History Essay: Climate Change
From ongoing alterations to the climate, many societies of the past were forced to adapt to ecological changes which fundamentally influenced their cultural practices, prosperity, and their remaining history in the modern day. Despite the various hardships that confronted the Mongols, Dutch, Maya, Labrador Inuit, Australian farmers, Tokugawa Japanese, and the Chimú, these societies successfully combated the impacts of climate change by manipulating the various side effects to their advantage, migrating, and controlling the expansion of population.
In essence, the Mongols and the Dutch were mutually assisted in battle by strategically manipulating the impacts of climate change to their favour. First off, the Mongolian empire of Genghis Khan occurred in parallel with the “Mongol pluvial”. During this period, the Mongols experienced “heavy precipitation” which created an abundance of resources that ultimately helped Khan’s army to “conquer Eurasia”. Contrary to the climate experienced by the Mongolians, other Eurasian settlements that existed in the thirteenth century were subject to a widespread and detrimental drought; leaving resources scarce and placing Khan in an ideal position for expansion. Regarding the era in which he lived, Khan was an advanced military strategist who developed the Tibetans into a successful and “highly mobile army”. His tactics included providing soldiers with roughly three to four horses each, allowing troops to travel at high speeds for days by “swapping out” when horses became tired. Additionally, when an enemy was captured, they were integrated into the Mongolian army, and “members were rewarded” based on their “skills” and “meritocracy”. Between roughly 1160 and 1300, the Mongols conquered the majority of Eurasia by optimizing the natural resources that the pluvial period presented. Similarly, the Dutch were assisted in battle by the Easterly winds that occurred in accordance with elevated sea levels and an overall increase in temperature. Throughout the Anglo-Dutch wars, these winds were an imperative factor in helping the Dutch defeat the English in linear naval and army battles.
In the first war, the Dutch suffered defeat predominantly as a result of the westerly winds and the superior size of the English battleships. Despite their loss, the Dutch redeemed themselves in the second war by using their wealth to guard off complete defeat. The financial resources contributed by the government directly correlated to the production of a battleship that was smaller than that of their English opponents, and one that favoured the component of wind and allowed for harbour docking. Due to the grand and lumbering build of the English battleships, the English found themselves at a disadvantage. By using the bottom row of cannons, they now risked flooding and sinking their own ship, ultimately leading to the first Dutch victory. In the third war, the Dutch switched their tactics and chose to engage the English both by land and sea. Because of the differentiation in strategy and high velocity of easterly winds, the English navy was unable to attack from the sea. The disadvantage posed to the English allowed Dutch sailors to work on dry land and protect against invaders and greatly influenced English defeat. Overall, it becomes evident that climate distress and warfare go hand in hand.
In both previously mentioned circumstances, climate change directly affected the strategies which the Mongols and the Dutch pursued in order to win their wars. Furthermore, changes in the climate played a large role in the collapse of the natural landscape, worldwide; specifically that of the Mayans, Australian wheat farmers, and the Labrador Inuit. Because of climate change, these societies were subject to natural phenomena such as prolonged drought and melting of icebergs, which forced the choice between pursuing cultural practices and migrating in order to survive. On one hand, the Maya experienced climate change in the form of drought. Between AD850 and 925, “the Maya began to abandon their great cities, one after another”, due to the limited resources that existed to be available. As summarized by Wylie; “climate change” caused “drought”, which lead to “low crop yields”. From here, the “Maya’s political influence diminished” which resulted in an overall “societal disintegration”.
Although it is debated whether a “wave of droughts had finished off the Maya in the south, it looks like the second wave may have brought on their demise in the north”. Of those Mayans who survived the second drought in the North, the main reaction was relocating to the “CaribbeanCaribbean coast”. Similarly, Cunsolo and Ellis’ findings suggest that the impacts of climate change have lead farmers of Australia’s wheat belt, alongside the Labrador Inuit people to experience “ecological grief”. As a result of climate change, the physical landscape to which these people call home has been altered. Australian wheat belt farmers are no longer able to produce successful crops due to drought, and the Labrador Inuit have experienced their territory melting beneath their feet. Impacts of climate change include the “loss of the ability to travel on the land”, and “disruption to the sense of place and connection to the land”, which influenced strong emotional reactions, including feelings of helplessness, depression, and anxiety. Regarding the Maya, Labrador Inuit, and Australian wheat farmers, climate change impacts such as drought and atmospheric cooling have depleted resources, changed cultural practices, and forced migration, resulting in an overall loss of cultural history and prosperity.
Finally, the Tokugawa Japanese and Chimú were readily confronted with the impacts of the Little Ice Age, the Medieval Warm Period, and El Ninos which lead to actions that influenced the expansion and decrease in population in order to constitute survival. Despite the devastating impacts brought on by the aftermath of the Little Ice Age, the Tokugawa regime in Japan successfully survived due to various strategies which slowed the population growth and allowed the supply to meet the demand of the people. Between 1600 and 1700, Japan experienced a period of “rapid demographic, agricultural, and urban growth”, referred to as the Pax Tokugawa. During this period, 7000 new villages emerged, rice production boomed, yet the amount of arable land decreased drastically due to population expansion. Although the Japanese had flourished during the Pax Tokugawa, this period of “relative abundance” soon turned into an “ecological overload”, regarding the impacts on the climate from the influence of the Little Ice Age. In order to combat the current state of welfare, 2 main paths of “escape” were proposed by Hayami Akira.
The first was a plan to invest taxpayer money in agriculture, in return, making agriculture more efficient and beginning an “Industrial Revolution”. The second means of escape was the exact opposite, “involving labor-intensive capital saving”, which allowed “peasants to escape from farming by investing more time and energy in their agricultural endeavor”. Additionally, many people “worked away from the home for prolonged periods of time”, mothers breastfeed their young for longer, and poorer families were more likely to abort when discovered pregnant, ultimately leading to a decrease in population. In contrast, the Chimu were confronted with “long-term droughts and El Ninos”, that posed “a constant threat to civilization”. These El Ninos were capable of deteriorating years of flourishing crops within a means of hours, similarly, widely experienced droughts called for extreme measures of adaptation in order to provide supply for the demand of the increasing population. As depicted by Fagan, although “against seemingly insurmountable odds, a series of wealthy states flourished along Peru’s coast for many centuries. A combination of agriculture, fishing, and long-distance trade provided at least a partial buffer against an arid, and demanding climate”.
Moreover, the Chimu found success upon drawing from their ancestors’ experience with drought, which leads to systems of adaptation that ultimately orchestrated population and the Chimu from societal extinction during their time of conflict. In consummation, the Japanese directly influenced and intended for a decrease in population in order to successfully adapt to the cooling of the Little Ice Age. However, the Chimu manipulated their resources successfully and pulled from ancient cultural practices in order to constitute needed population growth in adaptation to the harsh El Nino and drought impacts. Ultimately, the ways in which past societies’ adapted to climate change directly correlated to their success in modern day history. Although our future is still malleable, the history of the Mongols, Dutch, Maya, Labrador Inuit, the Australian farmers, Tokugawa Japanese, and the Chimú highlight the successful and unsuccessful human adaptations to climate change. From here, we are provided suggestions with regards to the course of action needed to prevent further destruction to the climate, regarding that whichever we choose to pursue will ultimately determine our success as mankind.
