Chapter 14 – Section 1Turmoil in the Balkans

Lake Bled, Slovenia

Dubrovnik, Croatia

Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina

Skopje, Macedonia

Budva, Montenegro

Countryside in Serbia

History• 500s – Slavic people migrated from Poland & Russia into the Balkan Peninsula. They

are South Slavs (Croats, Slovenes & Serbs) – each group formed its own kingdom.

• 1389 – Ottoman Empire conquered the region at the Battle of Kosovo Polje.• Ruled Bosnia & Herzegovina too

• Austria ruled Slovenia & Hungary ruled Croatia

• Over time foreign rule created cultural differences amongst the South Slavs.

Kosovka devojka(The Kosovo Maiden),

a picture by UrošPredić

Yugoslavia• 1878 – Serbia broke free from the Ottomans & wanted to unite all South Slavs in one

nation. • Sparked WWI

• 1918 – Kingdom of the Serbs, Croats & Slovenes was formed.

• 1929 – King renamed it Yugoslavia (Land of the South Slavs).

Communist Rule• WWII – Germany & Italy invade Yugoslavia; Croats helped the Nazis

• Others fought them and joined the Chetnicks or the Partisans

• Josip Broz Tito, Communist Party Leader, became the dictator and encouraged all of the ethnic groups to think of themselves as Yugoslavs.

• 1946 – new constitution organized the country into 6 republics: Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, and Slovenia.

• 2 provinces: Kosovo & Vojvodina

• 1980 – Tito died and presidency rotated between the republics’ leaders.

Ethnic Tensions• Slobodan Milosevic, a Serbian leader that tried to increase Serbia’s power over

Yugoslavia causing 4 republics to leave (‘91 & ‘92). • Serbia started a war but lost.

• Slovenia & Croatia declare independence

• S quickly won and became a country

• C had a large Serb minority and they fought with the invaders due to past hatreds.

• UN created a cease fire in Jan ’92

• Bosnia & Herzegovina declare independence

• Muslims & Croats supported it, but not the Serbs or Serbia.

• US sponsored peace negotiations in ‘95

• Ethnic cleansing: policy of trying to eliminate an ethnic group through violence.• More than 200,000 people died

• More than 2,000,000 fled their homes

War is Kosovo• Serbs wanted this province because they feel it is a part of their heritage.

• Albanian Muslims with non-Slavic language lived there

• Milosevic tried to control the region and wipe out its Albanian culture.

• 1990s – Kosovo Liberation Army (KLA) started to attack Serbian officials. • Serbian government responds by bombing village & with ethnic cleansing

• 1999 – NATO starts bombing Serbia to get them to stop attacking Kosovo• Milosevic withdrew in June; evidence of torture and massacre

An Uncertain Future• 2000 – Vojislav Kostunica is elected president

• Tension remained from the wars, millions of refugees, widespread poverty and the desire for independence.

• 2003 – Montenegro and Serbia become independent nations and Yugoslavia is no more.

Chapter 14 – Section 2Cleaning Up Europe

Europe’s Water• 2000 – Gold mine in Romania released cyanide (a deadly poison) into local streams

and into the Tisza River in Hungary. • Poison killed 80% of Europe’s rarest fish.

• Pollution rarely stays at its point of origin.

• Developing industries often create pollution that can contaminate local water supplies.

Pollution Sources• Sewage: Cities usually have treatment plants to remove harmful substances before

it’s released into bodies of water, if not, water & soil will become toxic.

• Chemical Fertilizers: Rain washes them from fields into bodies of water causing algae & plants to grow faster than fish can eat them. Plants decay, using up oxygen, killing the fish, using up more oxygen – rivers can no longer support life.

• Oil Spills: Thousands of tons of oil kill and contaminate ocean life.

Industry’s Effect on Water Supplies

Water Clean Up• Water pollution spreads quickly and easily, therefore nations must

cooperate to solve the problem.

• EU set up the European Environmental Agency which collection environmental information.

Have you ever been to LA?

Beijing, China – Before/After Smog

Hundreds of factories were shut during this time, while half of Beijing's five million registered cars were banned from the streets.

Improving Air Quality• Air pollution is made of harmful gases and particulates: very small particles of liquid

or solid matter.

• Water pollution and air pollution are connected. Rain washes chemicals out of dirty air & into water.

Particulates in the Air & Deaths per Month

Human Created Pollution• Fossil Fuels: burning them causes air pollution creating smog: a brown haze that is

created when the fossil fuels react to sunlight creating hundreds of harmful chemicals. Ozone is a form of oxygen that causes health problems.

• Fires: release smoke and particulates into the atmosphere.

• Chemical Use: release harmful chemicals into the air.

• Industry: Factories discharge harmful waste and chemicals.

Pollution Problems• Breathing air pollution can contribute to respiratory diseases; can cause lung cancer.

• Harms livestock and stunts plant growth

• Causes acid rain which kills forests and damages buildings

Damage to Statues1908 - 1968

Cleaning the Air• Countries are passing laws to make the air safer to breathe.

• Working together to reduce emissions from cars & industry to improve air quality.

Crash Course EcologyPollution