Lizzie

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 ALL ABOUT INDIA : By Lizzie Chamberlin

**__‍India's Geography __**
====India is a country in southern Asia. It's northern border is the Himalayan Mountains. India was once connected to Africa but time passed and it broke away and connected to the continent of Asia. Some of India's land marks are very important to it. The best farming place in India is in the north just below the Himalayas. This is because of it's flood plain. When snow melts on the top of the Himalayan mountains it washes the rich, fertile soil down. Lots of India's early civilizations began around the flood plain. The Himalayan mountains are also important to India. It helps keep out intruders who may try to enter the country. It also helps keep out bad weather. India's climate is very subtropical, humid and dry.Although India does have seasonal winds called monsoons. These winds are found during the wet season of June thru September. What happens is the warm wind of the southwest monsoon picks up the moisture from the Indian Ocean. It dumps heavy rain on India's western coast, the northern plains, and the northeast. ====

[[image:IndiaPhysicalMap.jpg align="right" caption="Physical Map of India"]]
__**India's Early History**__ ==== The Harappans and the Aryans civilization both began in Indus River Valley. The Harappans were there first from 2600 B.C to 1900 B.C. The Harappans were a wealthy nations of farmers, craftspeople and traders. They built clay-walled cities that had sewage systems for carrying water into and out of homes. They also created a system of writing to record their trade and their lives that scholars cannot understand today. The Harappan farmers grew barely, wheat, melons dates and cotton. Excess crops were loaded onto ships so they could be traded with Mesopotamia of early Iraq.Other things they traded were grain, copper pots, mirrors, elephant ivory, cotton cloth and shells.They herded sheep, goats, and a type of cattle called zebus. They invented a simple type of plow called ards.The Harappan civilization is to believed to been ended by bad environmental issues.The Indus River had slightly changed it's course possibly because of a earthquake. The Saraswati River had also dried up. What makes the Harappan civilization special is how they had plumbing and sewage systems thousands of years before other civilizations. They changed the way other civilizations think. ====

__**The Aryans **__
==== The Aryans were nomadic people who lived in whats now called central Asia. When the Aryan civilization took place in 1750 B.C. Over time the Ayran culture spread from the Indus further south into the Ganges River. The Aryan's holy book is called the Vedas, these are a historical record of the Aryan's lives. There are four vedas, the Rig Veda, the Sama Veda,Yajur Veda and the Atharva Veda. The contain around 1,000 hymns! Historians believe the Aryans destroyed the Harappans because in vedas it describe them killing the Harappans, there is no exact proof of this though. Aryans lived in ganas, a gana made up several families. Each gana had it's own raja, or king. They were made out of wood or straw and only had one room. In Aryan homes there was central hearth called the yagna, fire was considered a gift from Agni, the fire god. The Aryans cooked there meals over the yagna. Their diet included fruits, vegetables, wheat, barley, rice, beef and goat. they also made butter and drank cow and goat milk. ====

 [[image:mrshankscomputer/India Veda.gif align="left" caption="Aryan Veda" link="http://www.indianmirror.com/scriptures/vedas.html"]]
 **__India's Caste System__ ** ====In India's caste system people were born into social classes that could not be changed. They had to eat food prepared by the same caste members, work in caste-specific jobs and marry within their caste, those who didn't would be killed. ====

- Shudras (peasants and "untouchables")
**__India's Inventions__** ==== Some of India's inventions that are still used today include chess, mathematics, astronomy, medicine, and engineering. Chess was invented by an Indian Brahmin over 1,500 years ago. King Balhait ordered the Brahmin to design a chess game call chaturanga to help strengthen hi people's intelligence. Now in India there are world champion chess players. Around 2000 B.C during India's Vedic times the concept of zero, geometry and algebra was already established. One of India's greatest mathematicians gave the value of Pi 3.14 and named formulated math tables "Tables of Sine." He developed the rules of addition and subtraction. Astronomy was invented when two ancient Indian astronomers, Varahamihira and Arybhatta, were strong believers that Earth was a sphere. They had one of the earliest theories on gravity where it was a force that kept the bodies stuck to earth. Another Indian astronomer Bhaskaracharya from the 5th century had already calculated that the time it took earth orbit the sun was 365.258756484 days. ==== ==== As long ago as 2,600 years ago Sunshruta, considered the greatest physician in ancient India, used anesthesia for a variety of complex surgeries such as cataracts, fractures, plastic surgery, artificial limbs, and brain surgeries. 5,000 years ago along the banks of the river Indus and throughout northern and western India had devised one of the most sophisticated water supplies and sewage systems in the world. Covered drains were built underneath the streets within well-planned cities. Some of the oldest water harvesting tanks was cut into rocks to provide drinking water that is still used today. ====

