Regional History

Once upon a time, schoolchildren could be expected to know the name of the mountains separating France from Spain, the location of the Nile River, the capitals of all fifty states, and what and where the Pampas could be found. Now, even adults have a hard time naming the most populous city in the U.S. or the countries of Asia. These are, indeed, sad times, and doomed to become sadder if this geographic ignorance is not turned to knowledge.

Without a firm grasp on geography, how can we expect to know anything about history? History is rooted in a sense of place. Why did the Union troops lose the Battle of Cold Harbor? Because they were attacking Confederate fortifications uphill. And if you don't know anything about the Alps, the fact that Hannibal's army crossed them with elephants won't surprise you near as much as it should. Understanding the physical terrain and the demographics of an area are essential to understanding the history of that region.

Which is why studying history by place is such a good idea. There are cultural considerations, of course, and these can be immensely helpful guides in their own right, but simply looking at the lay of the land so to speak will provide a sense of context more abstract boundaries never can. African history, for instance, makes so much more sense if you know what the continent is like.

Even cultures are influenced by geography. Take the United States: some of the most important advances in transportation technology happened within her borders largely due to necessity. The steam engine train was perfected here, automobiles and airplanes were invented here, and in the last few decades we've led the world in space exploration.

It's not that no one traveled before the 19th and 20th century, or outside the North American continent—it's just that because the new nation was so vast, and there were so many natural barriers (the Mississippi River, the Grand Tetons and Great Smokey Mountains, the Mojave Desert), new forms of getting from here to there were not only a good idea, they were a necessity.

There probably isn't one instance in the history of the world in which geography and events weren't directly tied. Certainly this is true for military history, and exploration, and agriculture, but it's also true of ideas and ideologies. Part of the reason slavery was such an important part of Southern culture in the U.S. was that cotton was an immensely growable crop and only armies of slaves could be counted on to get all the work done; in order to justify the use of forced labor, however, a philosophical ethos was developed.

Other instances may be more obscure, but no less true. In France, the mild climate and fertile country led to a series of approaches to thought that emphasized experience and the pursuit of pleasure for its own sake (particularly existentialism); in ancient Greece, the geographical isolation enforced by mountains and seas allowed democratic polity to emerge among the city states.

Geography and history are pretty much Siamese twins, and academic technology has not advanced to the point where they can be separated without risk of life to both. We've organized the subcategories in this section along pretty standard lines (continents, countries, and the like), but standards arise because they work. Explore a region you're unfamiliar with; you're likely to uncover quite a few surprises.

Review by C. Hollis Crossman
C. Hollis Crossman used to be a child. Now he's a husband and father who loves church, good food, and weird stuff. He might be a mythical creature, but he's definitely not a centaur.  Read more of his reviews here.
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20th Century Wars
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Abe Lincoln Grows Up
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Amistad: A Long Road to Freedom
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Historical House: 1969
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Atlas of North American Exploration
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Australia - An Interdisciplinary Unit
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Beat the Story-Drum, Pum-Pum
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Beethoven Lives Upstairs
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Best Little Stories from World War II
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Big Annie of Calumet
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Sons of Liberty Series
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Boston Jane
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Boy and the Samurai
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Bud, Not Buddy
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Buffalo Bill
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Bull Run
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Canada - Coloring Book
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Canada: The People
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Carolina's Courage
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Cat Who Went to Heaven
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Historical House: 1895
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Child's First Book of American History
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Children of the Wild West
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Tales of the Wild West Volume 6
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China
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Chu Ju's House
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City
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Civil War
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American Kids in History
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Civil War Handbook - Confederate Captain
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Civil War Handbook - Union Lieutenant
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Civil War Heroines
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Claudette Colvin
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2010 Newbery Honor Book, 2010 Robert F. Sibert Honor Book, National Book Award
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Cleopatra
by Diane Stanley & Peter Vennema
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Colonial America
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Colonial Kids
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1st edition from Chicago Review Press
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Colonial Town: Williamsburg
by Bobbie Kalman
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Coloring Book of Ancient India
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Coloring Book of Rome
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Columbus Discovers America - Coloring Book
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
by Ralph Moody
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Commodore Perry in the Land of the Shogun
by Rhoda Blumberg
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1986 Newbery Honor Book
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Cowboys of the Wild West
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Cowboys of the Wild West
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Cut and Make African Masks in Full Color
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D is for Doufu
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Daniel Boone
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Daniel's Story
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Darkness Over Denmark
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Heroes of the Faith Series
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Davy Crockett
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Deirdre
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Diary of an Early American Boy
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Diary of an Early American Boy
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Douglas Macarthur: American Hero
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Down Ryton Water
by E.R. Gaggin
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1942 Newbery Honor
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Drive Thru History America with Dave Stotts: Foundations of Character - Book Only
by David Barton
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Eating the Plates
by Lucille Recht Penner
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Education of Little Tree
by Forrest Carter
from University of New Mexico Press
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Elijah Of Buxton
by Christopher Paul Curtis
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2008 Coretta Scott King Author Award Winner, 2008 Newbery Honor Book
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Era of Modernization Through the 1930s
by Kathy Sammis
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Eric the Red & Leif the Lucky
by Barbara Schiller
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for 3rd-6th grade
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$4.50 (3 in stock)
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