-
Why Was England Late to Colonize?
No nation ever dominated global trade and geopolitics more than Great Britain from the mid 18th century until World War I. But the English arrived late to the scene of colonization. The Age of Discovery began in the early 15th century. But the English didn’t establish any permanent colonies until the early 17th century, at the close of this era. So, what delayed them? Why did they sit back on their island and watch Spain conquer the most advanced peoples in the Americas and take South America’s riches for itself? Why did they allow the Portuguese to gain the initial footholds in Africa and Asia?
-
Lessons from 1917
Sam Mendes’s World War I drama, 1917, brings The Great War to modern audiences with raw ferocity. It makes no attempt to entertain, preach, tear-jerk, or inspire. It provides little context, but brings powerful lessons from the past from a war largely eclipsed by the Second World War and the passage of more than a century. The film centers entirely on two lance corporals, Blake and Schofield, commissioned to deliver a message to Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) of the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment. The message orders MacKenzie to stand down, because his 1,600 men—one of them Blake’s brother—are walking into a trap. In a continual shot, Mendes takes…
-
Why Did Western Europe Explore and Colonize?
Western Europe—beginning in the 15th century—succeeded in spreading its peoples, languages, and cultures across a greater expanse of the globe than any region in world history. But why exactly did Western Europeans explore and colonize to such an extent? Simply having the capability to explore and colonize doesn’t adequately explain why nations do it. Neither the Romans nor the Chinese felt the need to devote their resources to sea exploration as the Western Europeans did in the 15th and 16th centuries.
-
Indian Tribes of the Northwest Coast: An Affluent Anomaly
The Northwestern Indian tribes differed from the tribes in the rest of North America. Rather than live in tepees, wigwams, or pits, these peoples took advantage of the abundance of natural resources they had and built large, comfortable houses of wooden planks. They also built, canoes, totem poles, and elaborate crafts. But perhaps the greatest anomaly of the Northwest Coast Indians is that they achieved such a level of wealth and technological and artistic advancement as hunter-gatherer societies.
-
Indian Tribes of the American Northwest
The Indians who lived in today’s northwestern United States represented three distinct cultures based on their geography. The arid, mountainous region of present-day Utah, Nevada, and southern Wyoming make up what archeologists refer to as the Great Basin. The tribes of the Plateau Culture lived directly to the north of this region. Those who lived along the Pacific coast—from northern California to southeastern Alaska—are referred to as the Northwest Coast Culture. These tribes were marked by contrasts in lifestyle, wealth, and power. These contrasts were caused by their different locations, climates, and cultures, which affected transportation costs, disease, and agricultural productivity.