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Environmental Issues **__
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It is great that India has a big populations, but India struggles with getting enough clean water for it. Rivers are being dammed and companies sump chemicals and waste into them. The Ganges river is on of the most heavily polluted rivers in the world. People still drink, bathe and wash their clothes in it. It is considered a sacred river. People in India have a higher risk of getting waterborne diseases. There is also a lot of air pollution in India too. Much of it comes from factories, power plants, and vehicles. Most of it comes from the burning of forest to make way for farms and the burning of of wood and coal for cooking and heating. ==== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**__Clothing Style__** ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">People in India wore mostly cotton clothing. India was the first place where cotton was grown, even as early as 2500 B.C in the Harappan civilization. In the Aryan civilization woman wore only one very long piece of cloth called a sari. They wrapped saris around themselves in different ways. Saris were first mentioned in vedas, in about 600 B.C. Rich woman wore saris made from silk from China, but most woman wore cloth saris. Most saris were five to six yards long but some were 9. Younger woman often wore bright colored saris but widows and other woman who were mourning wore white saris. Men also wore one long piece of cloth called a dhoti, which was generally white. They wrapped it around their legs to make sort of pants. Dhotis though were shorter so they didn't cover the chest or shoulders. Men also wore long cotton cloths wrapped around their heads as turbans. With the Islamic invasions around 1000 A.D. Persian clothing became more popular in India. Both men and woman began to wear trousers with long tunics. The trousers were called churidars. Woman generally wore them with a long veil or skirt over them. Indian woman also wore lots of jewelry especially earring or nose-rings. Sometimes they a put a spot of red on their foreheads called a bindi as a decoration. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">[[image:India Clothing Image 1.jpg]]
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**Religion**__ ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Hinduism is a commom Indian religion. Its the third most popular religion with about 750 million followers.It originated in the Indus River valley about 4000 years ago. it is the worlds oldest religion. Over 80% of India's population practices Hinduism.One of their major holidays in Divali. Alum is the main symbol of Hinduism. It is the sound heard while in deep meditiation. It is said to be the name and sound of god. Hinduism has no founder. ====

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Gods **__
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> It is believed that there are 330 million Hindu gods. The family of the Hindu gods is very complicated and extends a far way back. Most gods were drawn in a unique way. Also most gods were believed to be part animal. Here is some of the main gods of India; ====

**__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Brahma __**
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Brahma is believed to be one of the first gods and that he was the creater of the earth. He is responsible for the rise and setting of the sun. He is also the god of gods. He has four heads. ====

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> [[image:lord-brahma-hindu-god-of-creation.jpg width="248" height="314" caption="Brahma: Created the Universe"]]
<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**__Music__** ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The sitar is one of India's most well known instruments and a popular instrument around the world. The sitar is about four feet high and around twelve strings. It has three to four playing strings and the rest are used as a drone. These strings are plucked with a wire finger pick called a mizrab. There are also some sympathetic strings that lie under the frets. These strings are almost never played but however they vibrate when a note is plucked. The frets are rods of metal that was bent in a crescent shape. ==== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">__**Food**__ ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Indian food tends to be very spicy. Their food is mean't to have a wide variety of selections for all different ages of people. Almost all food is prepared with a rice and bread. Yogurt is also an important dish for people in India. Yogurt is eaten so people in India don't always have to eat spicy foods. A typical meal tends to include rice, vegetables, and sometimes meat. Hindu food rules ban the eating of beef. Islam forbids the eating of pork. ====

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Animals **__
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The Asian elephant is found mainly in India and Sri Lanka. They can eat more than 300 pounds of food a day .his includes palms, bark, leaves, grasses an bamboo. A elephant herd is about 40 elephants. They were once long ago used in war. Also the Hindu god Ganesh is part elephant. ==== ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> There are also bengal tigers in India. They can be eight to ten feet long and three feet tall and can way over 500 pounds! They used to be common but hunting has reduced their population. There is now about 3,000 left in the wild. ====

