Glossaries | edulabs.org academy

Saturday, 11 July 2026, 4:21 PM

Site: edulabs.org academy

Course: Activity Examples (Activity Examples)

Glossary: Global History & Geography for 14-15 Yr olds USA) (Thomas Caswell)

occupation (military)

The control of one country by another through the stationing of military troops and military government.

Old Imperialism

A European policy of conquest that occurs in the 15th through 18th centuries in Africa, India, the Americas, and parts of Asia The motives were the same for most areas, the establishment of lucrative trade routes. Various European countries dominated these trades routes and one time or another, and a some countries, such as Great Britain and Spain, came to dominate entire countries.

Old Kingdom

(2575 BCE 2134 BCE) Period in ancient Egyptian history characterized by the building of the Great Pyramids at Giza.

Old Testament

The first half of the Christian Bible, that describes the creation of the world, the history of ancient Israel, the Ten Commandments, and contains the Psalms and the prophetic books. Also is the Hebrew Torah.

Oligarchy

Government by a few, especially by a small fraction of persons or families.

Olmecs

A Mesoamerican civilization that flourished around 1200 C.E.. Achievements include irrigation, a simple calendar and writing system, and small cities.

OPEC

Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries, an international organization concerned with the crude-oil policies of its member states. This organization was founded in 1960, and has 11 members, including Kuwait, Algeria, Iran, Iraq, Indonesia, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. Due to their control of most of the worlds oil supply, OPEC has a strong influence on many industrialized nations.

Open Door Policy

A policy of the United States that stated China should be open to all nations that which to trade with them. This policy did not include the consent of the Chinese, and was another form of imperialism.

Opium War

In the early 19th century, Great Britain began importing opium, processed from poppy plants grown in the Crown Colony of India, into China. Chinese officials attempted to ban the importation of the highly addictive opium, but ultimately failed. The British declared war on China in a series of conflicts called the Opium Wars. Superior British military technology allowed them to claim victory and subject the Chinese to a series of unequal treaties.

oracle bones

In ancient China, they were pieces of bone or turtle shell used by Shang priests to tell the future. They would write a question addressed to either one of the gods, or an ancestor on the bone, then heat it until it cracked. They believed that by studying the pattern of cracks, one could learn the answer to the question. Oracle bones are the oldest example of Chinese writing.