Japan
Japan was an isolated, medieval state in the 1850's. Little space is now available for Japan's cities to be expanded. Japan derived her civilization from China. It becomes a modern state in 1912.
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Picture on this page shows the location map of Greece (in black). Almost two-thirds of Greece's area is barren rock.In Corfu, northern Greece, where the land is comparatively lush and fertile.
Greece
Greece is a country in the Balkans, in southeastern Europe. It consists of a long and irregular peninsula, and many islands of which Crete, Lesbos and Rhodes are the largest. Many people visit Greece to enjoy its warm, sunny climate and to see the impressive ruins of Greece's ancient civilization. Albania borders Greece to the northwest, Yugoslavia and Bulgaria to the north, and Turkey to the northeast. Greece has a long, ragged coastline. On the west lies the Ionian Sea, on the east is the Aegean Sea, and to the south is the Mediterranean Sea.
Northern Greece is the widest part from east to west. Macedonia, the northeastern part, has coastal plains where the people grow wheat and other cereals, and vines. The three-pronged peninsula of Chalkidike, south of the Macedonian plain, is mountainous. On the slopes of lofty Mount Athos stands a group of 20 monasteries.
Northwestern Greece is covered by the high, thickly forested, Pindus Mountains. The Plain of Thessaly, to the east of the mountains, is closely covered with vineyards. South of the Pindus Mountains is high plateau land, in which some of the mountain slopes are forested, while others are dry and barren. In the southeastern part of this area stands the city of Athens, the capital of Greece. It has a busy port at Piraeus and many factories.
Southern Greece, the Peloponnese Peninsula, is almost an island. It is joined to the mainland by the isthmus (a narrow strip of land) of Corinth. A canal has been driven through the high rock of the isthmus. The peninsula has mountains rising to over 6,000 feet above sea level. Some of its slopes are forested and some barren. Farmers grow vines, olives, and oranges, and rear goats in the area.
The people of Greece are mostly Christians, belonging to the Eastern Orthodox Church. Most of them work on the land. Greece has few industries. Its natural resources include lignite (poor quality brown coal) and bauxite (aluminum ore). It has a large merchant navy. After the fall of the Greek and Roman Empires, Greece formed part of the Byzantine Empire, the eastern part of the old Roman Empire. Greece was conquered by the Turks in the mid-1400. The Greeks rebelled, declared independence in 1822, and won final freedom in 1830. Greece became a monarchy.
In 1912 and 1913, Greece fought Turkey and other Balkan countries in two wars. It also fought in World War I. In World War II, Greece defeated the Italians but fell to the Germans. Greece had an elected parliament. But in 1967, a group of army leaders seized power. The king, Constantine II, failed to overthrow them, and fled into exile.