__**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Important Figures **__
====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Mahatma Gandhi was a Hindu leader who helped India get their independence. He believed in non-violence. He sadly died January 31, 1948. Mother Teresa was a Macedonian-born Indian Catholic nun who came to India to work with the poor. She was the first and only person to be featured on a postage stamp in India while she was still alive. Jawaharlal Nehru was the first prime minister of India. He was on of Gandhi's followers. Indira Gandhi was the daughter of Jawaharlal Nehru. She became prime minister after her father's death in 1966. She was one of India's most notable and politically controversial leaders. She was sadly murdered by her own body guards. ==== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">====__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Bollywood** __ ====<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Bollywood is India's Hollywood. It's one of the largest film industries in the world. Epics are long poems that tell of adventure. Bollywood films tell tales of loves heroes and adventure. Dance is also very popular in India. Manipuri is one Indian dance. People believe it has deep spiritual and deep religious meaning. The themes of manipuri come from Krisha, an incarnation of the god Vishnu. The dance uses delicate, lithe movements that are rounded rather sharp or jolting. ==== <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">====__<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">**Electoral Officials** __

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> India's government is a secular democracy meaning it reaches out to all religions. The Indian voters elect the State Assembly which them elects the Council of States. The Council of states and the House of People elects the president. Here are some of India's current government officials;

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> President:Pranab Mukherjee

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Vice President: Mohammad Hamid Ansari

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Prime Minister: Manmohan Singh

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> National Security Adviser: Shivshankar Menon

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> History Take Home Quiz: **__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Mesopotamia: **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Mesopotamia, also known as the Fertile Crescent was on of the world's first civilizations. Today, Mesopotamia is known as the country Iraq. Two rivers ran through it, called the Tigris and the Euphrates. The land between these rivers was good for farming, so thats why it was nicknamed the Fertile Crescent. People in Mesopotamia learned how to plant crops, domesticate and hunt animals. People also began to build permanent houses instead of moving from place to place. Towns and cities began to grow because of this. They also developed technology, the use of tools. They invented tools as important as the wheel. Finally, they created the calendar. Sumer became the first large farming villages in Mesopotamia. They became the first civilization around 5,000 years ago. They also created the first writing form called cuneiform and learned how to irrigate crops. Sumerians also had temples, these were called ziggurats. In ziggurats they prayed to gods and goddesses for good crops. After the Sumerians, came the Babylonians. They built the city Babylon is Mesopotamia. With their king, Hammurabi, they conquered the Sumerians. Babylonians also built ziggurats and wrote in cuneiform. Hammurabi had a list of laws, they had to do with land, money, business and life. The main idea behind these laws was that strong people should not hurt week people. The Hebrews also lived in Mesopotamia. Their leader, Abraham, lead them from Sumer to Canaan. After a drought occurred in Canaan the Hebrews went to live in Egypt. They were turned into slaves by the Egyptians. In Mesopotamia, most people believed in many gods, they were polytheistic. They Hebrews only believed in one god, they were monotheistic. God then told Moses to lead the Hebrews back to Canaan, this journey was called the Exodus. During the Exodus, The Hebrews followed the Ten Commandments. They taught people to honor their parents, not to lie, cheat, steal, kill but love one another. