.fordham.edu/halsall/ancient/hamcode.asp
 * The Fertile Crescent is one of the world's first civilizations, and contains the land of** **Mesopotamia (modern day Iraq and Iran). Tigris and Euphrates are the two rivers that run through Mesopotamia. The rivers provide fertile farmlands, and that is were it got its name, the Fertile Crescent. This civilization was one of the most advanced in history.**
 * There were three main civilizations that made up Mesopotamia; Sumer, Babylon and Canaan.** **Sumer was the first civilization of Mesopotamia, about 5,000 years ago. The most important invention by the Sumerians was the creation of a written language known as Cuneiform. The Sumerians also invented irrigation to bring water from the rivers to dry land. In the center of each Sumerian city, there was a temple called the Ziggurat. This is were the people of the cities would pray to their deities for good harvest. The Sumerians ruled the Fertile Crescent for 2,000 years.**
 * About 3,000 years ago, the Babylonian empire was created. Their most famous king was named Hammurabi. he was the one who led the Babylonians into battle against the Sumerians. After Sumer was conquered, Babylon became the biggest empire in Mesopotamia.** **Babylon was famous for making one of the first laws in history,** **Hammurabi's Laws. These were a list of laws the Babylonian people had to live by. They stated that you could not kill, hurt people, steal or cheat. A cool fact about the way the laws worked was that it was an eye for an eye, which means that if you do something bad to someone else, the government has the right to do that to you. When the Babylonians took over a civilization, they would teach the laws to that civilization, so in the end, most of the civilizations of Mesopotamia had the same rules. The Babylonians considered this fair, but in modern days, this is not legal.**
 * The third civilization that was in Mesopotamia was the Hebrew civilization. The Hebrews first lived in Sumer, but later moved to Canaan, (modern day Israel.) After a long drought affected and killed all their crops and live stock, the traveled to Egypt, were they were made into slaves. Then, in time, Moses, a religious leader who was also a slave,lead the Hebrews back to Canaan. This journey was called the Exodus. The Hebrews were a civilization that believed in one in one god. they also lived by a set of laws called the Ten Commandments. these laws stated that you must honor your parents, never lie, never kill, never cheat and love each other. These laws are similar to the Hammurabi's Laws. Apparently, all these civilizations were related in small ways.**


 * __ANCIENT EGYPT__**


 * Ancient Egypt was a very advanced civilization. It had inventions that made working easy, like the way they built the pyramids. They also had a ver advanced written language called Hieroglyphics. This language was a series of symbols. Ancient Egypt was also was one of the many civilizations that started along the sides of a river. Egypt started next to the Nile river, the longest river in the world. This river is 4,000 miles long. People began moving towards the Nile River because of its fertile land and a good water source, around 10,000 years ago.**
 * The first official king of Egypt name's was Menes. He ruled over several villages in Egypt. Later, he built a new capitol city named Memphis. This was considered the first city of Egypt. The kings in Egypt were called pharaohs. The pharaoh ruled over everything in Egypt, and made laws for the people to follow. Different from most civilizations, woman had the same rights that men did in Ancient Egypt.**
 * like most civilizations, Ancient Egypt had a religion. The Egyptians believed in many gods. There was a estimated total of 114 gods that they believed in**http://www.nemo.nu/ibisportal/0egyptintro/1egypt/**.** **Each of these gods had specific purposes in the world. There were gods of the sky, water, death and many more. Along with theses religions, there were rituals. The most famous ritual was done to bury a Pharaoh or noble. This ritual was called mummification. In mummification, the body is covered with different chemicals to preserve the body, and then wrapped in cloth. The bodies were placed in large structures called pyramids. These were large stone mausoleums with hundred of fake pass ways to keep out grave robbers. They were also built to honor the pharaoh in the afterlife. In the tomb, the pharaohs were buried with their prized possessions, weapons, jewelry, and anything that was important to them while they were alive.**
 * In some ways, Ancient Egypt remind we a lot about Mesopotamia.**


