Description
There is no prospect of covering all of world history in one book. Rather, the fabric of this book is woven from selected strands. Readers will see these at every turn, twisted together into yarn, stretched into stories. Human-focused historical ecology–the environmental theme–will drive readers back, again and again, to the same concepts: sustenance, shelter, disease, energy, technology, art. (The last is a vital category for historians, not only because it is part of our interface with the rest of the world, but also because it forms a record of how we see reality and of how the way we see it changes.) In the global story of human interactions–the cultural theme–we return constantly to the ways people make contact with each another: migration, trade, war, imperialism, pilgrimage, gift exchange, diplomacy, travel–and to their social frameworks: the economic and political arenas, the human groups and groupings, the states and civilizations, the sexes and generations, the classes and clusters of identity.
Table of Contents
Brief Contents
Contents
Maps
Special Features
Getting the Most Out of the Maps in The World
About Felipe Fernández-Armesto
From the Author to the Reader
Introducing The World
Acknowledgments
A Note on Dates and Spelling
Part 1: Foragers and Farmers, to 5000 B.C.E.
Chapter 1: Out of the Ice: Peopling the Earth
SO YOU THINK YOU’RE HUMAN?
OUT OF AFRICA
THE LAST GREAT ICE AGE
SURVIVAL OF THE FORAGERS
IN PERSPECTIVE: After the Ice
Chapter 2: Out of the Mud: Farming and Herding after the Ice Age
THE PROBLEM OF AGRICULTURE
HUSBANDRY IN DIFFERENT ENVIRONMENTS
THE SPREAD OF AGRICULTURE
SO WHY DID FARMING START?
IN PERSPECTIVE: Seeking Stability
PART 1: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 5000 B.C.E.
Part 2: Farmers and Builders, 5000 to 500 B.C.E.
Chapter 3: The Great River Valleys: Accelerating Change and Developing States
GROWING COMMUNITIES, DIVERGENT CULTURES
THE ECOLOGY OF CIVILIZATION
THE GREAT FLOODPLAINS
CONFIGURATIONS OF SOCIETY
IN PERSPECTIVE: What Made the Great River Valleys Different?
Chapter 4: A Succession of Civilizations: Ambition and Instability
THE GROWTH OF TRADE
INSTABILITY AND COLLAPSE IN THE AEGEAN
A GENERAL CRISIS IN THE EASTERN MEDITERRANEAN WORLD?
THE EXTINCTION OF HARAPPAN CIVILIZATION
CONFLICT ON THE YELLOW RIVER
STATE-BUILDING IN THE AMERICAS
ASSESSING THE DAMAGE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Fatal Flaws
Chapter 5: Rebuilding the World: Recoveries, New Initiatives, and Their Limits
TRADE AND RECOVERY IN THE MIDDLE EAST
GREECE AND BEYOND
EMPIRES AND RECOVERY IN CHINA AND SOUTH ASIA
THE FRUSTRATIONS OF ISOLATION
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Framework of Recovery
PART 2: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 500 B.C.E.
Part 3: The Axial Age, from 500 B.C.E. to 100 C.E.
Chapter 6: The Great Schools
THE THINKERS OF THE AXIAL AGE
THE THOUGHTS OF THE AXIAL AGE
THE STRUCTURES OF THE AXIAL AGE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Reach of the Sages
Chapter 7: The Great Empires
ROUTES THAT DREW THE OLD WORLD TOGETHER
THE FIRST EURASIAN EMPIRE: PERSIA
THE RISE OF ROME
THE BEGINNINGS OF IMPERIALISM IN INDIA
CHINESE UNITY AND IMPERIALISM
BEYOND THE EMPIRES
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Aftermath of the Axial Age
PART 3: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 100 C.E.
Part 4: Fitful Transitions, from the Third Century to the Tenth Century
Chapter 8: Postimperial Worlds: Problems of Empires in Eurasia and Africa, ca. 200 C.E. to ca. 700 C.E.
THE WESTERN ROMAN EMPIRE AND ITS INVADERS
STEPPELANDERS AND THEIR VICTIMS
NEW FRONTIERS IN ASIA
THE RISE OF ETHIOPIA
THE CRISES OF THE SIXTH AND SEVENTH CENTURIES
JUSTINIAN AND THE EASTERN ROMAN EMPIRE
THE NEW BARBARIANS
THE ARABS
THE MUSLIM WORLD
RECOVERY AND ITS LIMITS IN CHINA
IN THE SHADOW OF TANG: TIBET AND JAPAN
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Triumph of Barbarism?
