Historical Change
Essential Questions
1. How does the physical and human geography of
the world change over time?
2. What are the main causes of historical change?
1
Changes in Physical Geography
• Physical Regions change gradually as
processes slowly change the Earth’s surface
(tectonic plate movement, erosion).
– Examples:
• The Sahara Desert was once a jungle.
• A land bridge once connected Siberia (in Russia) to
Alaska.
2
Changes in Human Geography
• Human Regions
expand and contract
as once culture
gains or loses power.
– Example:
• Europeans
conquer Native
Americans and
colonized the
“New World.”
3
4
Changes in Human Geography Cont’d
– Example:
• The Roman Empire changed as Rome expanded
and then declined.
5
The Roots of Change
– There are several
factors that can
cause a region or
culture to change.
• Migration: The
arrival of a new
group of people.
– European
immigrants in
the 19th century
brought new
ideas, foods,
and customs
and traditions
to TX and the
US.
6
The Roots of Change Cont’d
• Cultural Diffusion: The arrival of new ideas,
products, technologies, or cultural traits.
• Trade: Exchange of goods with others.
– Rome obtained goods from Egypt, China and
Greece
7
8
The Roots of Change Cont’d
• Conflict: Armed conflict is the use of force by
opposing groups.
–One group may conquer another group.
–A country may collapse.
»Example: US Civil War
9
The Roots of Change Cont’d
• International Conflict: conflict between nations
for territory, wealth, or resources.
–Examples: US-Mexico War, World War II,
Spanish-American War
• Genocide: Attempt to kill an entire group of
people.
–Example: Nazi genocide of Jews in Europe
(Holocaust), Hutu genocide of Tutsis in Rwanda
(Movie: Hotel Rwanda).
• Terrorism: The use of threats of terror against
innocent civilians to gain attention and achieve
and achieve a group’s aims.
10
Impact of Conflict
• Conflict can lead to cultural change, conquest
of one society by another or cause a
government to collapse
–Example: The Crusades
»Europeans were exposed to Muslim
technological achievements such as the
use of the “0” in mathematics.
»Led to increase in demand for Asian
goods such as silks, rice, spices, coffee
and glass mirrors.
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Roots of Change Cont’d
• Technological Innovation: use of tools, materials,
skills to meet human needs.
–Changes in Transportation and Energy:
»Steam Engine: factory, steamboat, train.
»Automobiles and airplanes.
–New Information Technologies:
»Computers, Internet, GPS, GIS
–Other Recent Developments:
»Air Conditioning, Agriculture,
Desalinization, Trade
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Review
• Why do physical regions sometimes change over
time?
• Answer: Plate tectonic movements and erosion take
a long period of time to cause significant changes to a
physical region.
• What was an important result of the Crusades?
A. Arabs and Christians divided Jerusalem between
them.
B. Islamic kingdoms expanded into Europe.
C. The exchange of goods increased between Europe
and the Middle East.
D. The Catholic Pope sought to block Crusaders from
going to the Holy Land.
ANSWER: C
13
Review
Which advancement in technology
revolutionized the way ideas were spread
throughout Western Europe at the end of the
15th Century?
A. Development of the astrolabe
B. Introduction of the telegraph
C. Improvements to the printing press
D. Creation of the telescope
ANSWER: C
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