How Did The Geography Of Western Civilizations Affect Their Development

During the 1600s the colonies in the New World started to develop based off of different factors. The colonies all developed for different reasons, some were gold, some God, and some glory. Yet, all were affected by their location and what it had to offer. Geography was the primary factor in the development of the colonies, because it affected everything from the people that it attracted to the jobs that it provided to the food that they ate.

This was where humanity became more knowledgable. Egyptians and the people of Mesopotamia-to name a few, elected leaders, harvested the land, and even created their own beliefs. The Alphabet was invented by a merchant civilization, while other civilizations started to form. The Greeks were just beginning to form. The gathering of civilizations named the Ionians, Dorians, and Aeolians fought the Cretans for the land that would become that of the Greeks. The Romans began to become more powerful. The concept of emperors and conquering land started to arise. People began to become poetic and wrote stories about adventure, philosophy and law. Peoples of the north came crashing into Europe known as the Germanic tribes. They stirred up many conflicts, as did the Huns who were people of the east who also wanted land. The east was growing quite prosperous, China had built their Great Wall, and the ideas of Confucius and Buddha enlightened people. While China was prospering, back in the west things were getting out of

In Greece, the geography affected early settlements in positive ways. An example is Mount Olympus, since it was so high up and covered by clouds, Greeks believed Gods lived there. Document 2 states, ”According to the ancient Greeks, their gods controlled every part of daily life--the weather, crops, money, love, and business, phases of the moon, earthquakes, and even whether a loaf of bread burned in the oven.” This proves that ancient Greeks not being able to see the top of the mountain, made them believe the gods were up there, and it gave them an explanation to everything. Another one is, how hot and dry climates were great for growing olive trees. In document 4 it states, ”Olive oil was as good as money to the ancient Greeks, since they could trade it for other land not available

Geography had a tremendous impact on early civilizations, the topography of the different regions played a key role in their development and formation. This statement by Fernand Braudel “ Geography is the stage in which humanity’s endless dramas are played out” (Getz et al., Exchanges, 26) is a very moving and telling description. The terrain, whether it is natural or man made is not the end all, be all. It does however affect the stage a great deal. Mountainous areas act as blockades, which keep the societies independent, plains open up the area, and rivers enable everything to move around freely. 2

As you can see the Aksum empire was the best and biggest trading empire because of where they were and the geography around them. Ancient Egypt was a smart empire and learn the way the geography around them worked and what it did, so they can plan around it and be successful. Lastly, Ancient Greece was affected and they weren’t able to move and be able to life with a very successful empire where they were. This shows that geography was a huge part of the way the people in the empires lived and if they were successful or

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

The geography of the region shaped the lives of the people in the Ancient World by allowing permanent settlements to flourish, by allowing technology to adapt, and by isolating them from other cultures. The geography of a civilization can range from mountains, deserts, oceans, and forests. This can allow for many advancements and setbacks.

civilization in the region at the time. They had developed political, religious, and social systems

The civilizations of early China, Nubia, the Eurasian steppes and the Celtic’s emerge from very different places for example the Nubians and the Celts came from very different environments with the Nubians being from a very hot place and the couch from a cold place with that being said these countries still had to develop a way to respond to the environment opportunities and challenges such as the lack of rainfall or the lack of fertile land.

During the colonial times in America, settlers could, for the most part, only live accordingly to the land and therefore it greatly affected their way of life. They had to grow crops for food and live were they could hunt and get food. It also needed to be a good place to live or an area where lots of people could live. They also needed good places to export goods and such. These were all geographical things that they needed to worry about and more. In Colonial times geography greatly affected Colonial life, water ways, land, weather, and geographical structures all made it so the colonists could only live in certain ways.

Ancient China is one of the oldest and longest lasting civilizations in the world. The Ancient Chinese have thrived for thousands of years because of the geography, their skills, and their talents. Throughout history, rivers such as the Yangtze and Huang He rivers made China thrive for thousands of years. While other features such as deserts and mountains like the Gobi, Himalayas, and the Taklimakan isolated the Chinese and kept other civilizations from culturally diffusing into Chinese lifestyle and culture.

Geography and the environment play a monumental role in the establishment and success of a nearly every civilization. For example, rivers bring water and allow for agricultural development, while mountains or deserts provide for protection and create a barrier. Many things, such as the aforementioned deserts and mountains, can offer both positive and negative influences on the society in question. The climate and amount of rainfall is directly related to the success or failure of crop growing, and thus related to the amount of time spent on simply surviving. Civilizations that are able to spend less time on subsistence farming are able to redirect that energy towards the establishment of arts, culture, religion, and science. Where a

Early civilizations we have learned include Mesopotamia, Egypt, India, and China. After learning about these civilization, I can include there were many impacts to the development and spread of these civilizations. Although trade and conquest were the two more prominent impacts, conflict (conquest) had the most important impact on the developments of these early civilizations.

Geography is the stage, history is the play. Geography is where history takes place. History is affected by where it took place, much like a stage in a play. If the scenery on the stage were to change, then so would the actions of the play. For example, the settlement of Mesopatamia. Many people believe that it was the first settlement that fully thrived, and its location was a major reason for thriving. Mesopatamia was located between the Tigris and Euphrates rivers. This location allowed easy water access and rich soil for crops.

Western Civilization has had a tremendous influence on many different cultures worldwide. From the Hispanic cultures in South and Central America, to the Caribbean islands, and also to the various exotic African countries, and even to the distinguished cultures that reside in the continent of Asia. In many ways than one, these cultures have been molded to be as westernized as they could possibly be without losing their traditional customs indefinitely. They’re religion, fashion sense, and family structures have all been altered in some form so that it could resemble the western nation’s patriarch. Countries in North America and Europe have for centuries traveled to different continents in the world and colonized many nations, as a result of that, many of the customs and traditions of those people have been shaped to be a bit more westernized.