Chapter 15 nation too late

For convenience, I have classified European countries according to differences in ethnicity and culture.Some former Roman colonial countries have been introduced above, and after these colonies became independent countries, the shadow of ancient Roman civilization is still faintly visible. As we all know, the Balkans were once occupied by ancient Rome, and Latin was retained as the official language by at least one country (Romania); but in the Middle Ages, after the Balkans were invaded by Mongols, Slavs and Turks, the ancient Romans All traces of civilization have been wiped out, so it is obviously a mistake to include those Balkan countries in the present discussion.Therefore, it is now time to bid farewell to the countries along the Mediterranean Sea and enter another type of civilized world, centered on the North Sea and the Atlantic Ocean, which originated and developed from the Teutonic nation.

In this area there is a huge semi-circular plain (described in the chapter on France) which extends from the eastern mountains of Russia (sources of the Dnieper, Dvina, Neva and Volga) to the Belgian Nius Mountains.At the beginning of the mysterious westward migration of the Germanic tribes, the Romans once possessed the southern part of the great plain; the Slavic nomads still seem to have occupied the eastern part of the plain. It popped up again and grew rapidly, like an Australian hare, repeatedly beaten.When the hungry Teutons broke into this great plain, there was only a wide square land left here-from the Vistula River in the east, the Baltic Sea in the north, the Rhine Delta in the west, and the Romans in the south. This fort reminds every newcomer: this is a "forbidden zone", do not step into it.

The western part of this area is mountainous.First, the Ardennes and the Vosges are located on the west bank of the Rhine; then, the Black Forest, the Tyrolean Mountains, the Ore Mountains, and the Lisenberg Mountains are arranged in order from east to west; finally, the Carpathian Mountains are almost stretches to the shore of the Black Sea. Due to the compression of the mountains, all the rivers run northward.The rivers are also arranged from west to east.The westernmost point is the Rhine.Among all the rivers, the Rhine is the most poetic and picturesque river, and there is no mountain river that can make people fight for her, bleed for her, and shed tears for her like her.However, the Rhine is just an ordinary river.In terms of the length of the river, the Amazon River is five times longer than the Rhine River, the Mississippi River and the Missouri River are six times longer than her, and even the Ohio River, which is not ranked in the United States, is 500 miles longer than her.To the east of the Rhine is the Weser River, and above the mouth of the Weser River lies the modern city of Bremen.Further east is the Elbe River, and today's Hamburg is created by this river.Followed by the Oder River, the city of Szczecin prospered because of her, and the products of Berlin and its surrounding industrial areas were continuously transported abroad by this port city.Finally, there is the Vistula River and Danzig Port (now the Polish port city of Gdansk——Translator's Note), Danzig Port is now a free port, and the supervisor is a special commissioner appointed by the League of Nations.

Millions of years ago, a glacier covered the land, and then the glacier retreated, leaving behind a large sandy wasteland and endless marshes towards the North Sea and the Baltic Sea.A dune belt gradually appeared in the northern marshes, which stretched from the Flemish coast to Königsberg near Russia, once the ancient capital of Prussia.With the expansion of the dune belt, the tide can no longer invade the swamp, which means that vegetation can appear, so the soil is gradually suitable for the growth of trees, and forests appear.Later, those ancient forests turned into peat deposits, providing inexhaustible high-quality fuel to human ancestors.

The North Sea and the Baltic Sea, the northwestern border of this plain, are nothing but two gigantic shallow pools, and yet they are called "seas," which is an exaggeration.The average depth of the Baltic Sea is 36 fathoms, the average depth of the North Sea is only 60 fathoms (1 fathom is equal to 6 feet), and the deepest point is only 400 fathoms, while the average depth of the Atlantic Ocean is 2170 fathoms, and the Pacific Ocean is 2240 fathoms.Looking at the data, you can think of these two oceans as sinking valleys.As long as the surface is raised a little, a piece of dry land will appear here.

Now take a look at the land topographic map of Germany.But instead of looking at modern topographic maps, you should go back to the time when humans followed the footsteps of the retreating glaciers to live here permanently, and look at the topographic maps at that time. Some barbaric tribes were early settlers here.These tribes live mainly by hunting and also grow a little crops.But these barbarian immigrants have a persistent pursuit of beauty.When there is a lack of gold and silver for decoration on their own land, they are not afraid of long journeys, but go to other places to find them.