 * __MIDDLE AGES__**


 * After the fall of Rome, the time known as the Middle Ages came around. In the beginning of the Middle Ages, there were wars. Invaders from foreign places attacked villages and burned crops. Then a system called Feudalism was invented. This was created to keep the people in order. It stated that powerful people vowed to protect people who were not a high in society. The highest people in the Feudal system were kings and and important nobles. Next came the knights ad warriors. Then at the bottom were the surfs and common people. This system is almost like the Caste System in India, except in feudalism, people had a chance to move higher in the system, while in India, the people were always in the same rank all their life. At one time,all common people lived on places called manors. These manors had houses for nobles, surfs, and common people. Jobs at manors were make clothes from sheep wool, build more homes out of wood as a carpenter, and more.**
 * During the Middle Ages, education began to fade. Most people in the Middle Ages were illiterate. Instead of schools, there were Roman Catholic churches. The priests at the churches would teach student latin and basic education. They made sure that nobody forgot about the Romans and the Greeks. The teachers were known as monks and nuns. A fact about the word monk is that is meant a person who was a hermit. Someone who was away from** **communities.**http://www.funtrivia.com/en/subtopics/Roman-Catholic-Monks-307027.html**. There were also large churches called Cathedrals.These were filled with beautiful pictures, statues, and scenes from the Bible.**
 * At one time, Christians took a long, difficult journey to Jerusalem. The reason the went there was to reclaim it from the muslims who had taken over Jerusalem. The Christians went to Jerusalem with large armies by order of the Pope. They then took back Jerusalem from the Muslims. But then, 100 years later, the Muslims took it back.**
 * The Middle Ages was a very interesting time period. With the wars, invaders and Crusades, there was a big military impact on the government, along with religion too.**

=__**THE MIDDLE EAST**__= = = T**he Middle East is an interesting region. From oil to Islam, this region was intriguing to study**.
 * The Middle East is a large region in between Asia and Africa. Most of the Middle Eastern countries are found in Asia, and a few are in Africa. The largest Middle eastern co****untry is Saudi Arabia. The capital of Saudi Arabia is Riyadh. The religion of most of these countries is Islam. Islam is a monotheistic religion, that means the islamic people only believe in one god. Their god is named Allah. Today Islam is one of the worlds most practiced religion. The first is Christianity and Catholicism. Each of these religion are both monotheistic. In Islamic countries, there are very strict family rule. The woman must were a black veil or chador all times in public. In the Middle East, women have very little civil rights. Also, the man of the house can have up to four wives! Men have a lot more rights than women in most parts of the world. Not only the Middle East.**
 * The Middle East is also a very rich region. It is full of natural recourses. The largest one is oil.The country in the Middle East with the most oil is Saudi Arabia. Oil is a very expensive resource. If some one would find oil, they could become rich. The one bad thing about oil i that it is a non-renewable resource. That means it can not be used again. If oil ever runs out, there will be no electricity, no cars, and no planes. The world would then be out of power and life will be very hard. it will be like ancient times.**
 * Also, in the Middle East is full of terrorism. The terrorist groups are religion based. In this case, the religion is Islam. These extremists hate any other religion.There are attacks in the Middle east a lot. As of today, Afghanistan has the most terrorism in the Middle East.**http://www.terrorism-research.com/state/countries.php
 * There are many monuments all over the world devoted to the victims of terrorism. The most notorious terrorist group is called Al-Qaida. This organization was founded by Osama Bin laden, who was later hunted for the attack on 9-11 and neutralized. The Al-Qaida is still one of the most dangerous terrorist groups in the world.**



=__OCEANIA__=


 * Oceania is a chain of islands, south east of Asia. In this part of the world, most of the old traditions are still practiced there. Oceania is also very westernized. There are modern cities every were in Oceania. The largest island/continent is Australia. There are many modern cites there. There is also many old religions and beliefs in Australia. Most of these are practiced by the Aboriginals. They are still living in the deserts of Australia, but westernization has taken over the coast. The aboriginals are native groups that live in Australia. They may have immigrated from a different country about 40,000 years ago! The Aboriginals did not build villages or farm, but move as groups and hunt. They also learned how to survive** **the harsh desert climate. The european people to go to Australia were convicts from England. They were sent to Australia as a punishment. Years later, more and more explorers went to Australia to colonize.**
 * New Zealand is also an interesting country of Oceania. It is north of Australia. It also has a similar history to Australia. New Zealand was discovered in 1606, by Dutch explorer, Willem Jansz. In New Zealand, a tribe called the Maori lived there. they were very different than the Aboriginals. The Maori built villages and gathered food. Unlike the Aboriginals, who hunted and traveled. Also today, New Zealand is very westernized, like Australia. But the**
 * Maori still live in New Zealand. About 15% of New Zealand people are of Maori decends** **has not let go of the old traditions**. **It is one of few countries that have kept their old cultures alive. Most of Oceania has done that. They have kept them very close to their civilization, and may always.**

