Global
Studies Thematic Essay on Geography (January 2011)
Nile
River (Egypt)
- it was rivers that paved the way for development of our species;
- once people learned of the regularity of flooding, a surplus of food became available;
- civilization soon grew into a great empire, Egypt;
- descendents of once nomadic people now making great strides in mathematics, writing, and architecture;
- government constantly involved in rules, regulating things like access to the river; ancient Egypt worshipped gods related to the Nile;
- another god symbolized the importance of flooding and was associated with riches the Nile provided;
- while the Nile provided access to the Mediterranean, the delta was an obstacle to invasion;
- overflowed banks each year; deposited fertile mud;
- surpluses of food allow for artisan workers, and from this, Egyptians’ rich culture sprung;
- most civilizations grew up around rivers;
- used fertile soil to grow vast quantity of food;
- flooding was often the time when people were required to work on projects;
- Egyptian people would pray to their many gods to help the river flood properly;
- Neolithic Revolution;
- nomadic way of life;
- ingredients of civilization;
- geometry;
- surveying;
- papyrus;
- pyramids;
- “Gift of the Nile”; Egypt’s main source of life;
- irrigation;
- annual floods; fertile silt;
- Osiris, an important god associated with fertility of soil;
- festival, rituals;
- arid climate;
- river united Egypt
Andes
Mountains (South
America)
- mountains commonly used as symbol for something standing in the way, but mountains were a key factor in South America’s most famous empire, the Inca;
- dictated the terms of survival for the Inca;
- mountains served as test of Inca problem-solving skills;
- survival required adaptation;
- Inca rivaled the Romans in engineering and empire building
- mountains in western South America;
- terrace farming;
- irrigation canals/canals;
- potatoes;
- suspension bridges; thousands of miles of roads
Bodies
of water surrounding England
- waters kept them out of many mainland European quarrels but also better prepared them for war;
- Spanish Armada destroyed in part by weather conditions;
- English plans for colonization in North America and later imperialism in Africa are evidence of reliance on the Atlantic Ocean for transportation;
- because it is surrounded by water, England has been able to interact with or isolate itself from rest of Europe on its own terms
- North Sea; English Channel; navy more feared than Spanish Armada
Mountains
(China)
- world’s tallest mountains had significant impact on China’s history;
- tended to shield China from ongoing, direct contact with its neighbors;
- in the case of the spread of Buddhism from India to China, contact did occur and was significant;
- contributed to patterns of settlement;
- some suggest this led to the cultural aspect known as sinocentrism or ethnocentrism specific to China;
- as China turned inward, her creative energies helped promote philosophies, inventions, engineering feats
- Himalayas; Confucianism; block printing
Rivers
(China)
- China’s Yellow River became the site of one of the earliest civilizations;
- damage from unpredictable flooding led the Yellow River to become known as China’s sorrow;
- without its rivers, China would not have been able to develop;
- they built and maintained dikes and channels to direct the flow to try to prevent flooding, death, and famine;
- fertile soil known as loess
Steppes
(China)
- home to nomadic herders and led to a series of invasions;
- for Mongols, steppes served as training ground for military & invasion route into China;
- Mongols created exclusive government
- Shi-Huangdi; Great Wall; Ghengis Khan; Song dynasty; Ming dynasty; Yuan dynasty
Island
status (England)
- English fished, traded, pirated for years prior to the notorious Sea Dogs of Elizabethan times, who plundered Spanish ships;
- English were relatively free to carry out their squabbles without intervention because England was an island;
- knew exactly how to work the seas to their advantage;
- defeated the Spanish Armada and became a world naval power;
- influenced them to imperialize 25% of the world
- 100 Years War;
- Queen Elizabeth I, Protestant;
- King Phillip II, Catholic;
- execution of Mary, Queen of Scots;
- English Channel
Gobi
Desert (China)
- contributed eventually to view they were superior to other nations;
- while Gobi discouraged most Chinese from settling, for Mongols the desert was a path to invasion
- vast; sparsely populated;
- caused China to be somewhat isolated;
- Middle Kingdom;
- Great Wall;
- yellowish, windblown soil called loess;
- loess enriched China’s soil
Mountains
(Greece)
- ancient Greece was not unified under one government but instead, many small city-states making up one civilization;
- incomplete isolation led to a variance in culture making each city-state individual but still Greek;
- worshipped same gods;
- resented other city-states interfering in their affairs but joined together to battle the Persians;
- Greek mountains kept city-states from uniting;
- Sparta stressed the military and discipline;
- Athens emphasized the individual and democracy even though it was limited
Location
(China)
- China is interestingly located with desert and mountains bordering it;
- location shielded China from continuous contact with other civilizations;
- belief systems that were uniquely Chinese developed;
- spread of Buddhism shows China was not completely shielded;
- ultimately, “barbarians” got around the wall and established their own dynasty
- Confucianism; legalism; Gobi Desert
Irregular
coastline
(Britain)
- Britain has a large amount of coastline with harbors which can serve as ports;
- Industrial Revolution in Britain needed capital, natural resources, and markets;
- two of these came about as a result of Britain’s coastline and ports;
- ports linked Britain with colonies;
- Sun never set on the empire that took manufactured goods abroad and brought back riches through busy ports;
- trade; prosperity
Sahara
Desert
(Africa)
- deserts often act as trade and cultural diffusion barriers;
- for people of interior, their understanding of the desert is more complex;
- three great empires based on gold-for-salt trade
- located just south of the Mediterranean Sea; oases
