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- immigration : The movement of people from one nation to another.
- Imperialism : The complete control of a weaker nation’s social, economic, and political life by a stronger nation.
- import : The bringing in of goods from another country for sale or trade.
- Inca : A Mesoamerican civilization of South America, centered in Peru. The Inca ruled a large empire and had many cultural and scientific achievements including an elaborate road system, architecture, and terrace farming. The arrival of the Spanish Conquistadores ended their empire in the 15th century.
- Indian Nationalist Movement : Nationalist movement to end British control of India.
- individualism : A social philosophy which stresses the importance of the individual above society.
- indulgence : Letters of forgiveness for one's sins provided by the medieval Church, and one of the causes of the Reformation.
- Industrial Revolution : In the second half of the 19th century, it was the fundamental change in the way goods were produced through the use of machines, capital, and the centralization of work forces in factories. It completely altered the social, economic, and political structure of most of Europe, Japan, and the United States.
- inflation : The raising of prices on consumer goods due to an increase in the money supply.
- inherit : To gain something when someone dies, such as property or money.
- interdependence : Mutual assistance or reliance between two or more parties.
- interracial marriage : The marriage of two people from different ethnic backgrounds.
- invasion : The entry of forces into a territory through hostile means.
- Irish Potato Famine : A famine in 1845 when the main crop of Ireland, potatoes, was destroyed by disease. Irish farmers grew other food items, such as wheat and oats, but Great Britain required them to export those items to them, leaving nothing for the Irish to live on. As a result, over 1 million Irish died of starvation or disease, while millions of others migrated to the United States.
- Irish Republican Army (IRA) : A terrorist organization based in Ireland which seeks to remove the British government from the Six Northern Counties which they control.
- Iron Curtain : A term popularized by British Prime Minister Winston Churchill to describe the Soviet Union’s policy of isolation during the Cold War. The Iron Curtain isolated Eastern Europe from the rest of the world. Its most poignant symbol was the Berlin Wall.
- irrigation : A system to bring water to support crops.
- Islam : The word Islam, which when translated from Arabic, means "to submit to the will of Allah," is the youngest of the world's major religions. Worshippers of this monotheistic religion are known as Muslims, which means "one who submits to the will of Allah." The Islamic holy book is called the Qur’an. Islam is currently the second most practiced religion in the world, and experts predict that it will overtake Christianity as the most popular religion in the world sometime during the 21st century.
- Islamic fundamentalists : Muslims who believe the Quran to be a literal guide to political, social, and religious life.
- Israeli - Palestinian Conflict : Conflict over landownership in Israel/Palestine. This conflict has at times involved most of the nations of the Middle East as well as the United States and the Soviet Union. Widespread terrorism against Israel and its allies occurs because of this conflict.
