History and Climate Change

This book is a balanced and comprehensive overview of the links between climate and man's advance from pre-history to modern times. It is a synthesis of the many historical and scientific theories regarding man's progress through the ages
This study is a balanced and comprehensive overview of the links between climate and man's advance from pre-history to modern times. It spans all periods of history, drawing 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 if climate variation is one amongst a number of other factors, decisive only when a regime/society is poised for change. Evidence for prolonged climate change is either partial or lacking entirely, but it is clear that climatic variation has played a part in the historical development of the world. Cold weather and warm weather can create apparently contradictory reactions within societies, which can be interpreted in very different ways by scholars from different disciplines. Does climate change exacerbate famine and epidemics?