All early commercial roads were trade channels for luxury goods, and the competition for luxury goods was the origin of all early national conflicts.This statement may come as a bit of a surprise to many readers, but it is absolutely true.Who told the ancient Romans to understand the general situation of Nordic geography?It was the merchants who penetrated to the mysterious Baltic shores in search of the amber, the petrified resin which was but the tiara of ancient Roman ladies; Nautical expeditions, making more geographical discoveries, the biggest reason is a hard limestone clot (in order to attract others' attention to their lovely curved ears and soft and slender fingers, women use this item as jewelry, This item can sometimes be found in Oyster Shells) by Eager Demand.Even the impetus which prompted many honest men to give the Gospels to heathens pales in comparison with the need for luxuries.

In order to obtain ambergris (a substance in sperm whales, in order to obtain this substance, human beings hunt poor sperm whales like crazy), a large number of ships headed towards Brazil, Madagascar and the Moluccas Note) There are more boats catching herring, sardines, or other food fish than catching herring and sardines.Just because ambergris is a raw material of perfume, the perfume made of ambergris exudes the fragrance of flowers, which is not exotic. Compared with ambergris, edible fish is just edible fish, and its charm is far less than that of perfume . Due to the change of clothing fashion, in the 17th century, women wore invisible tights under their coats (12 dinners will not have any good effect on body shape), and human beings' understanding of the Arctic Ocean, because women The demand for bodysuits has grown enormously.When it was fashionable for Parisians to wear egret feathers on their hats, hunters went deep into the lagoons of the American South, hunted down egrets, and plucked their feathers for their feathers (these people did not consider this behavior will exterminate the egret—the loveliest and noblest bird of all creation), they have advanced far beyond the area where they used to travel for three meals a day.

There are countless examples of this.A small number of rich people often flaunt their wealth in order to attract the attention of less wealthy people around them. Therefore, all rare objects may become the target of their pursuit.Even in the earliest days of man, it was luxuries, not necessities, that guided human exploration.A careful study of prehistoric maps of Germany reveals the ancient trade routes for luxury goods, as most trade routes still functioned in the same way until the Middle Ages and even modern times. Think about the situation 3000 years ago.A few hundred miles from the sea lie the great southern mountains of the Harz, Erzberg, and Riesengberg, and the great swampy plain, which stretches northward to the North and Baltic seas, has long since become It has become a dry land, and now, dense forests cover this land.As the glaciers gradually receded into Scandinavia and Finland, humans gradually advanced on the land, claiming this wild wilderness for themselves.Some tribes living in the valleys of the southern mountains found that they were paid accordingly if they felled trees and sold them to the ancient Romans, who occupied strategic points on the Rhine and Danube.Almost none of the other Teutonic peoples, no matter nomadic tribes or village farmers, had seen the Romans.An ancient Roman expedition had attempted to penetrate deep into the center of the region, but in a dark, waterlogged valley, the explorers were ambushed by the Teutons and killed.Since then, no one has dared to set foot in this area.However, this does not mean that northern Germany is completely cut off from the outside world.

The important East-West trade route in prehistoric times started from the Iberian Peninsula, followed the route from the Pyrenees to Paris, passed through Poitiers in France and the Tour Valley, and ended in the Great Plains of Russia.This trade route bypassed the Ardennes Plateau in Germany, stretched along the edge of the Central European Highlands, and reached the Nordic Lowlands in today’s Soviet Union.This business road goes eastward all the way, and is blocked by many rivers on the way, but there are always shallow and convenient river sections for it to cross.Just as the Roman city was founded on the shallow waters of the Tiber, so many of the early towns in northern Germany grew out of those prehistoric times or ancient human settlements.Perhaps the location of those early human settlements happened to be the train stations and department stores where people come and go today.Some cities, such as Berlin, Hanover, Magdeburg and Breslau (now Wroclaw in southwestern Poland——Translator's Note), were developed on the original site in prehistoric times.Although Leipzig was once a small village in the middle of the Slavic land, it was also a commercial center in ancient Europe.Silver, aluminum, copper and iron, these minerals mined from the Saxony mountains, were gathered in Leipzig, and then flowed down the river, where they were bought by merchants from various countries who traveled from south to north on the European commercial road.

