Angelique Baker December 17th, 2017 Global Essay- Geography’s Destiny “Geography is destiny”. Rumored to have been said by Napoleon Bonaparte, this quote has been a source of debate for quite some time. This theme can be applied to some of the earliest civilizations to determine why they were able to become so powerful. In this essay, the indicated theme will be applied to multiple early civilizations to dictate a possible geographical pattern that can be attributed to their success. One geographical feature that can be attributed to success is an island. This feature can be seen in the ancient civilizations of Greece and Phoenicia. Both civilizations were quite affluent, and it is apparent …show more content…
This is seen in the geography of the Ancient Greeks and Chinese. Geography gave China a sense of entitlement and authority over other civilizations at the time. This claim is supported by the map of China in Document 6, which shows mountains on the western side and seas in the south and east. Isolation didn’t completely bar them from being successful though. “Despite isolation from the rest of the world, the challenge presented by China’s varied and dangerous topography led to the proliferation of primitive inventions...natural geographic resources...resulted in the development of such advancements as silk, paper, and porcelain.”3 These same goods offered later successes in the Silk Road, “an ancient trade route between China and the Mediterranean.”4 Natural land barriers in Greece also provided success. Since most of Greece was separated, independent city-states formed, therefore creating an overall culture with many different influences. Greeks also had to venture out in order to find lands with fertile soil, thus promoting more cultural diffusion. “Cultural diffusion is the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another.”5 Finally, the mountains provided both protection and “natural resources of gold and …show more content…
These features can be seen in the Ancient Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations. In Document 2, a picture of the Nile Delta is shown. This is ultimately where Egyptian civilization began. “The life of Ancient Egypt centered around the river Nile and the fertile land along its banks.”7 This led to new technologies and techniques stemming from the need to control the annual flooding of the Nile, agriculture, trade, etc. Egypt’s achievements involved advancements “...in irrigation and agricultural methods; as well as in developing some of the earliest ships.”8 Mesopotamian civilization began between two rivers, the Tigris and the Euphrates. The land Mesopotamia encompassed was a section of the Fertile Crescent, a large patch of ultra-fertile land. This was an excellent place to begin a civilization, as they were able to become prosperous in the field of agriculture. “Thanks to the fertile Mesopotamian soil and expansion of irrigation from the rivers, agriculture took off, letting civilizations grow in size and complexity. The river also aided with the trade needs of Mesopotamian city-states. “Since they did not have many natural resources, contact with neighboring lands was important.”9 They used the surplus of food from farming to trade for the goods they required. “The Tigris and Euphrates rivers made transport of goods easy and economical”11 Through all of this, the Mesopotamians were able to
During the years of 3500 BC to 2500 BC, the geography of a land often impacted a civilizations development in great measures. Depending on the resources available or the detriments present due to certain topographical characteristics like rivers or deserts, a civilization could flourish or collapse. By studying the geographic features of growing societies like the Nile, Euphrates, and Tigris Rivers as well as the Mediterranean Sea of Egypt and Mesopotamia, the link between developing cultures and geography will be examined through sources, including Egypt: Ancient Culture, Modern Land edited by Jaromir Malek and Babylon: Mesopotamia and the Birth of Civilization by Paul Kriwaczek. To determine the extent of its influence, this investigation will attempt to compare and contrast the role of geography in ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia, focusing on the civilizations’ various periods of development and settlement.
Egypt and Mesopotamia were two of the world’s earliest city-based civilizations, creating the basis for Middle Eastern and Western history. Both Egyptian and Mesopotamian civilizations existed on the banks of major rivers. While Egyptian civilization thrived along the Nile, Mesopotamia settled between the Tigris and the Euphrates. Although they shared this characteristic, it was also the cause of many of their differences in political systems, religions, and social stability.
...hose a region where it would be easy to settle down, an area with plenty of food and water not to mention an easy life. Their choices not only had an effect on themselves but also had a long term affect on the region that they chose to settle in. An example is the North China Plain and how its economic opportunities broadened when more and more people moved to it. The people of ancient civilizations whether ancient China or ancient Greece chose to move from one place to another frequently to find a location that was most suitable for their settlement. How they chose the region was based on its economic and geographic factors which were determined by the experiences of others there. The ancient nomadic people wanted what was best for them and used push and pull factors to do this. They analyzed to area with various methods and in return got what was the best for them.
