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“For example, regions in the Americas that were well suited to cash crops that required intensive farming and benefited from large pools of labour became places with high levels of inequality and limited distribution of rights among the population. Locations better suited to less intensive forms of agricultural production on the other hand - regions that favoured the growing of wheat, for example - proved to be more egalitarian, with better distribution of rights among the population. The short explanation for this is that crops that required lower labour input produced smaller profits and therefore meant there was less to fight over, and more reason to co-operate. This is one of the reasons why it is possible to identify a strong relationship between a country's socio-economic development and its distance from the equator.”

HistoryInequality
Book:The Earth Transformed: An Untold History
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“Despite the fearsome reputation he acquired in the Middle Ages and which still endures, Genghis Khan built his position and power slowly, striking deals with fellow tribal leaders and choosing his allies astutely. He also chose his enemies well, and, above all, he picked the right moment to take them on.”

Genghis Khan
Book:The Silk Roads: The Extraordinary History that created your World – Illustrated Edition
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“There is more going on, then, than the clumsy interventions of the west in Iraq and Afghanistan and the use of pressure in Ukraine, Iran and elsewhere. From east to west, the Silk Roads are rising up once more. It is easy to feel confused and disturbed by dislocation and violence . . . . What we are witnessing, however, are the birthing pains of a region that once dominated the intellectual, cultural and economic landscape and which is now re-emerging. We are seeing the signs of the world's centre of gravity shifting—back to where it lay for millennia.”

World HistoryInternational RelationsCurrent SituationWorld AffairsMoment Of Clarity
Book:The Silk Roads: A New History of the World
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“In this age of mounting violence and insecurity, it was perhaps not surprising that ties between villages weakened, communities became introverted and levels of trust plummeted dramatically. Societies atomised and disintegrated, leading to fragmentation that encouraged differentiation along ethnic and other grounds. Research has suggested that these breakdowns developed into long-term issues which are still prevalent today in many parts of West Africa, and explain low levels of co-operation, low levels of trust and poor economic performance.”

HistorySlaveryAfricaAfrican History
Book:The Earth Transformed: An Untold History
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