These are the countries of the World. Now, look at the World… See any that are familiar? Can you see the USA…China…Russia…Japan..South Africa…Brazil….how.

These are the countries of the World

Now, look at the World…

See any that are familiar? Can you see the USA…China…Russia…Japan..South Africa…

Brazil….how about Brunei?

Now, keep both pictures of the world in your mind, putting countries on the map

without borders….

Close your eyes and make that mental map

Now, let’s divide the world into regions that have major historical

significance…..

….and when we do; the world will look like this….

Central and Latin America

Caribbean

Sub-SaharanAfrica

North Africa

Western Europe

Eastern Europe

The Middle

East

The Balkans

Central Asia

South Asia

East Asia

SoutheastAsia

Central and Latin America Vital Data

Historical EventsBack to the World Map

Geography

Geography

Climate: Tropical along the coasts, cooler in the highlands, including rainforests…..

Historical Events

Panama Canal

Aztecs

Incas (Machu Picchu)

Carnival

Simon Bolivar

Chichen itza

Vital Data

• Countries: Mexico, Belize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama, Colombia,

• Religion: Roman Catholic

• Population: 78 million

Caribbean…aka….The West Indies

GeographyVital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: Tropical, prone to hurricanes

Historical Events

Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)

Encomienda system

Toussaint

Columbus and the “Discovery” of America

Pirates

Fidel Castro

Vital Data

• Countries: Major countries include: Cuba, Haiti, Dominican Republic, Bahamas

• Religion: Christianity

• Population: 38 million

Western EuropeGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: Temperate, Mediterranean, warm summers, mild winters with rain

French AlpsVenetian Canals

Historical Events

Reformation

Christians vs. Muslims

Absolute Kings

Renaissance

WWIIWWI

Germany’s Berlin Wall

Vital Data

• Countries: Major countries include: Spain, France, England, Germany, Italy, Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium

• Religion: Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians

• Population: 359 million

Eastern EuropeGeography

Historical Events

Vital Data

Geography

Danube River

Ural Mountains

Volga River

Climate: Continental, cool summers, colder winters, consistent rain

Historical Events

Berlin Airlift

The BlitzkriegRise of Russia

Lenin

Vital Data

• Countries: Major countries include: Russia, Poland, Ukraine, the Czech Republic

• Religion: Christianity (orthodox)

• Population: 411 million

The BalkansGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: Hot, dry summers; Cold, wet winters

Albania

Bosnia

Macedonia

The Balkans from Space

Historical Events

Alexander the Great

Ancient Greeks

Ottoman Empire

Assassination of the Archduke (beginning of WWI)

Serbian Refugees

Site of Troy in Turkey

Vital Data

• Countries: Albania, Bulgaria, Greece, Turkey, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia, Herzegovina, Yugoslavia, Macedonia, Romania

• Religion: Islam, Christianity

• Population: 70 million

The Middle East

Geography

Vital Data

Historical Events

GeographyClimate: hot summers, cool winters, Prone to earthquakes

The Dead SeaIraq (with burning oil fields)

Bahrain

Tigris River

Historical EventsMecca

Medina

Kuwait

Muhammad

Duh!

Vital Data

• Countries: Turkey, Iran, Afghanistan, Lebanon, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Jordan, Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Oman, U.A.E, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, Egypt

• Religion: Islam, Judaism, Eastern Orthodox Christianity

• Population: 253 million

North AfricaGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Atlas Mountains

The Nile

An Oasis- tozeur

The Sahara

Climate: steppe, desert, Mediterranean, dry to semi-arid

Historical Events

SphinxAlgerian Independence

Carthage and the Punic Wars

Casablanca

Suez Canal

Vital Data

• Countries: Tunisia, Morocco, Algeria, Libya, Egypt

• Religion: Islam

• Population: 174 million

Sub-Sahara AfricaGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Congo River

Kalahari

Lake Victoria

Mozambique

Climate: Savanna, rain forest, steppe, desert

Cape of Good Hope

Historical Events

Apartheid in South AfricaBushmen (Bantu)

Atlantic Slave Trade

Vital Data

• Countries: Consult the map to get specifics

• Religion: Tribal, Christianity, Islam

• Population: 618 million

Central Asia includes parts of historical Persia

GeographyVital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: semi desert and steppe

Afghanistan

The Crimea

The Black Sea from space

Gobi Desert

Terraced River Valley in Pakistan

Historical Events

Babylon

Darius

Iran Hostage Crisis

Persopolis

Mongols

Vital Data

• Countries: Mongolia, China, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyszstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, parts of Russia, China, Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, Iran, Pakistan

• Religion: Islam, Russian Orthodox Christianity

• Population: 65 million

South Asiaaka…the sub-ContinentGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: Monsoonal with arid areas

Bangladesh

Foothill Farms in Nepal

Everest

Bhutan

The Ganges

Karakoram Range in the Himalayas (India’s northern border)

Historical Events

Taj MahalMother Teresa

British officers in India Gandhi

Vital Data

• Countries: India, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, Maldives, Tibet (China)

• Religion: Hindu, Islam, Buddhism

• Population: 1.25 billion

Southeast AsiaGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Burma

Indonesian Rainforest

Mekong River

Strait of Malacca from the air

Thailand

Gulf of Tonkin

Climate: Hot all year round, heavy seasonal rains

Historical Events

Vietnam War

Cambodia and the Khmer Rouge victims

Persecution of the Buddhists in Laos

ASEAN

Vital Data

• Countries: Myanmar (Burma), Thailand, Laos, Cambodia (Kampuchea), Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, Papua New Guinea, Singapore

• Religion: Islam, Christianity, Buddhism

• Population: 420 million

East AsiaGeography

Vital Data

Historical Events

Geography

Climate: moderate, very similar to North America

Mt. Fuji

Gobi Desert

Source of the Yangtze

Xinjiang

Taiwan

Historical Events

Confucius

Nagasaki

The Great Wall

Genghis Khan

Mao Zedong

Vital Data

• Countries: China, Japan, North and South Korea, Taiwan, Mongolia

• Religion: Buddhism, Christianity, Shintoism

• Population: 1.6 billion