Notes, summaries, assignments, exams, and problems for Geography

The Parramatta River catchment is one of the most highly urbanized catchments in Australia. However, many different issues impact the health of the catchment. These land and water issues affect the Parramatta River due to the consequences of human activity. Activities such as development, industry, land and water pollution, stormwater runoff, flooding, boating, and even simple daily actions like driving or walking, all have an impact on the health of the waterways.

Addressing Catchment Issues: Improvement Program

To address these challenges, an Environmental Improvement Program is in place, structured around four main streams:

• Stormwater Management
• Floodplain Management
• Healthy Waterways
• Sustainable Water

Each stream functions to improve the water... Continue reading "Parramatta River Catchment Environmental Issues" »

mediterranean route:

Spanish or Italian towns to Islamic and Byzantine ports, imported luxury, perfumes, silks, porcelain.

atlantic and baltic routes:

Portuguese, Cantabria, Germany, Russia: Spanish and English wood, French wine, English tin, leather.

guild:

Artisans of the same trade formed craft guilds, they have strict laws.

romanesque :

Fisrt appearance in France, Italy, became an international style in 11th and 12th century, churches, cathedrals, monasteries made of stone, human representation: figures were rigid, unrealistic, Romanesque sculptures were polychrome, they were painted in bright colors.

gothic:

Began in France and spread widely from the second half of the 12th century, developed when cities were expanded, civil buildings, cathedrals,... Continue reading "Mediterranean, Atlantic, and Baltic Trade Routes in Medieval Europe" »

Around 40,000 BCE, the first humans lived in China. Cultivation began around the Yellow and Yangtze Rivers. The Yangshao and Longshan cultures were the earliest settlements. There was a big difference between northern and southern agriculture. The Tibetan Plateau and the Gobi Desert were the natural barriers of the Chinese civilization.

The Shang Dynasty

The Xia was the first dynasty in China, around 2000 BCE. It was replaced by the Shang Dynasty around 1600 BCE. Shang China was governed by a warrior aristocracy. The rulers in Anyang ruled with local and central bureaucracy, but it wasn't hereditary. The king's position was demonstrated by the large sacrifices at his death. He was an intermediary between Heaven and Earth. Socially, the village/... Continue reading "Ancient China: From Prehistory to the Qin Dynasty" »

Social Groups

The growth of cities transformed the organization of feudal society. Many artisans and traders were not dependent on the feudal lords. This group was the bourgeoisie.

Transportation Advancements in the 1800s

What four factors significantly reduced the cost of transporting goods in the 1800s?

• National Road
• Canals
• Steamboats
• Railroads

Communication Advancements in the 1800s

Name at least three advancements in communication during the 1800s.

• Samuel F. B. Morse's Telegraph
• Perfection of the power press
• Revolutionized journalism

Characteristics of the 1800s

Name at least three characteristics of the 1800s.

• Population Growth: The American population doubled approximately every 22 years, with 600,000 immigrants arriving in the 1830s.
• Westward Expansion: Vast areas of land opened up for settlement.
• Land speculators played a leading role in the settlement of the West by selling land, partially on credit.

Manifest Destiny and Its

Germanic Invasions

The Western Roman Empire followed a different evolution to the Byzantine Empire, as the lands of Western Europe were occupied by peoples of Germanic origin.

1. Germanic Tribes

The Germanic people came from Central Asia and settled for centuries near the borders of the Roman Empire. They were nomadic people who did not build cities, as they mainly lived in villages and camps. They mainly worked in farming and were organised into tribes, led by a tribal chief who was elected by an assembly of free men. The leader was the military chief and ruled with the help of warriors, with whom he established pacts of loyalty.

An increase in population and the need to seek pastures for cattle caused the Germanic people to move to western Europe.... Continue reading "The Germanic Invasions and the Fall of Rome" »

Causes of the Great Depression

• Over-expansion of Credit
• High Capital Surplus
• Industrial Over-expansion
• Technological Unemployment
• Agricultural Over-expansion
• Imbalance in International Trade

A New American Paradox: Breadlines and Soup Kitchens

Although soup kitchens were not unknown to the American lower classes before 1929, they grew as the economic depression intensified and peaked by 1932.

When soup kitchens first appeared, they were run by churches or private charities. The Capuchin Services Center in southeast Detroit, for example, served 1,500 to 3,000 people a day. That center opened on November 2, 1929.

Private volunteers were also important in setting up soup kitchens all over the US. By the mid-1930s, state and federal governments also were... Continue reading "Great Depression: Causes, Soup Kitchens, and Hoovervilles" »

Feudal society was essentially rural because urban life has declined since late Roman times. A lord's fief was usually a rural estate:

• The demesne was the land that the lord used directly. It consisted of his castle, farmland, fields, and forests. It was farmed by serfs.
• The lord also granted plots of land to free peasants. In return, they had to pay farm produce as taxes and provide services to the lord.
• Feudal lords had absolute authority in their fiefs and administered justice.
• The lord owned the mill, the presa, and the oven, which the peasants had to pay to use. Merchants had to pay a toll when they crossed land or bridges on a fief.

Each fief also contained one or more villages, where the peasants lived.

Agricultural Revolution

The Agricultural Revolution was a series of profound changes in the primary sector during the 18th century. It encompassed technical advancements and alterations in rural land management (plots and buildings). The driving force was population growth, spurred by improved hygiene, better medicine, a decline in major epidemics, and fewer wars. After the abandonment of mercantilism, an increase in productivity became essential.

First Industrial Revolution

The First Industrial Revolution was characterized by a series of transformations resulting from the introduction of machines into workshops. This led to the emergence of new social classes and political institutions. It began in the 1760s in England and concluded around 1830.... Continue reading "Industrial Revolutions: Key Developments & Impacts" »

The Second Industrial Revolution and Imperialism

The Second Industrial Revolution (1870-1914)

The Second Industrial Revolution, taking place between 1870 and 1914, was characterized by rapid industrialization. This was primarily due to the increased importance of the financial sector in industry and the rise of finance capitalism.

Innovations and Changes

Production increased because of the following factors:

• New sources of finance: To establish businesses, owners had to find new sources of finance, such as joint-stock companies, the stock exchange, and banks.
• New technological advances: Improvements to the Bessemer converter, dynamite, stainless steel, and artificial fibers.
• New business structures: Cartels, holding companies, and trusts.
• New sources