Tom Vanstone’s Reviews > Prisoners of Geography: Ten Maps That Tell You Everything You Need to Know About Global Politics > Status Update

(Europe) The jet-stream provides a warm climate combined with lots of agricultural land, however the chillier winters are able to kill off disease that would plague the area as it does in other parts of the world

France has the largest area of natural fertile land in Europe - this helped them massively in progressing

The north south divide in Europe is a result of earlier industrialisation in the north as well as easier ability to trade across the north European plain in contrast to countries like Spain that are limited by the Pyrenees or poorer buyers in North Africa. There are fewer agricultural coastal plains in the south and more natural disasters (though still few). The North European Plain allows for successful farming on a massive scale and rivers allow crops and other goods to be moved easily.

Europe has a violent history largely as a result of the North European Plain allowing for easy invasions, as well as strong countries like France forming early and appearing threatening. The balkans have never been easily allow to get along largely due to their physical geography. Poland has always felt under threat as it is easy to invade from the powerful nations to the west (France, Germany) and the powerful nations to the east (Russia).

“Geography tells us that if humans do not constantly strive to overcome its ‘rules’, its ‘rules’ will overcome us”