Chapter 9: The Rise of World Religions: Christianity, Islam, and Buddhism
COMMERCE AND CONFLICT: CARRIERS OF CREEDS
MONARCHS AND MISSIONARIES
TRICKLE DOWN: CHRISTIANIZATION AND ISLAMIZATION
RELIGIOUS LIVES: THE WORLD OF MONKS AND NUNS
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Triumphs of the Potential World Religions
Chapter 10: Remaking the World: Innovation and Renewal on Environmental Frontiers in the Late First Millennium
ISOLATION AND INITIATIVE: SUB-SAHARAN AFRICA AND THE AMERICAS
THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND THE ENVIRONMENT
FRONTIER GROWTH IN JAPAN
CHINA AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
THE PACIFIC
THE FRONTIERS OF CHRISTENDOM
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Limits of Divergence
PART 4: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1000 C.E.
Part 5: Contacts and Conflicts, 1000 C.E. to 1200 C.E.
Chapter 11: Contending with Isolation: ca. 1000–1200
AMERICAN DEVELOPMENTS: FROM THE ARCTIC TO MESOAMERICA
AROUND THE INDIAN OCEAN: ETHIOPIA, THE KHMER, AND INDIA
EURASIA’S EXTREMITIES: JAPAN AND WESTERN EUROPE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Patchwork of Effects
Chapter 12: The Nomadic Frontiers: The Islamic World, Byzantium, and China ca. 1000–1200
THE ISLAMIC WORLD AND ITS NEIGHBORS
THE BYZANTINE EMPIRE AND ITS NEIGHBORS
CHINA AND THE NORTHERN BARBARIANS
IN PERSPECTIVE: Cains and Abels
PART 5: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1200 C.E.
Part 6: The Crucible: The Eurasian Crises of the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Centuries
Chapter 13: The World the Mongols Made
THE MONGOLS: RESHAPING EURASIA
THE MONGOL WORLD BEYOND THE STEPPES: THE SILK ROADS, CHINA, PERSIA, AND RUSSIA
THE LIMITS OF CONQUEST: MAMLUK EGYPT AND MUSLIM INDIA
EUROPE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Uniqueness of the Mongols
Chapter 14: The Revenge of Nature: Plague, Cold, and the Limits of Disaster in the Fourteenth Century
CLIMATE CHANGE
THE COMING OF THE AGE OF PLAGUE
THE LIMITS OF DISASTER: BEYOND THE PLAGUE ZONE
THE PACIFIC: SOCIETIES OF ISOLATION
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Aftershock
Chapter 15: Expanding Worlds: Recovery in the Late Fourteenth and Fifteenth Centuries
FRAGILE EMPIRES IN AFRICA
ECOLOGICAL IMPERIALISM IN THE AMERICAS
NEW EURASIAN EMPIRES
THE LIMITATIONS OF CHINESE IMPERIALISM
THE BEGINNINGS OF OCEANIC IMPERIALISM
THE EUROPEAN OUTLOOK: PROBLEMS AND PROMISE
IN PERSPECTIVE: Beyond Empires
PART 6: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1491
Part 7: Convergence and Divergence, to ca. 1700
Chapter 16: Imperial Arenas: New Empires in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
MARITIME EMPIRES: PORTUGAL, JAPAN, AND THE DUTCH
LAND EMPIRES: RUSSIA, CHINA, MUGHAL INDIA, AND THE OTTOMANS
NEW LAND EMPIRES IN THE AMERICAS
IN PERSPECTIVE: The global Balance of Trade
Chapter 17: The Ecological Revolution of the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
THE ECOLOGICAL EXCHANGE: PLANTS AND ANIMALS
THE MICROBIAL EXCHANGE
LABOR: HUMAN TRANSPLANTATIONS
WILD FRONTIERS: ENCROACHING SETTLEMENT
IMPERIALISM AND SETTLEMENT IN EUROPE AND ASIA
NEW EXPLOITATION IN THE AMERICAS
HOME FRONTS IN EUROPE AND ASIA
FRONTIERS OF THE HUNT
IN PERSPECTIVE: Evolution Redirected
Chapter 18: Mental Revolutions: Religion and Science in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
CHRISTIANITY IN CHRISTENDOM
CHRISTIANITY BEYOND CHRISTENDOM: THE LIMITS OF SUCCESS
THE MISSIONARY WORLDS OF BUDDHISM AND ISLAM
THE RESULTING MIX: GLOBAL RELIGIOUS DIVERSITY—AMERICAN AND INDIAN EXAMPLES
THE RENAISSANCE “DISCOVERY OF THE WORLD”
THE RISE OF WESTERN SCIENCE
WESTERN SCIENCE IN THE EAST
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Scales of Thought
Chapter 19: States and Societies: Political and Social Change in the Sixteenth and Seventeenth Centuries
POLITICAL CHANGE IN EUROPE
WESTERN POLITICAL THOUGHT
WESTERN SOCIETY
THE OTTOMANS
MUGHAL INDIA AND SAFAVID PERSIA
CHINA
TOKUGAWA JAPAN
THE NEW WORLD OF THE AMERICAS
