The Geography Behind History

by W. Gordon East

In studying the inescapable physical setting of history, writes the author, the geographer examines one of the strands from which history itself is woven. To illuminate the vital relationship between history and geographical conditions, W. Gordon East draws examples from ancient times to the mid twentieth century. He demonstrates that when we look at the physical conditions under which an event occurs, we find that "the particular characteristics of this setting serve not only to localise but also to influence part at least of the action." Topographical position, climate, distribution of water and minerals, the placement of routes and towns, and ease or difficulty of movement between districts and countries are among the factors which the historian must take into account. Professor East's topics include the role of geography in international politics, the contribution of the geographer to the study of ancient civilizations, and the use of old maps as historical documents.

Genres: History, Nonfiction, Geography, Cartography, Science

216 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1965

Reviews

[Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

For my own sake, before I attempt a review, I have to sort out the rattlings that took me here. In my opinion, it's arguable that an organism's habitat and potential landscape is one of the single largest dictators of variation and diversity of life on the planet. Being that nearly all material forms of life must navigate through space in some way to exist, it follows that our perception, reactions, discoveries, and formation of relationships with this space serves, especially initially, as a primary foundation for the varied and endless development of organic life. To wit, I am speaking primarily of the Animal, Plant, and Fungi kingdoms, and view genetics and biology more as sequential processes than as conscious creative forces. Once competing systems of life have been set in motion under the generally cyclical mechanisms of mother nature, navigating space becomes subconscious and intuitive, and complex adaptations develop. So if it all started as sensory perception and response, aren't we shaped by how and what we respond to? And if so, doesn't that start with the most fundamental setting we were so unpleasantly deposited into as wailing little greaseballs? We get two things shaping us right away: other people, and the surrounding environment. How has navigating through space shaped the different peoples of the earth? How did it shape us before it became second-nature? Isn't human history rooted in these human-landscape interactions?

With thoughts like these floating around, I excitedly picked up W. Gordon East's 'The Geography Behind History.' The first thing that should be said about Mr. East's work of lih-truch-cher is that it is a somewhat dated work (from the 1960s), and in some parts very Anglo-centric. Occasionally it reads like a research paper robotically citing premise and example or an Intro Social Psych textbook busy stating the obvious, and a few chapters (such as the one on Towns) fall grossly short of their potential. That said, W.G.E. has a nice conversational tone, asks lots of open-ended questions, is careful to avoid absolute statements, and covers a breathtaking amount of historical, sociological, and geographical territory.

Interested readers will be familiar with the conceptual arc of his thinking, which makes it easy to follow his movement between modes of thought and micro/macro scale analyzation. Basically, he jumps around a lot because its such a mess of mechanisms and relationships to untangle, but he's up to the task and goes in some unexpected directions, including a few chapters tacked on towards the end on Mesoamerica and east-west geographic relationships that are fun and informative. Who knew that similar blood-groups existed between South American natives and pre-Mongoloid peoples of Asia, perhaps implying colonization from across the Bering Strait?

In his attempts to bring out the underlying relational symmetries between geography and history, Mr. East explores a variety of natural antecedents. In particular, correlations between climate and morphology (including seasonal regularity, glacial movements, trade winds, alluvial flats, steppe-deserts, arable land), and human development (boundaries, frontiers, routes, towns, vegetation, animal husbandry, specialization) receive plenty of attention as East moves between principles and historical examples.

Frequently noted are the changes in climate and landscape patterns over time, and the corresponding changes in human activity, borne out by thought-provoking observations. For instance, its easy to forget that the arid deserts of today were once the lush and preferred environs of dawning peoples, now barren due to receding icebergs or a changing ocean current's effect on wind streams directing rainfall. Or the geographic similarities in alluvial flats common between the sprouting human civilizations in Egypt, Mesopotamia, and the Indus Valley. Even how the intimidating terrain between China and Europe, combined with the uniquely hospitable climate in regions of China, helped keep the silk moth a local and highly profitable venture in the far east for centuries (eggs of the silk moth eventually reached Constantinople cleverly hidden in a bamboo cane). Slowly one starts to see how a volcanic eruption here or riverbank erosion over there, through a series of related natural phenomena over spans of time, effects and somewhat dictates the paths of humans.

