Britannica Student Encyclopedia - 2010

Mayan Indians make up a large part of

the population. There are also many

people with both Mayan and European

ancestry. In Belize many people have

African roots.

The Maya have lived on the Yucatan

Peninsula for thousands of years. The

ancient Maya built cities, such as

Chichen Itza, that featured pyramids

A man blows a traditional trumpet

called a shofar on the Jewish

holiday of Yom Kippur.

94 Yom Kippur BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

and other impressive structures. Today

the ruins of these cities attract many

tourists. Tourists also visit Cancun, a

resort on the peninsula’s coast.

..More to explore

Maya

Yugoslavia

Yugoslavia was a country that existed in

southeastern Europe from 1929 to

2003. It was created when several former

kingdoms and territories joined

together. They became the six republics,

or states, of the country of Yugoslavia.

Each republic had its own mixture of

ethnic groups and religions. Tensions

sometimes flared up between the different

groups.

In the late 20th and early 21st centuries

the republics broke apart to become

independent countries. These countries

are Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia,

Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia,

and Slovenia.

Geography and People

Yugoslavia lay along the Adriatic Sea on

the Balkan Peninsula of Europe. It

shared borders with Italy, Austria, Hungary,

Romania, Bulgaria, Greece, and

Albania. Its capital was Belgrade, which

is now the capital of Serbia.

Most of Yugoslavia’s people were Slavs

who spoke Slavic languages. The Slavs

included several different ethnic groups.

They were the Serbs, Montenegrins,

Croats, Slovenes, Macedonians, and

Bosnian Muslims (now called Bosniacs).

These groups were related, but each

group had its own separate history. Different

groups also followed different

religions. Many peoples who were not

Slavs—including Albanians, Hungarians,

and Turks—lived in Yugoslavia,

too.

History

By the late 1800s the Ottoman Empire

and Austria-Hungary ruled much of the

Balkan region. Those two empires were

defeated inWorldWar I (1914–18).

After the war several Balkan lands

formed a new country. It was called the

Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes.

The kingdom changed its name to

Yugoslavia in 1929.

Germany, Italy, and their allies invaded

Yugoslavia in 1941, duringWorldWar

II. A few years later, Josip Broz Tito led

troops that freed Yugoslavia from the

invaders. Tito became the country’s

leader. He set up a Communist government

in Yugoslavia.

The name

Yugoslavia

means “land

of the South

Slavs.”

BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA Yugoslavia 95

 

The country also gained a new form. It

became a federation, or collection of six

equal republics. Two sections of Serbia

that wanted to be separate were also

given some power. This angered the

leaders of Serbia. But Tito was a strong

leader. He helped hold the many different

ethnic groups in all of the republics

together in one unified country.

After Tito died in 1980 the country

went through major changes. The new

leaders were not able to hold the

country together. Many neighboring

Communist countries began to get rid

of Communism during this period.

Some of the Yugoslav republics wanted

to do the same. They held elections

and eventually declared themselves

independent.

Serbia fought to keep the republics part

of Yugoslavia. A bloody civil war raged

until 1995.

After the war, Serbia and Montenegro

were the only republics that remained

part of Yugoslavia. In 2003 they

formed a different country, named

Serbia and Montenegro. In 2006 Montenegro

and Serbia split peacefully into

two separate countries. Two years later

Serbia lost some of its territory when

the province of Kosovo declared independence.

..More to explore

Balkan Peninsula • Bosnia and

Herzegovina • Communism • Croatia

• Kosovo • Macedonia • Montenegro

• Serbia • Slovenia

Yukon River

The Yukon River flows through the

Yukon territory in Canada and the U.S.

state of Alaska. It is 1,980 miles (3,190

kilometers) long. The river flows in a

northwestern direction starting in southern

Yukon. In Alaska it turns toward the

southwest. It empties into the Bering

Sea.

Only plants and animals that can survive

in a cold climate are found around the

Yukon River. These include spruce and

other evergreen trees in the mountain

valleys and such animals as bears, caribou,

moose, timber wolves, muskrats,

weasels, and foxes.

Native Americans have lived along the

river for thousands of years. European

fur traders began to arrive in the 1800s.

More outsiders came to the area after

people discovered gold on the Klondike

River in 1896. (The Klondike feeds into

the Yukon in western Yukon.) However,

most of the gold seekers did not stay.

Today the population of the region is

very small.

The Yukon River flows through large areas

of wilderness on its way to the Bering Sea.

96 Yukon River BRITANNICA STUDENT ENCYCLOPEDIA

 

Yukon

Yukon is a territory of Canada located in

the northwestern part of the country.

The territory is a largely untouched wilderness

with a very small population.

The capital is Whitehorse.

Geography

Yukon borders Alaska (a U.S. state) on

the west, British Columbia (a Canadian