This diversity meant there was constant competition of ideas, people, art, money, and weapons. People who were mistreated or shunned in one place could escape to another and thrive. States that succeeded were copied. Those that failed, died. Over time, this competition helped Europe become highly skilled at both making wealth and making war. 10
Asia, by contrast, consists of vast flatlands—the steppes in Russia, the plains in China. Armies can move through these areas quickly and with little opposition. (The Chinese had to build the Great Wall because they could not rely on any natural barrier to protect their territory.) This geography helped sustain large, centralized land empires that were able to maintain their grip on power for centuries. Consider, for instance, the episode with which we began this chapter, the Ming dynasty’s decision to end sea exploration after Zheng He’s voyages. Perhaps the most notable fact about the ban on sea expeditions was that it worked. Such a policy could not have been implemented in Europe. No king was powerful enough to enforce such a decree, and even if one had been, the people and their expertise would have simply moved to a neighboring nation, city-state, or principality. In China, the emperor could turn back time.
Europe’s waterways were also a blessing. Its rivers flowed gently into sheltered, navigable bays. The Rhine is a wide, slow-moving river that can be used as a highway for goods and people. The Mediterranean is calm, almost a lake, with many big ports. Compare this to Africa. Despite being the second-largest continent, Africa has the shortest coastline, much of which is too shallow to build major ports. Most of its big rivers—fast-moving, dramatic, vertiginous—are not navigable. Add to that the tropical heat and propensity for disease and food spoilage, and you have a compelling geographic explanation for African underdevelopment—surely not the only factor, but a significant one.
These grand explanations may make it seem as if things could not have turned out any other way, but in fact, such structural factors tell you only a society’s predispositions, what the odds favor. Sometimes, the odds can be beaten. Despite its geographic diversity, Europe was once conquered by a great land empire, Rome, which tried—with diminishing success—to keep the empire centralized. The Middle East did well at one point under a vast empire. China prospered for centuries despite its flat geography, and India also had its periods of effervescence. European advantages, so clear in retrospect, were initially small and related mostly to the weapons and techniques of war. Over time, however, the advantages multiplied and reinforced each other, and the West moved further and further ahead of the rest.
The Spoils of Victory
Contact with the rest of the world stimulated Europe. The discovery of new seaways, rich civilizations, and strange peoples stirred the energy and imagination of the West. Everywhere Europeans went they found goods, markets, and opportunities. By the seventeenth century, Western nations were increasing their influence over every region and culture with which they came into contact. No part of the world would remain untouched, from the lands across the Atlantic to the far reaches of Africa and Asia. By the end of the eighteenth century, even Australia and the small islands of the South Pacific had been marked for use by Europeans. The Far East—China and Japan—at first remained insulated from this influence, but by the mid-nineteenth century they, too, fell prey to Western advances. The rise of the West led to the beginnings of a global civilization—one that was defined, shaped, and dominated by the nations of Western Europe.
Initially, Europeans were focused on finding products that people might want back home. This sometimes took the form of plunder; at other times, trade. They brought back furs from the Americas, spices from Asia, and gold and diamonds
Asia, by contrast, consists of vast flatlands—the steppes in Russia, the plains in China. Armies can move through these areas quickly and with little opposition. (The Chinese had to build the Great Wall because they could not rely on any natural barrier to protect their territory.) This geography helped sustain large, centralized land empires that were able to maintain their grip on power for centuries. Consider, for instance, the episode with which we began this chapter, the Ming dynasty’s decision to end sea exploration after Zheng He’s voyages. Perhaps the most notable fact about the ban on sea expeditions was that it worked. Such a policy could not have been implemented in Europe. No king was powerful enough to enforce such a decree, and even if one had been, the people and their expertise would have simply moved to a neighboring nation, city-state, or principality. In China, the emperor could turn back time.
Europe’s waterways were also a blessing. Its rivers flowed gently into sheltered, navigable bays. The Rhine is a wide, slow-moving river that can be used as a highway for goods and people. The Mediterranean is calm, almost a lake, with many big ports. Compare this to Africa. Despite being the second-largest continent, Africa has the shortest coastline, much of which is too shallow to build major ports. Most of its big rivers—fast-moving, dramatic, vertiginous—are not navigable. Add to that the tropical heat and propensity for disease and food spoilage, and you have a compelling geographic explanation for African underdevelopment—surely not the only factor, but a significant one.
These grand explanations may make it seem as if things could not have turned out any other way, but in fact, such structural factors tell you only a society’s predispositions, what the odds favor. Sometimes, the odds can be beaten. Despite its geographic diversity, Europe was once conquered by a great land empire, Rome, which tried—with diminishing success—to keep the empire centralized. The Middle East did well at one point under a vast empire. China prospered for centuries despite its flat geography, and India also had its periods of effervescence. European advantages, so clear in retrospect, were initially small and related mostly to the weapons and techniques of war. Over time, however, the advantages multiplied and reinforced each other, and the West moved further and further ahead of the rest.
The Spoils of Victory
Contact with the rest of the world stimulated Europe. The discovery of new seaways, rich civilizations, and strange peoples stirred the energy and imagination of the West. Everywhere Europeans went they found goods, markets, and opportunities. By the seventeenth century, Western nations were increasing their influence over every region and culture with which they came into contact. No part of the world would remain untouched, from the lands across the Atlantic to the far reaches of Africa and Asia. By the end of the eighteenth century, even Australia and the small islands of the South Pacific had been marked for use by Europeans. The Far East—China and Japan—at first remained insulated from this influence, but by the mid-nineteenth century they, too, fell prey to Western advances. The rise of the West led to the beginnings of a global civilization—one that was defined, shaped, and dominated by the nations of Western Europe.
Initially, Europeans were focused on finding products that people might want back home. This sometimes took the form of plunder; at other times, trade. They brought back furs from the Americas, spices from Asia, and gold and diamonds
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