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> People in Mesopotamia used a number system with 60 as the base. Time was was divided by 60, like 660 seconds in a minutes and 60 minutes in an hour. They also divided the circle into 360 degrees. They used multiplication. addition, subtraction, division, quadric and cubic equation, and fractions. Math helped them keep track of records.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Egypt: **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The Egyptian civilization evolved around the 4,000 mile long Nile River. People moved around the Nile because the land was very fertile. Every year the Nile flooded. The floods let a layer of fertile soil around it. Egypt's kings were called pharaohs. They made laws for all the people in Egypt. After the King, it went nobles and them artists. Woman had the same rights as men in Egypt, in other places they normally didn't. Like the people in Mesopotamia the people in Egypt believed in many gods. They believed a person was born when the sun rose a person was born and a person died just as the sun set. Gods were believed to do this. Egyptians were also one of the first civilizations to mummify their dead. They put chemicals on their body, them wrapped the body in cloth, and then buried them in tombs with jewelry, clothes, furniture, and sometimes their own animals. They believed you went to the afterlife after you died. They painted things that the dead person liked to do. Most powerful pharaohs were buried in pyramids. They had twisting and dead-end chambers so no tomb robbers could get in. Pyramids are triangularly shaped and are about as tall as a 45 story building. It took about 100,000 people to build them and 20 years! Instead of using machines to lift heavy blocks, Egyptians used simple machines like levers, ramps and wedges. Pyramids were also covered with limestone. They also had their own picture writing called hieroglyphics. They were different pictures usually drawn on papyrus, a plant like paper. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**Egyptian Art Facts:**__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -They mostly used the colors blue, black, red, green, and gold in their paintings. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -A lot of painting had to do with religion. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -Many of the paintings of Ancient Egypt survived for so many thousands of years because of the extremely dry climate of the area. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> -Carved models were sometimes in tombs as well as paintings. These included slaves, animals, boats, and buildings that the person may need in the afterlife. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> - Even though tombs were hard to find in the winding pyramid halls a majority of the art hidden in tombs was stolen by thieves over thousands of years.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Early Modern Europe: **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> After Europe was falling a part because of feudalism it started to come back in the Renaissance period. The word renaissance means rebirth. During this period people developed new ideas about literature, writing, art, and science. Trade also increased. There were more artists like, Leonardo da Vinci., who painted Mona Lisa. In 1517 Martin Luther, a monk developed new ideas about Christianity. He was angry at the Roman Catholic Church because they would forgive people only if they gave money to the church. He thought this was very wrong. Luther then nailed a list of 95 of his beliefs to a cathedral in Wittenberg, Germany. With the help of a printing press people all over Europe then read about Luther's beliefs. He left the Roman Catholic Church in 1520 with many protestants. With trade increasing, the feudal system was becoming weak. Kings were really no more powerful than nobles. during the 1500 and 1600s people thought of themselves as citizens of a town not serfs. People were now members of a nation. This was also the same time as the Industrial Revolution occurred. England had becoming one of the greatest trading nations, their main product was cloth of textiles. most cloth was made by woman in their homes, but this started to change. In the 1700s more people were hired to make cloth and new machinery was invented. These machines in included the steam engine and the spinning jenny. During the Industrial revolution working conditions were often very poor Many children worked long days. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Industrial Revolution, was the time where there was a better trade happening in Europe. The Industrial Revolution improved systems of transportation, communication and banking. It helped create Europe and unit it.

