Seeing Climate through Culture

摘要

Climate has undoubtedly shaped history, but so have human perceptions of climate. This was especially true in settler societies, where outsiders arrived with climatic preconceptions but no prior experience with the climatic history of these landscapes. Climatic perceptions and misperceptions led to debates over climate, and in the United States these influenced national conflicts and events, from the question of westward territorial expansion to the spread of cotton and slavery. Americans also argued about whether or not human actions could change climate, most notably in the case of the disastrous climatic myth claiming that "rain follows the plow" and if human agriculture could transform arid regions into humid ones. Perceptions of climate also influenced the histories of other nations including Australia and Russia. By connecting the environmental and cultural histories of climate, this essay demonstrates how climate history can inform broader historical themes as well.