Russia, with over 6.6 million square miles of varied climate and landscape, is the largest country in the world. It is nearly twice the size of the United States or Canada. Covering almost one-eighth of the Earth’s surface, it ranges from the Arctic Circle in the north, to the borders of China in the south, from Europe in the west to the Pacific Ocean to the east. It spreads through two continents and 11 time zones. The Ural Mountains, some of the oldest mountain ranges, stretch from the north to the south. Russia borders more countries than any other and has 12 major seas.

Oceania is an area of the world that has some very unique characteristics. More than one third of the earth’s surface is comprised of the Pacific Ocean and Oceania . In addition to all those islands, Oceania also includes the smallest continent in terms of land size: Australia. You can look anywhere in Oceania and find strong cultural traditions, rich history, and strong geographic features that vary widely depending on where you go.

In the first six chapters of this book you studied a theme of geography and how it related to the region under study. In the last two chapters of this book you studied multiple themes and how they related to the regions. In this final chapter of the book you will put all five themes into practice by studying the most populous of the continents - Asia. More specifically, you will study the themes in practice in East Asia, which includes large countries in terms of land mass and population such as China and Mongolia, as well as smaller nations such as North and South Korea and Japan.

During the thirteenth century, the Mongols built an empire from scratch through remarkable feats of organization, planning, endurance, courage, slaughter, destruction, and terror. The empire was ruled by a combination of exploitation and protection of those conquered. The Mongol peace-keeping and encouragement of long distance communications, resulted in the widespread exchange of ideas, goods, and techniques, as well as in the spread of disease.

Today we live in a world that is extremely and irreversibly global. Our marketplaces offer seemingly limitless products from around the world. People utilize the Internet in order to connect to a body of collective learning previously unseen in history. This is in stark contrast to the origin of small hunting and gathering bands of Homo sapiens on the plains of East Africa. that existed close to 200,000 years ago. From these origins, Homo sapiens gradually migrated throughout the world. This lengthy journey culminated 14,000 years ago, with the human colonization of the last region of the earth, the Southern Cone of Argentina. At the end of this lengthy process of migration, the earth was divided into four distinct areas called world zones.

The Crusades began in 1096 and lasted until 1291. During two centuries of atrocious fighting between Christians and Muslims to control the Holy Land, the end result was the establishment of a bitter hatred between the two religions. From an exploration standpoint, however, the result was not as dismal. Crusading in the areas of northern and eastern Europe led to the expansion of some kingdoms and the creation of new political units. While religious fighting was occurring, traders moved into the area and started to profit economically from use of the land. When the Catholic Crusaders returned from the Middle East in the 12th and 13th Centuries, they brought back with them tales of new lands and peoples as well as cloth such as silk and foods such as sugar—all of which they had never experienced before.

Questions raised in this chapter: Why were African slaves used primarily for forced labor in the cotton and sugar plantations in the Americas? (Instead of indentured servants and or Native Americans) 2. Why was the Trans-Atlantic slave trade transformative to the economic way of life in the Americas? 3. How did African slavery in the New World differ fundamentally from past instances of slavery and other systems of labor in the same era? 4. How did the geography of the region dictate the role of slaves?

Drawing and quartering, burning at the stake, tar and feathering, the pillory, the wooden wheel, the rack - all were devices or methods used for torturing humans conjured up over the ages. But in 18th Century Europe, a new movement, a new set of ideas was sweeping through the continent. A new type of thought, of “enlightenment,” was engaging the philosophes -- French philosophers or thinkers. These thinkers applied methods of science to understand society and to make improvements in it. With the application of reason, the philosophes believed government, law, and society could be reformed. According to the philosophes, the role of punishment and torture should be questioned too.

The Industrial Revolution (ca. 1750-1900) may have involved fewer beheadings per capita than preceding political revolutions, but it was certainly transformative for people in all walks of life. In Europe, feudalism was a thing of the past, but without modern forms of transportation, the average person still had to rely on their local community for the production of food and durable goods. Prior to industrialization, most people lived as farmers; life revolved around subsistence agriculture. People worked the land with simple, homemade tools to grow their own food. Production of goods (clothing, for example) happened on a small scale, often within workers’ homes. Trade happened on a small scale within communities. Life expectancy was short, although it had increased at a slow rate since the Middle Ages. All of this, however, would change dramatically as the Industrial Revolution started in Great Britain and caused sweeping changes around the world. This global event transformed how people worked, played, traded and traveled. It changed politics, economics, and family structures and continues to shape our world today.