- Over millions of years mankind has evolved from a puny, vulnerable creature to become a dominant force on the planet. Occasionally the planet bites back--with terrifying consequences that have shaped our evolution.
- Like other species, mankind often made its greatest 'evolutionary' progress under major challenges. An exceptional volcanic eruption in Sumatra 70,000 years ago and later ice ages decimated the population, but only the strongest survived, thanks to technological innovations, like the needle to make better clothes and agriculture, resulting in sedentary life, trade and urbanization. Great droughts also caused major migrations, especially the Mongols conquering the largest empire ever, optimizing cultural exchanges, and later huge storms devastating vast American agricultural areas weakened by centuries of erosion, requiring innovation like nitrogen-based fertilizer tripling the yield. Exceptional pandemics, like the Black Death from Asia that killed about a third of 14th century Europeans, paradoxically allowed new growth as scarce labor was remunerated much better and the new rich financed exploration, enabling the colonial expansion, germs Europeans grew immune to killing off most native Americans, supplemented by the slave trade from Africa, its abolition causing another record slaughter in the American Civil War, and mass immigration, mainly from Europe.—KGF Vissers
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