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http://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">The Middle East: **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The Middle East is between three continents, Africa, Europe, and Asia. Some of the countries include Yemen, Saudi Arabia, Syria, Oman, and Iraq. In the Middle East there is a lot of oil. Oil has been used to run factories and to make gasoline for cars. Money from the sale of oil has made lots of Middle Eastern countries rich. In fact, it is its main resource. Oil is a fossil fuel, so once it is used up it can not be replaced. In 1960 a group called OPEC (Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries) formed. This group controls how much is is being imported and exported. The ancient Arabs were nomads, some Arabs are still today. Most people who live in the Middle East follow the religion Islam. They are known as Muslims. Muslims believe in one god like Christians and Jews. Islam was founded by a religious leader named Muhammad, who livd in Mecca in the early 600s. One day Muhammad was praying in a mountain cave. He heard a voice that told him there was only one god, named Allah. The voice said that he was the messenger of Allah. About 610, Muhammad began to teach people in Mecca about Allah.He soon had many followers and his religion was named Islam which means "surrender to God." In 632 Muhammad died. People still helped spread the religion of Islam and in the 800s they created a large empire. Today, Muslims follow teachings in the holy book called the Koran and they believe in the Five Pillages. One is the duty of faith, this means that all Muslims must state that they believe in one god. Next, is the duty of prayer. Muslims much pray at least 5 times a day and they turn toward Mecca when they do. The third duty giving to the poor. They must give money or alms to them. The forth duty is fasting and the fifth is pilgrimage. during Ramadan Muslims are not supposed to eat of drink from dawn to sunset. A pilgrimage is a trip made for religious reasons. Muslims are expected to travel to Mecca at least once in their lives. Muslims also have a big influence on the arts. Even though the Koran discouraged people to paint or make sculptures of living creature, or humans, some have made great achievements in poetry and architecture. Today, Muslims live as an extended family. A man may have up to four wives, but a woman can only have one husband. Sometimes in public, women have to wear a black robe covering their body called a chador. Nobody should see a woman unless they are in her family. The father is the head of the Islamic family. He has to provide food and shelter. In return, his family is expected to obey him. A lot of Muslim women are not treated fairly. One Islamic holiday is Ramadan. It is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. It's a period of fasting, prayer, and charity giving. The first verse of the Koran were revealed to the Prophet Muhammad during tthe last third of Ramadan, making this an especially holy time.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**Ancient Africa:**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">There are lots of deserts in Africa. The desert in the northwest is called the Sahara Desert, it is the largest desert in the world. The climate there is dry and humid. It measures approximately 3,000 miles from east to west and between 800 and 1,200 miles from north to south and has a total area of some 3,320,000 square miles. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In other places, there is thick rain forests and grassy plains. Africa is the birthplace of humanity. Many scientists believe that the first people lived in Africa. Thousands of years ago, the Sahara had a different climate, it rained often, and plants, animals, and people lived there. Archeologists know this because of cave paintings that have been found. About two thousand years ago a king named Piankhi traveled traveled down the Nile River and defeated Egypt. Kush was just south of Egypt, they learned how to write hieroglyphics and build pyramids from the Egyptians. The people of Kush were good at making iron tools, they also used elephants. They carried tools, gold, jewelry, and glass pieces to faraway places. To the south of Kush was Ethiopia. Axum was the most important city here. About 1,700 years ago, the people of Axum destroyed Meroe, the capital of Kush. Axum was a great trading city, people sailed from Asia trade clothing and jewels for gold and ivory. Another kingdom started to grow 1,800 years ago. The kingdom was known as Ghana, or "King of the gold". In Ghana there was a lot of gold. Traders all over Africa came to trade large salt blocks for gold. Ghana was strong for about 800 years, but then was invaded by warriors from the north. The next kingdom in Africa, was the Empire of Mali. Under the King, Mansa Musa, Mali became a rich kingdom. He traveled in a group of people and then made Timbuktu a great kingdom too.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **__Canada:__** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> //I////n t//he 1970s, a group of world leaders held a meeting in Canada. Before they arrived, Canadian people decided they wanted to show, the leaders as much as possible about their culture. They decided the visitors should stay at a hotel shaped like a log cabin. This would show the leaders that Canada has a pioneer past and is a land with many beautiful forests. Canada has changed from a huge wilderness to a modern nation. Canada is the second largest country in the world. The vikings were the first Europeans to visit Canada. They traveled across the Atlantic Ocean in small, swift sailing ships. They probably reached what we call today Newfoundland in about 1000 A.D. Although they settled there, they did not stay very long. In 1497 an explorer named John Cabot claimed Newfoundland. He was followed by a French explorer named Jacques Cartier, who sailed up the St. Lawrence River in 1534. Later, Henry Hudson sailed to America on the Half Moon. explored a bay in 1610. It was named the Hudson Bay after him. The Europeans wanted to create colonies in Canada because of the resources there. Boats to large amounts of fish back to Europe and furs were very valuable. French traders bought beaver skins from American Indians and sold them in Europe. English explorers in Canada in the 1600s. At the same time, a French explorer named Samuel de Champlain founded the city of Quebec. Then, in 1670, English traders formed the Hudson Bay Company. It controlled