Five Pillars Five practices required of Muslims: faith, prayer, almsgiving, fasting, and pilgrimage.
Five-Year Plans Plans for industrial production first introduced to the Soviet Union in 1928 by
Stalin; they succeeded in making the Soviet Union a major industrial power by the end of the
1930s.
footbinding In China, a method of breaking and binding women’s feet; seen as a sign of beauty and
social position, footbinding also confined women to the household.
foraging A term for hunting and gathering.
fundamentalism A return to traditional religious beliefs and practices.
Geneva Conference A 1954 conference that divided Vietnam at the seventeenth parallel.
genocide The systematic killing of an entire ethnic group.
geocentric theory The belief held by many before the Scientific Revolution that the earth is the
center of the universe.
glasnost The 1985 policy of Mikhail Gorbachev that allowed openness of expression of ideas in the
Soviet Union.
Glorious Revolution The bloodless overthrow of English King James I and the placement of
William and Mary on the English throne.
gold standard A monetary system in which currency is backed up by a specific amount of gold.
Gothic architecture Architecture of twelfth-century Europe, featuring stained-glass windows, flying
buttresses, tall spires, and pointed arches.
Gran Colombia The temporary union of the northern portion of South America after the
independence movements led by Simón Bolívar; ended in 1830.
Great Depression The severe economic downturn that began in the late 1920s and continued into the
1930s throughout many regions of the world.
Great Leap Forward The disastrous economic policy introduced by Mao Zedong that proposed the
implementation of small-scale industrial projects on individual peasant communes.
Green Revolution A program of improved irrigation methods and the introduction of high-yield
seeds and fertilizers and pesticides to improve agricultural production; the Green Revolution was
especially successful in Asia but also was used in Latin America.
griots Storytellers of sub-Saharan Africa who carried on oral traditions and histories.
guano Bird droppings used as fertilizer; a major trade item of Peru in the late nineteenth century.
guest workers Workers from North Africa and Asia who migrated to Europe during the late
twentieth century in search of employment; some guest workers settled in Europe permanently.
Guomindang China’s Nationalist political party founded by Sun Yat-sen in 1912 and based on
democratic principles; in 1925, the party was taken over by Jiang Jieshi, who made it into a more
authoritarian party.
Hadith A collection of the sayings and deeds of Muhammad.
hajj The pilgrimage to the Ka’aba in Mecca required once of every Muslim who is not limited by
health or financial restrictions.
harem A household of wives and concubines in the Middle East, Africa, or Asia.
heliocentric theory The concept that the sun is the center of the universe.
Hellenistic Age The era (c. 323 to 30 BCE) in which Greek culture blended with Persian and other