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How Did Geography Affect Early Civilizations
The effect of geography on the earliest civilizations
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Trade routes have unsurprisingly played a major factor in the world’s economy and history: thanks to them we found out that the world was round, for example. What’s more, this discovery resulted from an accidental encountering with the Americas, en route from Europe to Asia. While the New World became the destination for major exchanges for centuries subsequently, new trading routes to Asia were still being searched. Eventually, finding a route that could connect the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean was imperative, especially during the time of the gold rush, when many people wished to get to California. Therefore, in the early 1900s, a canal was built in Panama, finally connecting the two oceans, and thus improving world trade, as it shortened maritime routes and lowered the costs of transportation. Before the construction of this canal, however, many countries debated whether it should have been built in Panama or Nicaragua instead, but, for a number of reasons, Panama was chosen. Now, a hundred years later, a Chinese company has offered to carry out the project of the canal for Nicaragua. Despite futile attempts done in the past for the construction of this project, the Nicaragua Canal is now actually feasible and would undoubtedly help the Nicaraguan economy; however, critics have observed unreliability and potential issues, like damaging the environment, in the construction of the canal would ultimately outweigh the benefits it would bring.
Before the construction of the Panama Canal, a canal through Nicaragua was tried to build first. Nicaragua has almost the perfect conditions to build an interoceanic canal: large and deep Lake 100 ft. above sea level, large navigable stream that connects the lake with the Atlantic Ocean (Ha...
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...al feasible, citing its confidentiality policies (Cordoba). Besides, the increase in traffic due to the growth in worldwide trade is extremely speculative (Cave).
Furthermore, the 50-year concession giving HKND the rights to build the canal in Nicaragua has already been signed, all of this before new feasibility studies were made, which are supposed to be done in two years (Alvarez). In an interview, Pedro Alvarez, a Nicaraguan PhD in Environmental Engineering from the University of Michigan, questioned greatly the reliability of HKND; he stresses the point that the canal must be built on serious studies, which he thinks are not being made properly regarding the environmental effect of the canal. He mentions that a two-year study could be enough to claim its feasibility and study the economical view, but not long enough to study the environmental effect of the canal.
As new ideas traveled main trade routes, such as the Silk Road and the Mediterranean, the effects of such were felt through an influx of contact between countries due to increased desire for new information and countries gaining a larger presence on the world stage. This phenomenon can also be seen through the lens of cultural exchange that took place during this same time period in Eurasia. A major component of the Eurasian trade networks, such as the Silk Road and Indian Ocean, was that they fostered interregional contacts that had ceased to previously exist. When a country had a desire for study or technology, they earned more respect on the global stage. This can be further examined by looking at Marco Polo’s voyage into Asia.
Before any canals were even built, there was a great demand for better transportation to and from the west. During this time of exploration, something was necessary in order for settlement to progress. After the canals were built, people living in to north grew exceedingly wealthy from the trading benefits of the canals. This wealth would eventually create economic differences with the southern United States(Drago 178).
In 1539 Hernando de Soto and five hundred adventurers began on a journey of exploration that would take 4 years and would travel through 10 states in the southeast United States. His goal was to discover a source of wealth, preferably gold, and around his mines establish a settlement. During his travels through La Florida he encountered numerous groups of native peoples, making friends of some and enemies of others. His expedition was not the first in La Florida; however, it was the most extensive. In its aftermath, thousands of Indians would die by disease that the Spaniards brought from the Old World. De Soto would initially be remembered as a great explorer but, would be later viewed as a destroyer of native culture. However, in truth de Soto was neither a hero or a villain but rather an adventurer.
Next, he built the Panama Canal to protect both seas of America.
...dered the construction of the Panama Canal which connected the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean.
Have you ever wondered why both the Panama Canal and the Great Wall of China are such iconic land marks for the countries they are in? It’s because of the magnitude of effort that took to create such massive structures. Hard work, blood, tears, sweat and certainly patience played part in the creation of such marvels. However the purpose behind each structure and the challenges builders faced during their construction is what truly sets them apart.
Over the course of the Spanish-American war , the obvious need for a canal came apparent.The canal would stregthen the navy, and it would make easier defense of the islands in the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. The problem of where to build the canal came into play. Congress rejected Nicaragua and Panama was an unwilling part of this project. The course of the building was shifted to Colu...