the fur trade in the huge region around the Hudson Bay. Short after this, the French and British began to fight each other. They fought over control of land and trade. Between 1754 and 1763, the British and the French fought the French and Indian War. Each side fought with the help of different American Indian groups. Great Britain won this and gained control of Canada. Canada remained under British control for over a little over 100 years. However, the British allowed the French Canadians to keep their laws, language, ad religion. During the British rule, new inventions like the locomotive helped Canadians travel and settle in the western part of Canada. In 1867, Canada won the right of self-goernment. They Canadian people were finally able to elect their own leaders. In 1871, Canada gained the land that is now known as British Columbia. Now Canada's borders reached from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean. At the same time, the Canadian Pacific Railroad was completed. This railroad joined eastern Canada with British Columbia. The Canadian government recognizes the the different cultures of Canada. It started a program called multiculturalism. Multi means "many" in Latin. It means, many cultures. The government hopes that if Canadians share their different ways of life Canada will be a rich, stronger country.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> **__Oceania:__** <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The Pacific Ocean is the largest ocean in the world. They're many thousands of islands spread around the Pacific Ocean. The islands of Oceania are divided into three groups, Polynesia, Micronesia, and Melanesia. Hawaii is made up of several islands in Polynesia. These islands were formed by volcanoes thousands of years ago. New Zealand is made up of several small islands and two main islands called North Island and South Island. The climate in New Zealand is mild because the country is surrounded by the ocean. Australia means "southern land". The entire continent south of the equator. Although Australia is surrounded by water, it is a very dry continent. About one third of the land is desert. Australia's hot, dry plains are called the outback. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The first people that lived in Australia probably came from the islands in the South Pacific about 40,000 years ago. They are known today as the Aborigines. They spoke over 200 languages. The word aborigine means "first known people to live in a place". They hunted and gathers food. They did not farm or build villages, instead they traveled through Australia in groups of few families, they did built temporary shelter though. They used stone axes, spears, and weapons for hunting. They also used boomerangs, which are a flat piece of wood or animal bone. When thrown, they will often return to the thrower. The Aborigines also discovered that water collected in the roots of large bushes. They used sticks to dig roots out of the ground. They learned to use knowledge and skill to stay alive in the Australian desert. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The first people in New Zealand were known as the Maori. They came from Polynesia and sailed over in large canoes. Like the Aborigines in Australia, the Maori also hunted. However, they also grew crops. They grew sweet potatoes and beans. Also, instead of moving to different places, the Maori started to build houses out of reeds. The first Europeans to come to Oceania were Dutch explorers and traders. In 1606, a Dutch explorer named Willem Jansz landed in northern Australia. He was followed in 1642 by another Dutch explorer named Abel Tasman. Tasman landed on a island near Australia. This island was later named Tasmania, after Abel Tasman. Tasman also reached New Zealand and named it after a part of the Netherlands called Zealand. He did not stay long in Oceania because he though Australia and New Zealand were not important. He thought the people there did not have what e considered valuable goods to trade. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In 1769, about 100 years after Tasman's journey, a British explorer named Captain James Cook landed in New Zealand. On the same voyage, he also explored Australia. Cook realized that both places had good land for farming. He thought they would be good places for settlers. They first British settlers to come to Australia were convicts, people who found guilty of breaking the law. The first convicts were sent to Australia in 1788. They had to work as punishment for their crimes. Many settlers who were not convicts also came to Australia. In 1851, Gold was discovered in Australia. With this discovery, more people came to the country. By 1860, colonies had been created in eastern Australia and on the west coast. Australia continued to be ruled by Great Britain until 1901. Then Australians united to become the Commonwealth of Australia. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The first Europeans to settle in New Zealand were traders and hunters. They went during the 1700s to trade with the Maori and to hunt whales and seals near the islands. During the early 1800s, British traders and hunters began settling in New Zealand. It did not become a British colony until 1840. In that year,a British officer named William Hobson signed a peace treaty with the Maori. The treaty was known as the Treaty of Waitangi. Hobson said that "we are one people.". This treaty gave Great Britain control over New Zealand. Even though the Maori had signed the treaty, they were unhappy. They did not want to be forced to sell their land to the British. Finally, in 1845, the Maori began to fight the British for control of New Zealand. the fighting continued on and off until 1872, when the Maori capitulated. By 1900, the colonists of New Zealand felt that Great Britain should let them govern New Zealand themselves. Great Britain agreed to this. In 1907, New Zealand became a nation with its own elected government. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Today, Australia is one of the richest countries in the world. This is because the Australia is the home of many natural resources. These resources have helped Australia become a modern industrial nation. Australian cities are much like American cities. Fishing and farming are still very important in New Zealand and in the smaller islands in the Pacific. Although some people on the islands live how people there did there centuries ago.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;">Western Hemisphere: **__

