A geographical introduction to history / Lucien Paul Victor Febvre; translated by E. G. Mountford, J. H. Paxton.

Includes bibliographical references (pages 369-379) and index.

-- CONTENTS Page. Foreword (by Henri Berr). The Effect of Environment on Man and Man's Exploitation of the Earth v INTRODUCTORY.......i The Problem of Geographical Influences . i (1) History and Traditional Position of the Problem...... . r (2) Human Geography and its Critics . . 17 (3) The Plan and Objects of the Book: The Geographical Spirit.....25 PartI. HOW THE PROBLEM SHOULD BE STATED 33 Chap. I. Social Morphology or Human Geography . 37 (1) The Objections of Social Morphology: Human Groups without Geographical Roots 3& (2) The Objections of Social Morphology: the Ambition of Geography .... 44 (3) Ratzel’s Mistake : Why he does not cover the whole of Human Geography ... 49 (4) Human Geography the Heir of History . 53 (5) Survivals of the Past: Old Problems and Old Prejudices......57 (6) A Modest Human Geography ... 62 xxu CONTENTS Chap. II. The Questions of Principle and the Method of Research. Human Evolution, Historic Evolution....... (1) The Objection of Principle: Is there a Science of Geography ? (2) Geography makes no claim to be a Science of Necessities ...... (3) The Question of Regional Monographs (4) The Complete Solidarity of Political and Human Geography ..... (5) The Legitimate Object of Research: The relation of environment to society in its historic evolution..... Part II. NATURAL LIMITS AND HUMAN SOCIETY I. The Problem of Boundaries, Climate, and Life (1) The Traditional Idea of Climate. The Pioneers (2) Climate and the Human Physical Organism (3) Climate, Human Character, and Actions (4) Climatic Action takes place through the Medium of the Vegetable Kingdom II. The Determination of Natural Areas and their Boundaries..... (1) Complexity of the Idea of Climate (2) The great Climatico-Botanical Areas in regard to Humanity...... (3) The Symmetry of the Terrestrial Organism and the Distribution of Human Societies Chap. III. Natural Man an Individual or a Member of Society ?....... (1) The Old Conception: From the Human Pair to the Nation..... (2) The Antiquity of National Groups (3) Large Homogeneous Human Groups of Ancient Times corresponded with Homo¬ geneous Geographical Areas (4) The Savage and the Barbarian in their Natural State : Their Wants and Customs . Part III. POSSIBILITIES AND DIFFERENT WAYS OF LIFE I. Its Bases : Mountains, Plains, and Plateaux (1) The Vicissitudes of Possibility : Recurring Rhythms ...... (2) The Definition of Possibility (3) The Supporting Bases of Mankind—Plains, Plateaux, Mountains ..... II. The Minor Natural Regions and their Bounds : Insular Units . • . (1) Insularity from the Biological Point of View (2) Island Coasts : The Idea of Littoralism (3) The Productive Coast .... (4) Island Navigation and Island Isolation (5) The Islands of the Desert: The Oases (6) The Idea of Isolation and its Geographical Chap. III. Typical Ways of Living : Hunting and Fishing....... (1) A Geography of the Needs or of the Manner of Life (2) The Classifications of the Economists : The Hypothesis of the Three States (3) The Hunter Peoples..... (4) The Fisher Peoples..... IV. Shepherds and Husbandmen : Nomadic and Sedentary Populations .... (1) Domestication and Nomadism . (2) The Characteristics of the Pastoral Way of Life ....... (3) Institutions and Religion of Pastoral Nomàds (4) The Oscillations of Nomadism (5) Hoe-culture, and the Precarious Nature of Sedentary Existence..... (6) The Transitional Types .... Part IV. POLITICAL GROUPS AND HUMAN GROUPS ....... I. The Problem of Frontiers and the Natural Bounds of States..... (1) The Theory of'Natural Frontiers (2) Linear Boundaries or Frontier Zones ? (3) The part played by Psychology . (4) The State is never Natural, but always Man¬ made .... (5) The Natural Regions of States ClIA p . Paoe II. Communications: the Routes . . . 3x6 (1) The Track and the Terrain . . . 317 (2) The Functions of Roads : Trade Routes . 321 (3) Religious and Intellectual Routes . . 330 (4) Political Routes and the Genesis of States . 334 III, Towns........338 (1) Exaggerated Interpretations . . . 338 (2) Fortress Towns.....341 (3) Formative Elements and Elements of Growth 344 (4) Man and Urban Possibilities . . . 349 (5) Is the Action of Natural Conditions on Man Weakening ?......352 CONCLUSION The Task before us : Biological Methods : Geographical Methods .... 358 Bibliography.......369 Index........381 MAPS 1. Maximum extent of Pleistocene Glaciers (after De Morgan) .......116 2. Glaciers and the expansion of Paleolithic Industry— Chellean and Acheulean types (after De Morgan) . 117 3. Rainfall: showing desert, dry, and humid regions . 123 4. Northern circumpolar regions, showing the northern limits of sylvan plant life ..... 136 5. Density of Human population . . . .141 6. Distribution of Different ways of living . . -249 7. The domain of Nomadic Peoples, desert and steppes of Asia and of Africa.....280