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World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Although they are neighboring countries, they have distinct histories and cultures.

World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

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Page 1: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 1

Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Although they are neighboring countries, they have distinct histories and cultures.

Page 2: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 2

Poland is one of the largest countries in Europe. About the size of New Mexico, Poland lies on the huge North European Plain which

stretches from France to Russia.

Page 3: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 3

Poland continues to rely on factories which burn coal for fuel creating pollution from the factory smoke causing the rain to

contain chemicals that pollute water, air, and land.

Page 4: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 4

About 38.6 million people live in Poland. Almost all are ethnic Poles who belong to a larger ethnic group called Slavs. They speak Polish, which is

a Slavic language. Poland is more rural than other nations in Europe.

Page 5: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 5

The small Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania lie on the shores of the Baltic Sea. For much of their history, the Baltic republics

were under Russian control. In 1991, these small countries became independent.

Page 6: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 6

All three Baltic republics still have large Russian minority populations. Most people in Estonia and Latvia are Protestants,

while Roman Catholics make up the majority in Lithuania.

Page 7: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 7

The Baltic republics are located on poor, swampy land. Even so, their well-developed economies are based mainly on dairy farming,

beef production, fishing, and shipbuilding.

Page 8: World History Notes Poland and The Baltic Republics / 1 Along the southern shores of the Baltic Sea lie Poland and the Baltic republics of Estonia, Latvia,

World History

NotesPoland and The Baltic Republics / 8

In Poland, the city of Gdansk, a Baltic seaport, is an important shipbuilding center. In recent years, increased trade and industry have raised standards of living in this region of Eastern Europe.