When this trade route reached the Rhine, the water transport fleet became a fierce competitor to the long-distance land transport caravan.Water transportation is cheaper and faster than land transportation.Before Caesar discovered the Rhine, many rafts specialized in cargo transportation had been running on this great river.They transported their goods from Strasbourg (a city in northeastern France——Translator's Note) (where the Rhine connects the inland trade areas of Francland, Bavaria, and Württemberg) to Cologne, the lowlands countries and even the British Isles. Berlin and Jerusalem are separated by thousands of miles, but the same geographical principles are followed by both cities, that is, both cities are built at the intersection of important commercial routes.Lying at the intersection of two trade routes, one from Babylon to Phoenicia and the other from Damascus to Egypt, Jerusalem was an important center of trade long before the Jews had heard of it.Berlin, built on the banks of the river, also happens to be the intersection of two commercial routes, one is the east-west commercial route across the European continent, and the other is the commercial route from northwest to southeast (from Paris to Petrograd, from Hamburg to Constantinople) , Berlin thus became the second Jerusalem. Throughout the Middle Ages, there were still countless semi-autonomous small principalities in Germany. The western part of the European Great Plain, just 300 years ago, had no signs of becoming a world power one day.Modern Germany is almost a direct outgrowth of the failure of the Crusades.When there were no new territories to conquer in West Asia (the Muslims finally proved themselves to be equal to the Christians), these non-inherited European sons set out to seek other sources of land wealth.Naturally, they immediately thought of the Great Slavic Plain, which sits on the Oder and the Vistula and is inhabited by barbaric Prussian pagans.In this way, the Crusades moved from Palestine to East Prussia at once, and the commercial center also moved to Marburg, 30 kilometers south of Danzig, instead of Acre, which was originally located in Galilee.For the next 200 years, the Crusader knights have been fighting against the Slavs, and the farms of those poor Slavs were occupied by these nobles and farmers from the West. In 1410, at Tannenberg, the Crusader knights were defeated by the Poles; in 1914, at this same Tannenberg, Hindenburg wiped out the Russian army (Hindenburg, German Marshal, 1847-1934, supported the royalists Factions and fascist organizations. Later served as president, in power from 1925 to 1934. In 1933, Hitler was ordered to form a government, so that the German regime fell into the hands of the Nazi Party——Translator’s Note).But in any case, those crusader knights still settled in this area, and when the religious reform movement began, their power still cannot be ignored. At that time, the leader of the Crusaders was a grand duke who happened to be a member of the Hohenzollern family. He not only joined Protestantism, but also followed Martin Luther's suggestion and called himself the hereditary Duke of Prussia. Königsberg in Zewan.From the middle of the 15th century, another branch of the Hohenzollern family ruled the desolate sands of Brandenburg, and by the beginning of the 17th century the principality fell to this branch of the hardworking and intelligent Hohenzollern Ren's hands. 100 years later (that is, in 1701), this Hohenzollern family already enjoyed the title of "Elector" (Germany has the right to elect the princes of the Holy Roman Emperor--Translator's Note), but they themselves Thinking that they are already very powerful, they should be eligible for a higher title, so in order to seek the title of king, they started their activities. Since ancient times, they have cherished each other, and the Holy Roman Emperor agreed.The Habsburgs were happy to do this little favor for their good friends the Hohenzollerns. In 1871, Hohenzollern VII, King of Prussia, became the first emperor to unify Germany. After 47 years, the huge "joint stock" group of the Hohenzollern family finally collapsed, and the ninth king of Prussia and the third emperor of modern Germany was forced to abdicate and went into exile abroad.However, the most powerful and efficient great country in the capitalist industrial age was the final development of this country composed of the remnants of the Crusaders and the defeated generals. It all melted away.The last Hohenzollern is working as a lumberjack in Holland.But these ex-Tyrolean mountain folk had extraordinary talents, at least they were wise enough to recruit a group of extraordinary talents to serve them.In their original territory, God did not give them any wealth at all.The land of Prussia consisted only of farmland, forests, sandy land, and swamps, and there was nothing to export, and export was the only means for any country