Impact of Geography on human societies (the series)

Geography is a fundamental constraint on human societies.

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A key sub-theme of this Substack column and my book series is the impact of geography on human history. I particularly focus on geographical constraints on food collection and production in the local natural environment and how that has constrained the evolution of human societies.

Researchers of modern material progress focus tend to focus on more contemporary factors, such as technological innovation, institutions, and public policy. These use these causal variables to explain different rates of economic development among nations. All these factors matter, but it is easy to forget the underlaying constraint of geography, which to a large extent explains the starting point of societies long before the Industrial Revolution.

Below is a collection of the articles that I have written on the how geography shapes human history and modern material progress. I try to make each article self-standing, but I would recommend reading the articles in the displayed order.

Enjoy reading!

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Table of Contents for the “How Geography shaped human progress” series:

1. Understanding how geography shapes human history:

   1. Why are there such huge variations in income across the globe?

   2. All of human history in one graphic

   3. Why our deep history explains global inequality

   4. Biomes have profoundly shaped human history

   5. Why Progress Started Where It Did (more on biomes)

   6. The Seeds of Civilization: How Biogeography Chose Humanity’s First Winners

   7. More ways geography has constrained human progress (rivers, altitude, soil)

   8. How progress spreads to neighboring societies (human geography)

   9. The world is composed of river basins

   10. more articles on this topic

2. How geography shaped the economic development of specific regions:

   1. Intro to series

   2. Northwest Europe

   3. Mediterranean Europe

   4. British North America and the United States

   5. East Asia

   6. Sub-Saharan Africa

   7. Middle East/North Africa

   8. South America

   9. The Himalayan Engine: Geography and the Rise of Asian Agrarian Civilizations

   10. Farming innovations paved the way for modern progress (how Europe overcame geographical constraints)

3. more articles on the topic.

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If you enjoyed reading this series of articles, you might also be interested in reading my “From Poverty to Progress” book series: