The Importance of Oil

Early Civilizations
 Early civilizations in the region included the
Sumerians, the Babylonians, the Hittites, the
Israelites, and the Phoenicians.
 Later empires, such as the Persian and
Byzantine, added new cultural elements to the already multicultural civilization of the
Middle East.

The Fall of the Ottoman Empire
 The Ottoman Empire unified huge territories and endured for over 600 years. The defeat of the
Central powers in World War I effectively ended the
Ottoman Empire and led to numerous movements for self determination in the region.
 Many of the conflicts which followed were products of colonialism, nationalism, the international oil economy, and political ambitions.

Religion
 Religious changes in the Middle East have greatly impacted the internal and external affairs of countries as well as the lives of individuals.
 Issues affecting individual lives include internal reform movements in Islam and Judaism, the changing role of women, changing social customs and the impact of Western influence.

Oil Gets Important
 For most of the 20th century, groups within the Middle East have been seeking self-rule and national identity.
 As oil has increased in importance, so has the influence of the
Middle East on the world.
 These oilrich countries’ economies have changed and caused the oil-rich nations to raise the standard of living of their peoples.

Other Economic Activities
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Modernization
 Because of modernization and rapid growth in population, many Middle Eastern cities such as DUBAI have grown a lot!
 Modernization has created many problems in terms of housing and jobs along with other social issues.

Extra! Extra! Credit
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Google and Print Images of the city of
to share with the class tomorrow.
The images must represent how the city of
is
Modernized

Expanding Economies
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Some people in the Middle Eastern countries have found ways to make the most of their resources in various geographic regions to help improve and develop their economy on the basis of their cultural heritage and economic needs.
However, there are some other Middle Eastern countries who have learned to expand their economies.
An example is Bahrain, which, through shipping and banking serves as a hub for Southwest Asia.

What Does the Middle East Have that EVERYONE Needs???
 The Middle East has oil that other nations need, so relationships between countries have to be good. They must cooperate.

What Would You Do? (Left
Hand Assignment)
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If you learned today that the Middle East decided to stop its shipment of oil to the United States? What alternative ways to create or save energy would you enforce?
Do you think this could actually happen?

Interdependence
 The economic, political, and social dependence of culture regions on one another

Scarcity
 The condition of not being able to have all of the goods and services one wants.
Resources do not exist in sufficient quantities to satisfy all desires to use them

Embargo
Book Definition: An embargo is a government order that prohibits a country to trade with other countries.
My definition: (describe Embargo in your own words)

Scarcity of Gas
 The Oil Embargo of 1974 led to a scarcity of gas in the United States

Oil Prices Rose

Causes and effects of OPEC
Trade Embargo
(Left Hand Assignment)
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 Why did this event happen?
 What caused this event to occur?
 What actions led up to this event?
 What happened as a result?
 What happened
AFTER…
 How did things change after the event

Nixon’s Plan
(view only, do not copy )
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He called upon homeowners to turn down their thermostats
He asked companies to trim work hours.
Gas stations were asked to hold their sales to a max of ten gallons per customer.
In the month of November 1973, Nixon proposed an extension of Daylight Savings Time
Placed a total ban on the sale of gasoline on
Sunday's.
Trans-Alaskan oil pipeline, designed to supply
2,000,000 barrels of oil a day.

Left Hand Assignment: Create an ILLUSTRATED Bubble Map