{"id":100428,"date":"2024-12-06T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-06T05:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/les-metamorphoses-de-la-terre\/"},"modified":"2025-01-07T17:17:55","modified_gmt":"2025-01-07T16:17:55","slug":"les-metamorphoses-de-la-terre","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/les-metamorphoses-de-la-terre\/","title":{"rendered":"The Earth Transformed"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
Applying the principle that \u201clessons from the past help to project ourselves into the future\u201d, the latest book by British historian Peter Frankopan could well become a reference work for explorers of the future. The ambition of the author, a Cambridge professor who has won worldwide renown since his work on the Silk Roads,[1]<\/a><\/sup>, is nothing less than to \u2018rewrite\u2019 history in the light of climatic phenomena and their far-reaching consequences.<\/h6>
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

Frankopan<\/span> Peter, The Earth Transformed: An Untold History<\/em>, London: Bloomsbury, March 2023, 704 p.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n \n \n <\/a>\n <\/div>\n \"\"\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n\n

<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

His approach lies at the crossroads of three academic currents that have recently renewed approaches to history: geohistory (initiated by Fernand Braudel), climatic and environmental history (pioneered by Emmanuel Le Roy Ladurie) and so-called \u2018global history\u2019. This latter approach seeks both to free historical narratives from their \u2018original Eurocentrism\u2019 and to shed light on new relationships between historical phenomena that are, a priori, little connected. To illustrate the change of focus and scale proposed by this new approach, let\u2019s take the example of Cleopatra. Peter Frankopan explains that what really counted at the time was the eruption of the Okmok volcano (in Alaska!), which had disastrous climatic consequences for Egyptian agriculture and put Egypt at the mercy of the nascent Roman Empire.<\/p>\n

What Peter Frankopan is proposing is \u201canother history of the world\u201d, unfolding in parallel in every corner of the planet since the Neolithic, and incorporating geographical contexts, the vagaries of the climate, ecological disturbances caused by man, and the more or less appropriate reactions of societies to these disturbances. This last point is essential. According to the author, there is no such thing as climate determinism, but simply \u201cclimatic contexts\u201d that challenge all societies to adapt, with winners and losers each time. The ability to adapt is a determining factor and, according to the author, was one of the assets that enabled small Europe to gain an advantage, from the 15th<\/sup> century onwards, over the great empires of the East \u2014\u00a0the Chinese and the Ottoman\u00a0\u2014 which were much more powerful at the time, but governed by rigid centralised administrations.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n Voir aussi<\/span>\n
\n
\n \n \"\"<\/a>\n <\/span>\n \n China: ecological civilisation and the geopolitics of green power<\/a>\n \n \n <\/use>\n<\/svg>\n <\/a>\n <\/span>\n
\n
9 September 2024<\/div>\n HA\u00cbNTJENS Jean<\/a>\n
\n 8 min.\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \n <\/use>\n<\/svg>\n\n Forum\n <\/a>\n Environment<\/a>\n Geopolitics<\/a>\n Society<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n

One of the most interesting chapters in the book concerns \u201cThe Steppe Frontier and Formation of Empires\u201d. The author explains that 85% of the great empires developed on or near the Eurasian steppes. And yet the descendants of these empires \u2014\u00a0China, Russia, Iran etc.\u00a0\u2014 are precisely those who are now on the front line in challenging the hegemony of the West. The shadow of the steppes still hangs over global geopolitics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is, of course, impossible to summarise a story that runs to almost a thousand pages and is based on an impressive body of documentation (archaeology, ancient texts, myths, biochemical and meteorological analyses etc.). We will confine ourselves here to three remarks.<\/p>\n\n\n<\/div>\n

\n
\n
\n

The story holds together and is easy to read. The author does not seek to give an a priori \u2018meaning to history\u2019. He simply seeks to shed light on hitherto little-known relationships (such as a favourable climatic episode in the steppes of Central Asia, the rapid increase in the horse population, and the possibility of a Mongol Empire stretching from eastern China to the Black Sea). He is not proposing a new \u2018theory of history\u2019 but is seriously challenging those that have dominated the production of political ideas in the West for the past 200 years: the ineluctable march of progress, the advent of universal civilisation, the class struggle, and so on.<\/p>\n

