“’The discovery of America,’ the Scottish writer Adam Smith announced…was one of the “two greatest and most important events recorded in the history of mankind.”…It is not surprising that looking back nearly three centuries after the initial voyage of Christopher Columbus in 1492, Smith focused primarily on the economic results of the conquest and colonization of North and South America. The influx of goods from the New World, he insisted, greatly increased the “enjoyments” of the people of Europe and the market for European goods. Nonetheless, Smith did not fail to note the price paid by the indigenous population of the New World… ‘Benefits’ for some, Smith observed, went hand in hand with the ‘dreadful misfortunes’ for others…” - Eric Foner, Voices of Freedom: A Documentary History Vol. I, 2014

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islamic religious leaders have traditionally been people who, as part of the clerisy, mosque, or government, performed a prominent role within their community or nation. however, in the modern contexts of muslims minorities in non-muslim countries as well as secularised muslim states like turkey, indonesia and bangladesh, religious leadership may take a variety of non-formal shapes.

compared to religious leaders/clerics of the other abrahamic faiths, islamic clergy are said to resemble rabbis and not priests. unlike catholic priests they do not "serve as intermediaries between mankind and god",[1] have "process of ordination",[2] or "sacramental functions",[1] but instead serve as "exemplars, teachers, judges, and community leaders," providing religious rules to the pious on "even the most minor and private" matters.[1]

a. men

and during later times male slaves as well

the dissolution of the soviet union[a] occurred on december 26, 1991, officially granting self-governing independence to the republics of the soviet union. it was a result of the declaration number 142-н of the supreme soviet of the soviet union.[1] the declaration acknowledged the independence of the former soviet republics and created the commonwealth of independent states (cis), although five of the signatories ratified it much later or did not do so at all. on the previous day, december 25, soviet president mikhail gorbachev, the eighth and final leader of the soviet union, resigned, declared his office extinct, and handed over its powers – including control of the soviet nuclear missile launching codes – to russian president boris yeltsin. that evening at 7: 32 p.m., the soviet flag was lowered from the kremlin for the last time and replaced with the pre-revolutionary russian flag.[2]

previously, from august to december, all the individual republics, including russia itself, had either seceded from the union or at the very least denounced the treaty on the creation of the ussr. the week before formal dissolution, 11 republics signed the alma-ata protocol formally establishing the cis and declaring that the ussr had ceased to exist.[3][4] both the revolutions of 1989 and the dissolution of the ussr also marked the end of the cold war.

several of the former soviet republics have retained close links with the russian federation and formed multilateral organizations such as the commonwealth of independent states, eurasian economic community, the union state, the eurasian customs union, and the eurasian economic union to enhance economic and security cooperation. on the other hand, the baltic states have joined nato and th