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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Abraham Lincoln's World
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American History in Verse
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American Waterways: Canal Days
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Amistad Slave Revolt and American Abolition
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Anchor Book of Chinese Poetry
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Augustus Caesar's World
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Basic History of the United States - Complete Set with Teacher's Guide
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Beginning of the Republic
A Basic History of the United States Volume 2
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Sterling Point Books
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Behind the Blue and Gray
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Beyond the Sacred Page
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Sons of Liberty Series
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Blood Brothers
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Book Thief
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Born to Run
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Boy in the Alamo
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Captain, My Captain
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Carry On, Mr. Bowditch
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Carver and the Queen
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Children of the Storm
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Chronological and Background Charts of the New Testament
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Chronological and Background Charts of the Old Testament
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Churchill
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Civil War Songbook
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Civilization of Europe in the Renaissance
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Claudette Colvin
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Co. Aytch
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Code Name Verity
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A Basic History of the United States Volume 1
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American History by Era Volume 2
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Colonial Triangular Trade: An Economy Based on Human Misery
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Come On, Seabiscuit!
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Complete Fairy Tales of the Brothers Grimm
by Jacob & Wilhelm Grimm
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Concise History of Ireland
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Cuban Missile Crisis
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Cut and Make African Masks in Full Color
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Czar, The
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Darius, Artaxerxes, and Ahasuerus in the Bible
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Daughter of Time
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Daughter's Devotion
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David Livingstone
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Day of Pleasure
by Isaac Bashevis Singer
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Diary of a Young Girl
by Anne Frank
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Drive Thru History America with Dave Stotts: Foundations of Character - Book Only
by David Barton
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Duncan's War
Crown & Covenant Series #1
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Eagle of the Ninth
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Eating the Plates
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Elizabeth I
Jackdaw No. 53
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Elizabeth I
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Emancipating Slaves, Enslaving Free Men
by Jeffrey Rogers Hummel
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Enchantress of Florence
by Salman Rushdie
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Europe Finds the World
Cambridge Introduction to World History
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Every Falling Star
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Evidence Not Seen
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Eyewitnesses at the Battle of Franklin
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Fair Margaret
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Faith and Freedom
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Faith of Our Fathers: Scenes from American Church History
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Faithful Spy
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Farewell to Manzanar
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Faust: A Tragedy
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Fever 1793
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Fiddler's Gun
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Flames of Rome
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Flight into Spring
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For God and His People
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Forgotten Daughter
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1934 Newbery Honor Book
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