=__**AFRICA-AGE OF EXPLORATION**__=


 * A long time ago, Africa was the main interest for European explorers. the had heard of resources in Africa that would make them rich. When they arrived in Africa, the explorers saw what an amazement Africa was, so they sent the news back to Europe. Soon, more and more Europeans came to Africa. All of them had plans to become rich.**
 * When the Europeans came to Africa, they began taking the natives back with them as slaves. The Europeans would go into villages and take Africans away from their families. Most of the slaves were taken back to Europe, but some were sent to the Americas to work on plantations. The voyages were very bad and unsafe. Many slaves died on them before they reached their destination. Since slavery was one of the worts things that ever happened, it is now outlawed in the United States and most of the world. The last country to give up slavery is Mauritinia. It was abolished in 19081 This country is located in in West Africa. Slavery may still be practiced privately and illegally in parts of the world. It shows how much we as humans has changed.**
 * When the Industrial Revolution started in Europe, Africa became a key element because of its resources. With that, Africa became full of European colonies. Europe had created an empire in Africa. The bad thing was that the Europeans did not care for the Africans very much. There were often conflicts in Africa. Most of these were started by other rivaling colonies. The Africans did not have there freedom from European rule until after __World__ War II.**
 * Modern day Africa is very different. There is no slavery and a very large amount of the countries are** **independent. The first African country to become independent was . Its first leaders name was Kwame Nkrumah. He and many other leaders were in the Self Government NOW. This organization was against European rulers in Africa. There were many other organizations like the Self Government NOW that did the same thing, and all of them gained freedom.**
 * Africa has changed a lot from when it was a new country. Its started out with slavery and now its abolished. Africa is a very interesting continent.**

=**__ANCIENT AFRICA__**=


 * Ancient Africa was full of old civilizations. One of those civilizations was Ancient Egypt. There were many different types of cities, kingdoms and villages in Africa. Along time ago, the Sahara desert, a large desert dividing the different climates of Africa, had a rain forest type of climate. The proof they have is cave drawings. There were paintings of plants and rain.**
 * A very famous kingdom of Africa was the Kingdom Of Kush. The leader, Piankhi, attacked Egypt and won. Kush then became the most important kingdom of Africa. The people of Kush later learned how to write hieroglyphics and build pyramids from the Egyptians. The capital of Kush was called Meroe. This was a beautiful city known for making iron tools and having elephants walk around the streets. This similar to the Indians since they use elephants a lot. The people of Kush rode elephants for great distances to trade tools, spices, food, animals, gems and jewelry. These people were one of the first traders of Africa.**
 * There were also many other kingdoms besides Kush. The most commonly known one was called Ethiopia. In this land, there was a kingdom called Axum. The people of Axum later destroyed the city of Meroe. Axum then became the largest trading city in Africa. They traded ivory, jewelry, clothes, gold, iron and other valuable items. The people of Axum traveled around on** **elephants, just like the people of Kush.**
 * To the west of Axum and Kush, lies a new kingdom. Its leader's name was Ghana. That means King Gold. In the kingdom, gold was very common. That is where the ruler got his name. The gold was kept a secret, until traders from the north found the gold. Since the Kingdom of Ghana had so much gold, it was a very rich kingdom. Trade was very common in Ghana. Huge blocks of salt was traded for gold. People would come for miles to get to Ghana.**
 * Another very important Kingdom was called the Empire of Mali. Mali means, ''where the king lives." The ruler of Mali was named Mansa Musa. To make trade easier, he created the Sahara Trade route. This made trade a lot more simpler. Mali was a very education base kingdom and was a very rick kingdom. Caravans were very common in Mali. These were large groups of people and animals that travel together for long distances to trade with other regions. In the region of Mali, camels are very common, so that was what the people of Mali used for transportation. People of Mali also traveled Africa for educational reasons. They would teach other people about law and history. people also came to Mali to learn. Mali was the main destination for education.**
 * Ancient Africa was a very interesting time to study about. It was very similar to India in some ways. Africa has changed a lot from ancient times.**

