Thematic Essay on Geography

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