This book is one of an impressive number published in recent years on geohistory, climate history and global history.[2]<\/a><\/sup> The fact that these books, including the one by Peter Frankopan, have been widely read by the public should be seen as a sign.<\/p>\n

The idea that \u201cfrom now on nature will decide\u201d is slowly making its way into political thinking.[3]<\/a><\/sup> This book tells us how nature has often \u2014\u00a0and unbeknownst to us\u00a0\u2014 decided the course of history. It also explains how societies have managed, or failed, to anticipate its whims. Professor Frankopan\u2019s history lesson is therefore also a masterclass in political science and geopolitics.<\/p>\n\n <\/div>\n

\n
\n Voir aussi<\/span>\n
\n
\n \n \"\"<\/a>\n <\/span>\n \n Planet Aqua<\/a>\n \n \n \n <\/use>\n<\/svg>\n <\/a>\n <\/span>\n
\n
20 November 2024<\/div>\n HA\u00cbNTJENS Jean<\/a>\n
\n 4 min.\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n\n
\n \n \n <\/use>\n<\/svg>\n\n Read, Seen, Heard\n <\/a>\n Environment<\/a>\n Society<\/a>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n <\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n\n\n\n

\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2013
N.B.:<\/em> this article has been translated from French by DeepL, and revised by the author and Futuribles.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n

    \n
  1. \n

    Frankopan<\/span> Peter, The Silk Roads: A New History of the World<\/em>, London: Bloomsbury, 2015. \u2191<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  2. \n

    On the Futuribles website, we have already listed those by Christian Grataloup<\/a>, Jeremy Rifkin<\/a> and Michel Aglietta<\/a>. \u2191<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n

  3. \n

    Viard<\/span> Jean, L\u2019Individu \u00e9cologique. Naissance d\u2019une civilisation<\/em><\/a>, La Tour d\u2019Aigues: L\u2019Aube, October 2024. \u2191<\/a><\/p>\n<\/li>\n<\/ol><\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Applying the principle that \u201clessons from the past help to project ourselves into the future\u201d, the latest book by British historian Peter Frankopan could well become a reference work for explorers of the future. The ambition of the author, a Cambridge professor who has won worldwide renown since his work on the Silk Roads,[1], is … Continued<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":25,"featured_media":101045,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_seopress_titles_title":"","_seopress_titles_desc":"","_seopress_robots_index":"","_seopress_robots_follow":"","_seopress_robots_imageindex":"","_seopress_robots_snippet":"","_seopress_robots_primary_cat":"none","_seopress_robots_breadcrumbs":"","_seopress_robots_freeze_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_custom_modified_date":"","_seopress_robots_canonical":"","_seopress_social_fb_title":"","_seopress_social_fb_desc":"","_seopress_social_fb_img":"","_seopress_social_fb_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_fb_img_height":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_title":"","_seopress_social_twitter_desc":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img":"","_seopress_social_twitter_img_attachment_id":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_width":0,"_seopress_social_twitter_img_height":0,"_seopress_redirections_value":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled":"","_seopress_redirections_enabled_regex":"","_seopress_redirections_logged_status":"both","_seopress_redirections_param":"","_seopress_redirections_type":301,"_seopress_analysis_target_kw":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[131],"tags":[202,203,212],"keyword":[981,1058,2591,138,1198,1048,907],"class_list":["post-100428","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-read-seen-heard","tag-environnement-en","tag-geopolitique-en","tag-societe-en","keyword-civilisation-en","keyword-climat-en","keyword-empire-en","keyword-environnement-en","keyword-geographie-en","keyword-geopolitique-en","keyword-histoire-en"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100428","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/25"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=100428"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100428\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":101047,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/100428\/revisions\/101047"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/101045"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=100428"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=100428"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=100428"},{"taxonomy":"keyword","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.futuribles.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/keyword?post=100428"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}