http://africa.mrdonn.org/mali.html



=**__EARLY MODERN EUROPE__**=


 * Early Modern Europe was a very interesting time in European history. Most of the history involved change. There were many art and industrial influences during this time.**
 * The Renaissance was a very important time period. The word Renaissance is French for rebirth. The name fits very well since it was a time of change in Europe. The Renaissance came after the Dark Ages. The Renaissance was time for art and celebration. The art was a very big part. Artist like Leonardo da Vinci and Michelangelo were very famous during this time. This was when Leonardo created the Mona Lisa, one of the most famous paintings in the world. The study of Latin and Greek history was also common in The Renaissance. The Renaissance was also a time of other continents being discovered. This sparked immigration to Europe. And with that, more and more different cultures came to Europe also!**
 * Religion was very important during the Renaissance period. It was also changed a lot. Martin Luther was a monk who wanted to change the Roman Catholic Church. He found out that if some one paid the church, that person would be forgiven for any mistakes against the church. Martin Luther wanted this to change. He nailed a list of 95 of his beliefs to the church door. The pope was furious, but some of the people thought Martin Luther was right. His idea spread across Europe like a wild fire. This was done with the invention of the printing press. This revolutionized Europe. It normally took hours to re-write documents. After his idea was spread through out Europe, Luther left the Roman Catholic Church. Many people followed in his foot steps. All these people protested against the Church. With thousands of followers, Luther reformed the Roman Catholic Church. This movement was known as the Reformation.**
 * Years later, the Feudal system began to become weaker and weaker. Kings began to lose their over the kingdoms, but some became powerful than others. The taxes of the citizens mad some kingdoms richer than others. With this wealth, they raised armies and conquer large regions. Citizens began to think different . Most of them left the feudal system to form a private nation. All these people had the same beliefs as each other. They even had their own king and laws.**
 * In the early 1500s and 1600s, industries were on the rise. With the invention of textile mile, it was a profitable company. With that, the Industrial Revolution began! To make the job easier, machines that were powered by steam engines were put in factories. Not only the cloth company succeeded, but the coal mines were expanded. During the Industrial Revolution, people moved from farms to cities. This was because the factories were located in cities. Later, the Revolution spread to the Americas. The one flaw with this was that the working conditions were very bad for the workers. With that, the workers formed unions and protested the mills.**
 * As hundreds of years passed, the Industrial revolution was based on iron and steel. The Industrial Revolution changed the way industries work forever.**
 * Early Modern Europe was a very joyful time. It was full of change and innovation. It changed the way people live to this day,**

http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/497731/Renaissance



=**__CANADA__**=


 * Canada is one of the world's largest countries. It is also a very high country. The elevation of Canada is very large. Most of the landscape is very mountainous. It is also very cold there. Canada is very near to the Tundra, so the climate is almost Arctic. There are also dense forests in Canada that cover miles and miles and miles. Canada is very famous for its lumber. In the years when Canada was first being** **explored, most of the homes were log cabins. Some people still live in log cabins today. Many people in Canada live in the old culture, but in some parts of Canada, it is very modernized.**
 * The first Europeans to go to Canada were the Vikings. They came to Canada about 1000 AD. They built villages and settled, but later left. As years and years passed, Canada was left unexplored, but then came more European explorers. In 1497, John Cabot claimed Canada for England, his home country. Then more and more Europeans came to Canada. A man named Henry Hudson was one of these Europeans. He explored a large bay on the North West of Canada. It was later named Hudson Bay, after Henry Hudson.**
 * Years passed, and Europeans wanted Canada more than ever. It was because of its resources. So more and more immigrants set up colonies in Canada. The most common resource were furs and pelts. They would trade fur from the indigenous people, the American Indians.**
 * In the 1600, English and French explorers continued to colonize Canada, but after the French seemed to own to much land, the English went to war with them. This was called the French and Indian war. Both sides were aided by different Native American tribes. In the end, The British won control over Canada. With Canada under British Rule, the Native Americans learned to speak English and to practice the same religion of the British.**
 * In the year 1867, Canada became a self-governing country. Canadian people could elect its own leaders. Then in the year 1871, Canada gained the land known today as British Columbia. Canada's borders increased very much in those years.**
 * Canada is a very modern country today. It is also full of different cultures. The biggest impact was the French culture. An estimated total of 10 million Canadian people spoke french in 2011. That number maybe increased by a lot. Most of the French Canadians live in Quebec. Quebec is a french influenced city.**
 * In the north of Canada, the weather and culture are different. The weather is very cold, since it is very close to the Tundra. A very small amount to people live there, an estimated total of 100,000. The most important parts of this land are the ones that are rich in resources. There is oil and minerals. The most common job there is working with mining companies.**
 * Canada is a very interesting region. It is full of different cultures and more. It started out as a very primitive country, but is now a modern country.**