I was perhaps most excited about the abundance of maps when I flipped through, and in a book on geography and history, you have to figure they will play a central role in tying together conceptually challenging material. Unfortunately while many are helpful in conceptualizing past historical relevancies, most are so often spelled out in the following text that they wind up offering marginal clarity. But a few from atypical perspectives or highlighting previously-existing physical traits made it all worthwhile.

Probably the biggest kernel I will take home with me, is East's consistent focus on the 'magnitude that seasonal pause played in creating hospitable climates for humans, checking the growth of vegetation and insects, with a mix of draught and flood, allowing arable land.' We are clever little life-forms that embedded themselves in the cyclical nature of seasonal climates, and for said reasons above, we have spread across the planet.

(A small aside. It's been commented that this work is too dry and boring, and I'll admit I am a bit amped-up on this topic. But like any academic work aimed at intelligent readers, if you aren't willing to engage your brain, you probably shouldn't be reading it anyway. The Anglo-centric chapters add up to little of the work as a whole, but I'm guessing their place towards the beginning throws off a lot of folks.)

[J.M. Hushour · Rating 3 out of 5]

Where the hell are we and why? If you're like me, you wonder this a lot, as the honking swells around you and people yelling at you to get out of the "middle of the gottdam road".
East wondered this, too (he got hit by less cars than me, I bet) and wrote this neat little book about different kinds of geographical thingies and how they apply to history. East was English, so a lot focuses on Britain, roads, terrains, and frontiers, but that's okay. You can apply a lot of it to anywhere you want!
The best bits are on the roads and the growth of urban centers and why they were where they were.
A little dated (his climate stuff is obsolete, plate tectonics was "recent" and there was troubling skepticism about the emigration into North and South America) but still a fun read.

[Andrea Renfrow · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a great book for 9th grade World Geography students. I plan to continue using it in my homeschool.

[Russ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Although dated in many ways, the distinct chapters of this book offered very interesting overviews of the effects of geography on history - especially in the United Kingdom, western Asia, and pre-Colonization South and Central America. The final chapter is very specific to the early 1960s, but is a interesting look at the birth of the European Union.

[Margaret · Rating 2 out of 5]

The topic sounded so interesting but the writing was so very dull.

[Ayla · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't particularly like geography. It's not my best subject. It's boring, it's hard. But let's be honest. ANY subject by itself is boring and hard, but if anything can turn something from mind-numbing to enthralling, it's talking about the thing's history, and the events surrounding this important thing. I don't care about the name of a grassy hill hundreds of miles away. Half the time I can't be bothered to remember if Big Ben is in London or New York (it's the former). This book gives you a reason to care. You might not want to know the name of a random grassy hill, but you DO care about the hill that changed the lives of every person who encountered it, a hill that shaped civilization. The truth about geography is that it affects everything. Geography isn't just shapes, it's what you can and can't do with the land, whether you become a farmer, a shepherd, or a miner. Trade routes, war, and peace depend on your surroundings. So even though it isn't my favorite subject, I have to admit, geography is just as ingrained into history as any other subject, and more than that, geography shaped history. This book was hard but worth it. I suggest reading it aloud.

[Janet Wertman · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was dry throughout but still holding my interest (I do love laps) until I hit the final chapter: International Politics. Because the book was published in 1965, this piece - which was supposed to bring it all home - was instead WAY dated and disappointing because so many of the conditions on which his conclusions were based have since been overturned….

[Karla Kitalong]

The edition of this book that I read was published in 1965. The language, country names, and political affiliations East discusses reminded me of how we were taught geography in elementary school. The world and the words we use to talk about it have changed in 60 years.

[Joseph · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this a neat little book that opens ones eyes, mine in particular, to the many interconnected elements that make up the "history" of our world. Granted, it is a little dated, especially the last chapter.

[Fredrick Danysh · Rating 3 out of 5]

Geography influences history as much as politics and religion do. Geographic features can influence isolation or invasion.