Dive into the archives.
- Japan’s Border Towns
Japan is an archipelago and has no land border with any neighboring nation. However, several towns and regions take the modern role of “border town”—politically, economically, and culturally.
Wakkanai is the northernmost town in Japan and is located just across from Sakhalin island, which today is Russian territory. Wakkanai developed a century ago as [...]
- The Extinction of Rinderpest
Rinderpest, an animal disease that plagued livestock and their human keepers across Eurasia and Africa for millennia, may be on the verge of joining smallpox as the only viral diseases to have been eradicated in human history.
The virus never became established in the western hemisphere. In the 1920s, Europe eradicated it by controlling animal [...]
- Random Roundup
Three stories catching my eye right now:
1. Rice Hoarding: As rice prices hit new highs, tripling over the course of a year in some markets, farmers across Asia are hoarding their crops and holding out for better prices. This has the potential to create an interesting struggle between rice exporter nations—Vietnam, Thailand and India—and [...]
- Mapping the extinction of languages
Throughout history languages have transformed with moving populations. Sometimes they transform right of existence. I was never one to get weepy about dying languages. I have always thought it a fact of history. But I do regret lost cultural artefacts, as well as the potential for linguistic and cognitive research. National Geographic’s Enduring Voices Project [...]
- The Geography of Russia Through History
And now with my latest post in the CA series on the historical borders of nations through history, I’d like to tackle the growth and recent waning of Russia’s territorial might over the last one thousand years.
Similar Posts: Ethiopia – Poland – Armenia – Persia.
NOTE: As always, these borders shifted over the years, [...]
- The Final Frontier
As Russia spars with its polar neighbors Canada, Norway, Denmark, and the US for territory in the artic (as previously discussed here and here), Moscow’s claim for more territory is just the beginning of what could become the last push to finalize borders between nations where firm borders have not yet been drawn.
Russia’s claims is [...]
- If Lawrence had split the Middle East
I just returned to Japan from a delightful Christmas trip to Australia. The Lady Curzon and myself divided our time between the economic center of Sydney and the capital of Canberra, where we spent several hours lost in the enormous War Memorial Museum, which is probably the most comprehensive war museum I have ever [...]
- Over there
The first map to use the word “America” was drawn in 1507 and in 2003 cost the Library of Congress $10 million to acquire. Read about where the map came from in The Atlantic Monthly.
- The Demarcation of Australia
Via Wikipedia comes this fascinating visual timeline of the demarcation of the borders that make up Australia’s six states, two major mainland territories, and other minor territories that exist today.