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> There are only two continents in the Western Hemisphere, North and South America. In 1507, the name //America// was first used on a map of South America. The person who made the map used information from an Italian explorer named Amerigo Vespucci. Since the land had no name, he decided to name it after the explorer. Christopher Columbus did not reach South America until his third trip in 1498. By that time, other explorers had started to cross the Atlantic Ocean. In 1496 King Henry VII of England asked an Italian sailor named John Cabot to sail to America. In early May 1497, Cabot sailed with 18 men on a small ship called //Matthew.// Cabot landed on the east coast of Canada on June 24, 1497 in Newfoundland. He did not find the gold he had hoped for. However, he did find rivers filled with fish and huge forests full of tall pine trees. The climate in Canada is very cold because it is so far north. In fact, parts of northern Canada are covered with snow and ice all year round. In the winter, the west coast of Canada is the warmest part of the country. Ocean currents carry warm water. The currents warm the air, and the air warms the west coast. Southeastern Canada has cold winter and short summers. More than half of the people of Canada live in the Southeast. Two of Canada's biggest cities, Montreal and Toronto are found here. The St. Lawrence river and the five Great Lakes form the lower boarder of this area. The largest part of Canada is the Canadian Shield. This is a flat region that borders the Hudson Bay. There are thousands of beautiful lakes in the Canadian Shield. The land and the weather is are not good for farming, but the resources such as gold and lumber can be found here. West of the Hudson Bay lie Canada's flat Interior Plains. Huge farms are found in the southern part of the plains and large forests cover the northern part. West of the plains are the Rocky Mountains and then the Pacific Ocean. Long ago, glaciers carved valleys between the mountains. These valleys became long, narrow bays called fjords. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The United States and Canada have many of the same land regions. In the east, the Appalachian Mountains run from Canada almost to the Gulf of Mexico. In the West, the Rocky Mountains run from Canada through the United States and into Mexico. The Great Plains of the United States are part of the same land region as Canada's Interior Plains. However, the climate in the Great Plains is not as cold as the plains region in Canada. Alaska, has places that are so cold, the sun never melts the snow! Alaska's climate is much like Canada's colder climate. There are fjords along the coast. The United States also has climates that Canada doesn't have. Hawaii has a tropical climate, the weather there never is cold. There are also deserts in the United States. One desert in California is so hot that it's called Death Valley. It is the hottest region of the United States. There are more than a dozen countries in Central America. These countries tend to have warm climates. Large areas of thick rain forests make the land difficult to farm. Panama is a narrow country in Central America. Since it's very narrow, it was chosen as a place to dig a canal called the Panama Canal that connects the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The canal is over 50 miles long. It can shorten a trip from New York to San Francisco by 8,000 miles. Before digging the canal, workers had to drain swamps and clear land. Many people died from mosquitos that were in the swamp. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In South America, there are many flat plains. High mountains can be found on the west side, too. Countries in the North of South America are very cold in the winter, countries near the equator stay hot all year round. The mountains in South America are part of the same mountain range that starts in Canada and continues down through North America. In Canada and North America, these mountains are called the Rocky Mountains. In South America, they're are called the Andes Mountains. There are many volcanoes in the mountain range. Most of the flat land in South America is a huge, bowl-like area called the Amazon Basin. The Amazon River flows through the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean. The Amazon rainforest, the largest in the world, is in South America.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**The Middle Ages**__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In 476 A.D. warriors captured the city of Rome. It had lasted for more than a thousand years before the attack. The year between the fall of Rome and 1500 A.D. are called the Middle Ages. Before the Middle Ages, there were the civilizations of Greece and Rome. After the Middle Ages, modern nations existed. In the early years of this time, many leaders fought one another for power and land. Trade was beginning to disappear because fierce warriors from the north still roamed through the countryside. THey destroyed crops and robbed homes and farms. A system called feudalism was created to control this. Feudalism was a kind of government and a way of life. Under feudalism, powerful people agreed to protect those who were less powerful. What happened was the king gave land to the rich men from the upper class called nobles. In returned from the land, the nobles promised to help fight the king's enemies. The noble were called vassals of the king. Sometimes a noble gave some of its land to another noble, who then became his vassal. Vassals who fought for other nobles or for their kings were called knights. Only men were knights during the Middle Ages. The people in the lower class were called serfs. A serf was someone who farmed the land. Serfs had to pay rent and taxes to the nobles, and they were not allowed to move away without permission. In return, the nobles protected the serfs from attack. Most people in the Middle Ages lived on a manor. A manor included the noble's house, a small village, a church, a mill, and woods and fields. Since trade had died out, a manor had to grow or make things people needed to live. Clothing was made of wool from a sheep that lived on the manor. Carpenters worked on buildings, while other workers made tools. The noble's house was often a fort or castle with stone walls. It was usually a cold, drafty place. The serfs lived in huts made out of sticks and mud. The serfs had to do many jobs. The men cut wood and farmed. The woman worked as cooks and servants. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> By the year 1000 A.D. most of the people of Western Europe were Christians. All Christians were members of the Roman Catholic Church. The Roman Catholic Church saved education completely disappearing after the fall of Rome. Christian priests learned to read and wright in Latin, which became the language of the church. There were't very many educated people then and all the books were handwritten! Even kings and queens didn't know how to read or wright. The Church helped keep the knowledge of Greece and Rome from being forgotten. Religious monks and nuns copied hundreds of books by hand! Without the church, most of our knowledge of the ancient world would have been lost. Many huge churches called cathedrals were also built. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> During the Middle Ages, people did not travel far from the manor that they lived on. However, some Christians made a difficult journey to Jerusalem, where Jesus lived. Jerusalem was ruled by Muslims. Around 1000 A.D. Muslims in Jerusalem no longer welcomed Christian visitors. The pope, who was the leader of the Catholic Church, said it was their duty to free Jerusalem from the Muslims. Many Christians went on long journeys to free Jerusalem. These journeys were called the Crusades. In total Christian made 9 Crusades! The Christians fought battle with the Muslims and captured the city of Jerusalem in 1099. About 100 years later, the Muslims won it back.The Crusades changed Europe by bringing trade back They brought back silk, rugs, jewels, lemons, rice and oranges. Since trade was alive again, roads were rebuilt. People in manors began to move to towns. Soon many Europeans became more interested about their past.

