Positive & Negative

One way of analyzing in an essay is by evaluating whether a particular event/topic had a positive or negative effect on the civilization, nation, or society.

Some possibilities to consider:

Geography

• How does geography (rivers, river valleys, mountains, oceans, deserts, rain forests) affect a civilization?
• Positive
  • Deserts, Mountains, Oceans, protect from Invasion
  • River Valleys provide fertile soil for farming (Nile, Tigris & Euphrates, Indus, Huang He)
  • Rivers for transportation and movement of goods
  • Monsoons bring needed rain for crops
  • Natural Deep Harbors allow for country's to build ships for trading and a navy
• Negative
  • Deserts limit trade
  • Mountains hinder a country's ability unify
  • Oceans & Rain Forests hinder exploration
  • Rivers can divide tribes
  • Monsoons bring flooding
  • Upper latitudes and cold climate causing harbors frozen limiting the ability of ports for trade or a navy
  • Colonies during age of Imperialism set up along geographic boundaries without any consideration for ethnic or tribal boundaries

Nationalism

How does nationalism or pride and devotion for your country or nation affect a civilization?

• Positive - Unifies country or nation
  • Germany (1871)
  • Italy (1866)
• Negative - Splits up a country or nation into separate parts
  • Yugoslavia - In 1990s breaks up into (Bosnia & Herzegovina, Serbia, Montenegro, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovenia) along ethnic and religious lines

Imperialism

How does imperialism or one country taking over another country or area, politically, socially, and/or economically affect a civilization?

• Positive
  • Improving communications by building communication systems such as telegraph & telephone
  • Providing education
  • Providing transportation systems such as canals, roads and railroads
  • Providing improved medical care
  • Providing better methods of sanitation
  • Providing improved methods of food production
• Negative
  • Providing a cheap labor force for the mother country
  • Slavery introduced by sending foreign workers to the colonies as "free" labor
  • Indentured Servitude as a form of slavery to provide cheap labor
  • Natural resources of the colony taken for the benefit of the mother country
  • Once the colony receives independence, the country has difficulty due to ethnic and religious boundaries.
  • Colonies formed along geographic boundaries not ethnic or tribal boundaries causing civil wars.