Europe's Success Can in Part Be Attributed Essay

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Europe's success can in part be attributed to its geography. In particular, abundant rainfall enabled it to grow ample food, and the cold climate protected it from significant invasion from warmer climates. With food supplies relatively easy to come by in most years, Europeans were able to focus their efforts elsewhere. They created art and they waged war. That their climate was also often uncomfortable convinced many to explore the world. People in hot, dry places like Africa or Arabia simply did not have these advantages. They developed entirely different ways of life, ones that Europeans may need to adapt to if the climate of Europe were to change.

The basic pattern of life revolves around food production, and when food production is easy if frees up time and energy for other pursuits. Though there are times of war and times of famine, Europe's history was generally shaped by agricultural abundance. In autumn, there became harvest festivals to celebrate the bounty of the earth. In hot, dry climates, the basic essential survival that food affords people is much more challenging. In hot, dry climates, more effort is devoted to food production, and finding water, something that shaped these cultures. More people are nomadic in dry regions, as the search for water forces them to travel. This puts limitations on their agricultural development and thus on the founding of settlements. Settlements emerge in oases, and also in trading towns where food can be acquired if not locally grown.

Life emerges in a much different fashion, because there is more focus on family and clan units, and less on broader nations. The family or clan unit is the social binding unit, and moves around to seek out the resources needed for survival. Many hot, dry places have this social structure today.

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In Europe, people were able to find permanent water and therefore became settled. This allowed for the development of nation-states based on areas of land and similarities in local language and customs. Many hot, dry places have little concept of the nation-state and struggle today with the idea.

If Europe had a hot, dry climate it would have developed differently, and much more like what is seen in the drier parts of the world. There would be fewer people, they would be more nomadic, and there would have been less sophistication in the political structures and art of Europeans. However, if Europe's climate were to shift today to one that is hot and dry, it would have profound impacts on the way Europeans live their lives today as well.

Water, something taken for granted by most Europeans today, would become a much more significant issue. European conflicts of the past were as likely to be about ego as much as land, but in the hot, dry future conflicts would surely be about water. The ability of people to remain stationary would change. There would be a decline in the ability of people to live in cities and villages, but Europe today has strong laws concerning land title. It will be difficult for people to move if they needed to follow water.

Europeans would also have to adapt to changes in food production. Food around Europe is diverse, because so many things can grow. In hot, dry countries the food is not very diverse because the people have more limited agricultural options. Europeans would also be forced to dedicate more resources to agriculture, placing limits on their ability to pursue other pastimes and jobs. Innovation would likely be reduced, except….....

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