...more of an imperialistic nation, which was Roosevelt?s goal all along. In 1977, the United States signed a treaty with Panama stating that the U.S. would end its control beginning in the year 2000, and Panama would resume the operation and defense of the Panama Canal. Therefore, presently, the Panama Canal is neutral, but is still very important due to the U.S. We still have a say on what happens to and goes on around the canal, and if something were to happen to stop the flow of the ships through the canal, the United States would be allowed to step in and take care of the problem. Over the last ten years, nearly $100 million have been spent on repairing and widening the canal. Through all the thinking, planning, hard labor, and toiling put into the Panama Canal, the canal became arguably the most important canal ever and one of the greatest engineering feats ever.
Ferdinand de Lesseps, who played a large role in building the Suez Canal in 1869 (Jones), was the director of the Compagnie Universelle Du Canal Interoceanique de Panama ("Historical Overview"). At first De Lesseps seemed to be "the perfect choice for the Panama task." Though as time went on De Lesseps was found to be "anything but the ideal" (Dolan). As soon as de Lesseps' company took over the canal it was doomed (Jones). De Lesseps was a 74-year-old man who was stubborn, vain, and very opinionated (Considine). Because of his experience with the Suez waterway, De Lesseps thought he was smarter than all the engineers beneath his command (Dolan). De Lesseps overrode all opposition of his sea-level canal due to his very popular reputation. He was sold on the idea of a sea-level canal and would not listen to the ideas of others such as French engineer, Adolphe Godin de Lepinary. De Lepinary's idea was to create two large lakes on either side of the mountains. In order to do this they would have to dam the Chagres River on the Atlantic side and the Rio Grande River on the pacific side (Considine).
The Underground Railroad was a pathway that allowed many slaves to escape bondage. Traditionally, the Underground Railroad is taught as being a pathway that only led towards the northern part of the United States. For slaves in the Deep South, including states such as South Carolina, Georgia, Florida, Alabama, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Texas, the Underground Railroad running North was almost unreachable. With fewer obstacles to tackle, a slave of the Deep South could escape to Mexico. Due to its distance from free states in the North and British Canada, the Deep South is not usually a part of discussions of the Underground Railroad. However, evidence shows that the Underground Railroad brought hope for some slaves in Texas by providing a route to Mexico.
The development of canal, steam boats and railroads provided a transportation network that linked different regions of the nation together. When farmers began migrating westward and acquiring land for crops, cheaper forms of transportation provided the means to transfer their goods to other regions for s...
Panama is located in Central America, and it borders the Caribbean Sea and Pacific Ocean. On rare occasions, some people consider the territory east of the Panama Canal as part of South America. The location on the Isthmus of Panama is strategic. By 2000, Panama gained control of the Panama Canal, and it connects the Atlantic and the Caribbean to the Pacific Ocean. Panama is ranked 118th worldwide based on land size. For comparison, Panama is slightly smaller than South Carolina or slightly larger than New Brunswick in Canada. The biggest feature of the country's landform is the central spine of mountains and hills that form something called a continental divide. This does not form part of the mountain regions of North America. The divide that is formed by the spine is the highly eroded arch of uplift from the sea bottom, i...
The culture and political structures of Panama as we know it today has evolved from an incredibly diverse and interesting history. Geographically, Panama lies on an isthmus, a strip of land that essentially connects the greater landmasses of North and South America. It is believed that volcanic activity in the late Pliocene era closed the former Central American Seaway that had separated the two continents. The climatic implications of this landform are incredible, allowing for the redistribution of oceanic currents and the formation of the Gulf Stream of the Atlantic of today.
Investors do not have to worry about their health status as they have accessibility to some of the best hospitals in Panama, meaning they can even stay and bring over their families without having to worry about the healthcare services. Moreover, the continuity of their children’s education is assured by Panama’s world-class education systems. International schools within Panama offer globally certified curriculum modules. The transport sector is one of the key concerns for most investors; they must have the opportunity to transport their goods using the shortest time possible. The government has worked and seen to it that improvements are made not only in the transport sector but also in the storage and in the communication sectors. There are good roads like the four highways (Corredor Sur, Corredor Norte, Colon Expressway and Autopista La Chorrera) and international airports like the Tocumen International Airport which ensure that business people travel or transport their goods safely and faster. Tocumen International Airport is rated among the airports across the globe which offer quality airline services. For example, the Corredor highway which runs from the Panama City to the Tocumen International Airport makes the transportation of passengers and goods easy. With good communication systems in place, the investors may be able to monitor or follow up or further, to do their transactions with ease from their locations (Martinus et al.
The Suez Canal was a construction of a canal to make routes shorter. More importantly the canal was a construction of many dreams, profits, and the unification of the West and the East. Lesseps and his companions began to embark on a journey with a great dream in mind. In his book Parting the Desert, Karabell not only shows the history of the construction of the Suez Canal and the unification of East and West, however also shows the destruction of many countries' hopes and dreams