to obtain a trade surplus. When the beet sugar method was invented by the Germans, the situation improved slightly.But since sugar is much cheaper than beet sugar, and can still be imported from the West Indies, both Prussians and Brandenburgers are still poor and poor.However, there is no way out, when Emperor Napoleon's navy suffered heavy losses in the Trafalgar naval battle (during the 1799-1815 Napoleonic War, on October 21, 1805, in Trafalgar on the Atlantic coast of Spain Near the Cape, the British fleet launched a naval battle with the French and Spanish fleets. The important result of the battle was that the British had mastered the sea during the Napoleonic Wars——Translator’s Note), and in order to attack the British, they implemented the "anti-blockade" law , resulting in a sudden and growing demand for Prussian beet sugar in Europe.At the same time, the value of potash was discovered by German chemists. Since Prussia has abundant potash reserves, Prussia finally has some products that can be exported. The Hohenzollern family was really lucky at the time.After Napoleon's defeat, the Rhine region was captured for them.At first, the Rhine region did not show any special value, but iron and coal played a great role in promoting the subsequent industrial revolution.At this time, Prussia unexpectedly discovered that it had abundant coal and iron ore reserves. 500 years of poverty are finally over! In the past, poverty taught the Germans to be rigorous and thrifty, and now it has taught the Germans how to produce in large quantities and sell cheaply.This small Teutonic nation was rapidly expanding, and the land could no longer provide her with more room for development. At this time, they went to the sea.In less than 50 years, they have become one of the highest earners in the ocean transportation industry. When the North Sea was the center of world civilization (before America was discovered and the Atlantic Ocean became an important trade route), Hamburg and Bremen played a very important role. Today, the status of these two cities is gradually declining, and it is necessary to catch up with London and other cities. The realization of the British port plan posed a serious threat. In 1895, the Kiel Canal was officially put into use. Through this dug canal, large ships can pass from the Baltic Sea to the North Sea.The canal network also connects the Rhine, Weser, Oder, Vistula, Main, and Danube (unfinished) together, allowing direct navigation between the North Sea and the Black Sea, and Berlin also passes through the Szczecin Canal to the Baltic Sea.As long as human beings use their brains more, most people can live a relatively decent life.Before the World War, the German workers and peasants who were subject to strict discipline were not very rich, but they ate better, lived better, and had better social and medical care than people of the same class in other countries. Guaranteed. With the unfortunate end of the World War, it all came to an end.It's a tragedy, but it's outside the scope of this work.Since Germany was a defeated country, its prosperous industrial areas Alsace and Lorraine (after the Franco-Prussian War of 1870-1871, the defeated country France ceded these two areas to Germany, and France took them back after the First World War Lost———Translator’s Note) lost, all overseas colonies lost, the merchant fleet was lost, and a part of Schleswig-Holstein, which was taken from the Danes after the war of 1864 also lost.In addition, thousands of square miles of former Polish territory (which had been thoroughly assimilated by Germany) were removed from Prussia and returned to Poland.Thus, this wide strip along the Vistula from Toruń to Gdynia and the Baltic Sea returned to the embrace of the Kingdom of Poland, which once again had direct access to the sea.All that was left to Germany was a portion of Silesia, which Frederick the Great had seized from Austria in the 18th century.But many valuable mineral deposits had been ceded to Poland, and only the textile industry was controlled by Germany. Everything that Germany has taken over the past 50 years is now being sent back, and other countries are redistributing Germany's colonies in Asia and Africa, although these countries have too many colonies to even send people there. there is none left. The Treaty of Versailles may have been a politically perfect treaty, but, from an applied geographical point of view, people despaired of the future of Europe.Those skeptical neutrals want to give Lloyd George (1863-1945, British Prime Minister, the time in power 1916-1922. One of the drafters of the "Versailles Peace Treaty"--Translator's Note) and the late Klay Monseau (184l-1929, Prime Minister of the Third French Republic, was in power between 1906-1909 and 1917-1920. One of the drafters of the "Versailles Peace Treaty"--Translator's Note) each person had a basic geography manual, and they did not have fault.