A History of the World: Chapter 26: Building Today’s World

In 1959, Fidel Castro, a young lawyer, carried out a revolution and set up a new government.

Castro's government controlled the economy and society. It nationalized, or made itself owner, of American property in Cuba.

In 1960, the U.S. placed a partial trade embargo against Cuba. A trade embargo is a ban on trading with another nation.

Many Cubans fled to the United States. Most of these immigrants settled in Florida.

Economic activities, such as mining, agriculture, and manufacturing, have produced great wealth and a large middle class. These economic activities, however, have led to deforestation, or the cutting of forests without replanting.

Many people died in the civil wars that followed. Others became refugees, people who flee to another country to escape persecution or disaster.

Population growth and outside influences are changing everyday life in Africa. Africans, however, have tried to maintain many of their traditions.

City lifestyles vary, however. Some people are wealthy and live in luxury apartments or modern houses. Many residents are crowded into communities on the edge of cities.

He worked to unite South Africans while rebuilding the country. His successors, Thabo Mbeki and Jacob Zuma, continued Mandela's policies.

PLO members committed terrorism against Israel's people. Terrorism is the use of violence against civilians to achieve a political goal.

During the 1980s, Palestinian Arabs carried out an intifada, or uprising.

Détente comes from a French word that means "a relaxation of tensions." During the years of détente, the United States and the Soviet Union sought a better relationship with each other.

Under a policy called glasnost, or "openness," Soviet citizens were free to say and write what they thought without fear of government punishment.

Another policy, known as perestroika, or "rebuilding," had the goal of reforming the Soviet economy. It gave factory managers more freedom and encouraged the creation of private businesses.

The Serbs carried out ethnic cleansing—removing or killing an entire ethnic group—against non-Serbs.

Thinkers who wanted freedom to promote new ideas were arrested.

Government troops broke up the protest, and many people were killed or injured. Around the world, China’s action was called a violation of human rights, or basic freedoms.

American troops aided in bringing some stability to Iraq.

Today, we live in a global community that has made people increasingly interdependent.

This means that they rely on one another for goods, information, and other resources.

A major contributor to interdependence is the technology revolution. Driving this change is the computer.

Pandemics are disease outbreaks that occur over a wide area and affect many people.

Doctors use lasers to perform surgery with minimal discomfort to patients.