http://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2011/as-sa/98-314-x/98-314-x2011003_1-eng.cfm

=**__WESTERN HEMISPHERE__**= = =
 * The Western Hemisphere makes up most of our** **planet. The Continents that make it up are North America and South America. The Western Hemisphere was discovered in 1507. The explorer's name was Amerigo Vespucci, an Italian explorer. He and many other explorers were from Europe, which is in the Eastern Hemisphere. In other words, the Western Hemisphere was a very primitive land when the Europeans discovered it. Since Amerigo Vespucci discovered it, he was given the honor to name the land, so he named it after himself.**
 * Over time, more and more explorers came. One of these men was named Christopher Columbus. He was first to make land on North America, but reached South America much later. Then European explores began to come more and more. John Cabot was one of these people. He discovered the country we know today as Canada.**
 * A long with Canada, European explorers also discovered the** **country we call America. The geography of America is similar to Canada's. It has Mountains, like the Appalachian mountains, and large forests in Maine. It also has a similar climate to Canada. In Alaska, the weather is very cold. Temperatures can drop to bellow zero on a daily basis! There are some parts of America that are very different than Canada, like Hawaii. Hawaii has a very tropical climate, unlike anything in Canada. Hawaii is located in the Pacific Ocean, the largest ocean. Another thing that is not in Canada is a desert. America has many deserts in the west around Arizona and Nevada. These deserts are not very large compared to the ones in Eastern Hemisphere countries. The culture of North American countries are very similar also. America has the most cultures. In a 2011 census, 75.1 people were Caucasians, 12.5 were Hispanic, 12.3 were African American, 3.6 were Asian, and 0.7 were Native American. These numbers may have decreased or increased over the years. It is shocking that there is only that small of an amount of Native Americans in the country they are native too. America was not a country that held on to its old traditions. Westernization took over America. And it is going to stay that way.**
 * South of America is the continent of South America. This tropical country and Central America are very similar, but very different to North America. Central America and South America are tropical, Hispanic regions. Central America had a lot of American influence. One example is the Panama Canal. This was built to increase trade to foreign countries. It was a large Canal big enough for large boats to fit through. It was over 50 miles! It is located right in the middle of the country, Panama.**
 * South America, as I mentioned earlier, is very similar to Central America, but the geography is similar to America. The Appalachian extent from America to Chile! There is also large rain forests that cover most of the land, and basins that take up miles. The most famous Rain forrest is the Amazon Rain Forrest. This forrest has many types of wild life, trees and plants. The plant lief may even have cures for human ailments. But the Rain forest is in danger. Pollution and people cutting down trees can wipe out the forrest by the year 2050. That is why there are many save the rain forrest movements around the globe. Another land form of South America is the Amazon Basin. This is a large flat area full of tropical rain forests. The Amazon river flows through this Basin also. As you see, South America has many different cultures and land forms.**
 * The Western Hemisphere is a fascinating place in the world. It has a large amount of different cultures and landforms. It is avery unique place.**

http://www.seminolenewspaper.com/current-events/2011/12/05/different-cultures-blend-in-u-s/



http://facts.randomhistory.com/2009/07/21_india.html