AFRICA
IN PERSPECTIVE: Centuries of Upheaval
PART 7: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1700
Part 8: Global Enlightenments, 1700–1800
Chapter 20: Driven by Growth: The Global Economy in the Eighteenth Century
POPULATION TRENDS
ECONOMIC TRENDS: CHINA, INDIA, AND THE OTTOMAN EMPIRE
THE WEST’S PRODUCTIVITY LEAP
THE EXPANSION OF RESOURCES
IN PERSPECTIVE: New Europes, New Departures
Chapter 21: The Age of Global Interaction: Expansion and Intersection of Eighteenth-Century Empires
ASIAN IMPERIALISM IN ARREST OR DECLINE: CHINA, PERSIA, AND THE OTTOMANS
IMPERIAL REVERSAL IN INDIA: MUGHAL ECLIPSE AND BRITISH RISE TO POWER
THE DUTCH EAST INDIES
THE BLACK ATLANTIC: AFRICA, THE AMERICAS, AND THE SLAVE TRADE
LAND EMPIRES OF THE NEW WORLD
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Rims of Empires
Chapter 22:The Exchange of Enlightenments: Eighteenth-Century Thought
THE CHARACTER OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT
THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN GLOBAL CONTEXT
THE ENLIGHTENMENT’S EFFECTS IN ASIA
THE ENLIGHTENMENT IN EUROPE
THE CRISIS OF THE ENLIGHTENMENT: RELIGION AND ROMANTICISM
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Afterglow of Enlightenment
PART 8: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1800
Part 9: The Frustrations of Progress, to ca. 1900
Chapter 23: Replacing Muscle: The Energy Revolutions
GLOBAL DEMOGRAPHICS: THE WORLD’S POPULATION RISES
FOOD: TRANSITION TO ABUNDANCE
ENERGY FOR POWER: MILITARIZATION AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
INDUSTRIALIZING EUROPE
INDUSTRY IN THE AMERICAS
JAPAN INDUSTRIALIZES
CHINA AND INDUSTRIALIZATION
INDIA AND EGYPT
IN PERSPECTIVE: Industrialization, Causes and Consequences
Chapter 24: The Social Mold: Work and Society in the Nineteenth Century
THE INDUSTRIALIZED ENVIRONMENT
URBANIZATION
BEYOND INDUSTRY: AGRICULTURE AND MINING
CHANGING LABOR REGIMES
HUNTERS AND PASTORALISTS
ELITES TRANSFORMED
IN PERSPECTIVE: Cultural Exchange—Enhanced Pace, New Directions
Chapter 25: Western Dominance in the Nineteenth Century: The Westward Shift of Power and the Rise of Global Empires
THE OPIUM WARS
THE WHITE EMPIRES: RISE AND RESISTANCE
METHODS OF IMPERIAL RULE
BUSINESS IMPERIALISM
IMPERIALISM IN THE “NEW EUROPES”
EMPIRES ELSEWHERE: JAPAN, RUSSIA, AND THE UNITED STATES
RATIONALES OF EMPIRE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Reach of Empires
Chapter 26: The Changing State: Political Developments in the Nineteenth Century
NATIONALISM
CONSTITUTIONALISM
CENTRALIZATION, MILITARIZATION, AND BUREAUCRATIZATION
RELIGION AND POLITICS
NEW FORMS OF POLITICAL RADICALISM
WESTERN SOCIAL THOUGHT
IN PERSPECTIVE: Global State-Building
PART 9: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 1914
Part 10: Chaos and Complexity: The World in the Twentieth Century
Chapter 27: The Twentieth-Century Mind: Western Science and the World
WESTERN SCIENCE ASCENDANT
THE TRANSFORMATION OF WESTERN SCIENCE
THE MIRROR OF SCIENCE: ART
THE TURN OF THE WORLD
IN PERSPECTIVE: Science, Challenging and Challenged
Chapter 28: World Order and Disorder: Global Politics in the Twentieth
THE WORLD WAR ERA, 1914–1945
THE COLD WAR ERA, 1945–1991
DECOLONIZATION
THE NEW WORLD ORDER
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Anvil of War
Chapter 29: The Pursuit of Utopia: Civil Society in the Twentieth Century
THE CONTEXT OF ATROCITIES
THE ENCROACHING STATE
UNPLANNING UTOPIA: THE TURN TOWARD INDIVIDUALISM
COUNTERCOLONIZATION AND SOCIAL CHANGE
GLOBALIZATION AND THE WORLD ECONOMY
CULTURE AND GLOBALIZATION
SECULARISM AND THE RELIGIOUS REVIVAL
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Century of Paradox
Chapter 30: The Embattled Biosphere: The Twentieth-Century Environment
FUEL RESOURCES
FOOD OUTPUT
URBANIZATION
THE CRISIS OF CONSERVATION
THE UNMANAGEABLE ENVIRONMENT: CLIMATE AND DISEASE
IN PERSPECTIVE: The Environmental Dilemma
PART 10: THE BIG PICTURE—THE WORLD IN 2015
Glossary
Credits
Notes
Index
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