For example, how the Spaniards conquered the Inca because geography was on their side. They received information/ technology from their neighbors, had books, writing, forging techniques, etc. When the Inca had limited resources, no form of writing, books, only had the llama, and were sheltered from the world. How germs, animals, steel, and writing separated these societies from one another because of how geography “raised” these people for over centuries. The world is unequal because of the exposure everyone has to different geography. Some civilizations have more to offer than other civilizations because they would make use of what they have. Being able to make use of things handed to us in our face helped to create things that allowed us to prosper. Geographic luck and exposure have separated people for centuries, and it has shown through the technology some of us have today compared to the late and undeveloped
Before the beginning of history, people from across the land gradually developed numerous cultures, each unique in some ways while the same time having features in common. Mesopotamia and Egypt are important to the history of the world because of religious, social, political and economic development. Mesopotamia was the first civilization, which was around 3000 B.C., and all other countries evolved from it. Mesopotamia emerged from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers. The soil was rich and agriculture was plentiful. The Semitic nomads occupied the land around Akkad. The Sumerians established the city-states. Villages became urban centers. Because of the formation of the city-states everything flourished. However, Mesopotamian agriculture lacked stones; therefore mud brick became their major building block. Their diet consisted of fish from the rivers. The rivers were flooded frequently destroyed the cities. Mesopotamians made their living from crops and pottery.
The Five Themes of Geography are: Location – Absolute points on a map or grid or Relative to where something may be; Place – The physical and/or human characteristics of a locations; Human/Environment Interactions – How humans have impacted the landscape or environment; Relationship between places Movement – How humans interact on the earth (i.e. how they communicate over distance (short or long)) and Regions – a unit of space that has commonalities defined by physical, human and environmental geography. The Explorers of the New World may have not known what the Five Themes of Geography were but they quickly learned. Of the five themes the ones that they all took advantage of was the physical Location and Place as they learned to navigate to and from as well as through their new environments. Over Time the explorers began to discover the relationships within their environments and original occupants of the lands as well as the regions in which they now occupied.
In ancient civilizations, geography affected them in so many ways, like the climate, resources, and the landscape that they use. The climates affect them because monsoons were offend common that brought heavy rain and wind to the area. The mountains provided them with protection against invasions, but the mountains were also used for trading with other to get the resources that they needed.
How has the geography of Europe helped to shape its rich history? The diverse geography of Europe includes many winding rivers, rigid mountains, and vast plains. All of these figures of geography play an important role in the occurrence of important historical events in Europe. The political geography of the continent also plays an important role. Perhaps it plays an even greater role than the physical geography in some cases. The ever changing political geography of Europe is responsible for the creation of several landlocked countries, and the formation of serious tension between governments. Some of the most important events in European history might have never occurred if Europe’s geography were any different or had not changed so much throughout time. No matter what the obstacle, Europeans have been able to overcome just about anything.
"All of Egypt is the gift of the Nile." It was the Greek historian Herodotus who made that observation. The remarkable benefits of the Nile are clear to everyone, but through history he was the first to talk about it and consider its fascination. Through history, the Nile played a major role in the building of civilizations. The first civilizations to appear in history started on a river valley or in a place where resources are numerous and example of these are in India where Indus river is found and Tigris where Euphrates is found and many other places (cradles of civilization).
Human activity has major effects on geography. When studying the earth you can come to several conclusions about the geography of any particular civilization. Distribution of life in the civilization allows you to analyze whether their geography is their own destiny. Do people control their own destiny? Is geography something that people can control? Technology is really the key to why geography can be overcome by any people.
Millions of years ago the procreant low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris was probably the home of some animal life, but no great civilizations. However, things change over time, and just a few thousand years ago the same fertile low lands in the river basins of Euphrates and Tigris became the home of a very rich and complex society. This first high society of man was located in what some still call "Mesopotamia". The word "Mesopotamia" is in origin a Greek name meaning "land between the rivers." The name is used for the area watered by the Euphrates and Tigris and its tributaries, roughly comprising modern Iraq and part of Syria. South of modern Bagdad, this alluvial plain was called the land of Sumer and Akkad. Sumer is the most southern part, while the land of Akkad is the area around modern Bagdad, where the Euphrates and Tigris are closest to each other. This first high, Mesopotamian society arose as a combined result of various historical, institutional, and religious factors. The reality of these factors occurring at a specific place within the fabric of space / time indeed established the basis for this first high civilization. Items like irrigation, topography, and bronze-age technical innovations played a big part along with the advent of writing and the practice of social conditioning (through the use of organized religion) in this relatively early achievement of man.
links between food production and conquest" (Diamond 92). In short, the historical advancement of these societies towards the proverbial guns, germs, and steel was enabled by the dense, sedentary settlement enabled by successful agriculture in an area of easy diffusion between other
Approximately 5500 years ago four of the worlds' most prestigious ancient river civilizations had emerged. Our world has been left in astonishment and awe wondering how these civilizations were developed. Egypt and Mesopotamia were the first ancient river civilizations to create cities and their own ways of living. Society, geography, and religion played an enormous role in the development of the ancient cities. Although there is evidence of early Sumerian contact with the Egyptians, Egypt's civilization was largely self-generated and its history and cultural patterns differed from Mesopotamia.
Since the beginning of humankind, the study of geography has captured the imagination of the people. In ancient times, geography books extolled tales of distant lands and dreamed of treasures. The ancient Greeks created the word "geography" from the roots "ge" for earth and "grapho" for "to write." These people experienced many adventures and needed a way to explain and communicate the differences between various lands. Today, researchers in the field of geography still focus on people and cultures (cultural geography), and the planet earth (physical geography).