In this episode of History 102, 'WhatIfAltHist' creator Rudyard Lynch and co-host Austin Padgett explore the Mediterranean's decline from civilization's epicenter to peripheral status, examining Islamic stagnation, Spanish-Ottoman authoritarianism, and Northwest Europe's technological and institutional ascendancy.
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FOLLOW ON X:
@whatifalthist (Rudyard)
@LudwigNverMises (Austin)
@TurpentineMedia
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TIMESTAMPS:
(00:00) Introduction
(00:42) The Problem with "Mediterranean Food"
(02:46) Geography of the Mediterranean
(05:00) The Mediterranean as America-Sized System
(06:28) Unity vs Division
(09:01) Atlantic Sailing Technology
(17:30) Marseille & Cairo: Civilizational Decline
(28:00) British Stranglehold on the Mediterranean
(37:18) Northwest Europe's Hermetic Switch
(45:12) Classical Civilization & The Roman Empire
(56:58) Ancient vs Modern Globalization
(1:03:17) Fernand Braudel & Historical Methodology
(1:16:18) The Fall of Rome & Rise of Three Civilizations
(1:27:00) Islamic Golden Age & Mediterranean Dominance
(1:37:27) Italian City-States & Renaissance
(1:44:32) Norman Sicily & Christian Reconquest
(1:52:06) CORE THESIS: The Islamic Dark Ages
(2:00:00) Spanish & Ottoman Empires Divide the Mediterranean
(2:07:38) Mediterranean Culture: Honor, Elites & Decline
(2:13:39) Why Mediterranean Europe Failed
(2:20:31) Two Democratic Traditions
(2:25:00) Wrap
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