<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> __**<span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> Africa: **__ <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> In the 1300 and 1400, Europeans heard stories about the people in Africa. Africa had many great resources and many items to trade. The Europeans traded cloth and tools for gold and ivory. In the late 1400s, Many Europeans claimed land in North and South America. They built large farms called plantations. Sugar cane, cotton, fruit, and coffee grew on the plantations. Many people were needed to work there. The Europeans began traveling to Africa to get slaves They hired slave catchers to take people from African villages. Africans caught by slave catchers boarded large, crowded ships and were sent to America. The journey on the slave ship was terrible. One in six Africans during the trip. By the late 1700s, about 70,000 people were taken from Africa every year to become slaves. A total of 12 million slaves were sold before the slave trade ended in 1870. Thousands of families were <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> broken a part because of the slave trade. Many villages were destroyed and few young people were left to take care of the land. The slave trade also effected many Europeans. They thought they were better than the Africans. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The population of European countries were increasing very quickly in the 1800s. The Industrial Revolution had started. Africa was important to the Europeans because of its resources. Many Europeans began to follow a policy called imperialism. This is the control of the economy and government of one country by another. The European countries that controlled Africa did not know or care much about the Africans The borders between colonies often separated groups that had always lived together. Other groups that had been at war for centuries were forced to live in one nation. Most Africans lived under European rule for over 100 years. Africans did not have success in their fight for independence until after World War II. <span style="font-family: Georgia,serif;"> The first African nation to become independent was Ghana. Ghana's first leader was Kwame Nkrumah. He lead a movement known as Self-Government NOW. The members of this group led boycotts against the European governments. During a boycott, people refuse to buy goods produced by another group of government. Boycotts can hurt a nation's economy. Then sometimes, the government gives the people what they want. Boycotts helped Ghana win their independence on March 6, 1957. Some Africans didi not receive their independence peacefully. Many people were killed when Kenya tried to win its freedom from Great Britain. One of the leader of Kenya's independence movement was Jomo Kenyatta. In December 1963, Kenya became independent. The people of Kenya chose Jomo Kenyatta to be the nation's first leader. Nigeria was another country that won its freedom from Britain in the 1960s. Today, Nigeria has been helped by the discovery of oil. Them money earned from selling oil helps Nigerians develop their nation. Other countries that won their independence include Zimbabwe, Zambia,Mozambique, Burundi, and Eritrea.