File:The history of mankind (1896) (14783616243).jpg

Identifier: historyofmankind01ratz (find matches)
Title: The history of mankind
Year: 1896 (1890s)
Authors: Ratzel, Friedrich, 1844-1904 Butler, Arthur John, 1844-1910
Subjects: Ethnology Anthropology
Publisher: London, Macmillan and co., ltd. New York, The Macmillan co.
Contributing Library: Wellesley College Library
Digitizing Sponsor: Wellesley College Library

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tationsfor forces hostile to civilauthority, for desper-adoes of every shade ofvillainy. Not infrequently theformation of new statesstarts from these spaces.The cases in which sharpfrontiers are soonestformed is where the twofundamentally differentmodes of civilization andlife, nomadism and agri-culture, come in contact.Here of necessity fron-tiers are sharply drawnagainst races of thesteppes, and art endea-vours to contribute itsaid by building earth-works and even walls.The region of the steppesis the country of thegreat wall of China, andof the ramparts thrownup by Turks and Cos-sacks. Leopold von Rankehas stated as a maximof experience that whenwe study universal his-tory it is not as a rulegreat monarchies thatfirst present themselves,but small tribal districtsor confederacies of thenature of states. Thisis shown in the historyof all great empires ;even the Chinese can becarried back to smallbeginnings. Xo doubtthey have been of shortduration with the singleexception of the Roman
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Kingsmill Islander in full armour. (Berlin Museum of Ethnology.) 138 THE HISTORY OF MANKIND Empire. Even that of China has passed through its periods of breaking up.From the Roman Empire the nations have learnt how great territories must beruled in order to keep them great in extent, for since its time history has seenmany empires, even surpassing the Roman in magnitude, arise and maintainthemselves for centuries. Apart from the way in which the teaching of history has been taken toheart, the increaseof population andthe consequent ac-cession of import-ance to the ma-terial interests ofthe people has un-questionably con-tributed to this. But there aredeeper-lying rea-sons for the small-ness of primitivestates. Among most naturalraces the familyand the societyform unions solarge, so frequentlycoinciding, so ex-clusive, that littleremains to sparefor the state. Therapid break-up ofempires is counter-balanced by thesturdy tribal life.When the empiresfall to pieces newones form them-selve

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