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