ABSTRACT

History and Climate Change is a balanced and comprehensive overview of the links between climate and man's advance from early to modern times. It draws upon demographic, economic, urban, religious and military perspectives. It is a synthesis of the many historical and scientific theories, which have arisen regarding man's progress through the ages.
Central to the book is the question of whether climate variation is a fundamental trigger mechanism from which other historical sequences develop, or one amongst a number of other factors, decisive only when a regime/society is poised for change. Evidence for prolonged climate change is not that extensive. But it is clear that climatic variation has regularly played a part in historical development. Paricular attention is here paid to Europe since AD 211.
Cold and warmth, wetness and aridity can create contrary reactions within societies, which can be interpreted in vary different ways by scholars from differenct disciplines. Does climate change exacerbate famine and epidemics? Did climate fluctuation play a part in pivotal historical events such as the mass exodus of Hsuing-nu from China, the pressure of the Huns on the Romans and the genesis of the Crusades? Did the bitter Finnish winter of 1939-40 ensure the ultimate defeat of Hitler? These episodes, and many others are discussed throughout the book in the authors distinctive style, with maps and photographs to illustrate the examples given.

part |2 pages

Part 1 The conceptual background

chapter 1|3 pages

A confluence of disciplines

chapter |31 pages

Modern geophysics, pre-modern history

chapter 2|2 pages

Climate dynamics

chapter |2 pages

CO and HO

chapter |3 pages

Coriolis and vorticity

chapter |21 pages

The high seas

part |2 pages

Part 2 Late Antiquity to Renaissance foreglow, AD 211 to 1350

chapter 3|1 pages

Empires and barbarians

chapter |6 pages

Anthropogenic forcing

chapter |10 pages

Human folly?

chapter |2 pages

China and Europe compared

chapter 4|8 pages

Antiquity melds

chapter |1 pages

Across northern seas

chapter |21 pages

Through the extended trough

chapter 5|5 pages

Northerly engagement

chapter |4 pages

The Magyars

chapter |18 pages

The Viking sequence

chapter 6|7 pages

Towards the optimum

chapter |1 pages

The east Asian situation

chapter |13 pages

Challenge and response

chapter |4 pages

The southern Mediterranean

chapter |10 pages

Mediterranean resilience

chapter 7|19 pages

The Near East in crisis

Byzantium to Manzikert

chapter 8|13 pages

How savage a culmination?

chapter |10 pages

Near boundless skies

chapter 9|25 pages

Through the optimum

chapter |16 pages

Climate downturn

part |2 pages

Part 3 Une longue durée

chapter 10|19 pages

Water, warmth and emergent Europe

chapter 11|24 pages

Pointers to a future

chapter |11 pages

Appendix A: Assessing past climates

chapter |54 pages

Notes

chapter |2 pages

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