Intelligence Squared How have rivers shaped human existence? With Vanessa Taylor
Aug 14, 2025
Vanessa Taylor, an environmental historian and author of 'Seven Rivers,' dives into the transformative power of rivers throughout human history. She explores how rivers like the Nile and Mississippi shaped civilizations, influenced spirituality, and served as battlegrounds for power and colonization. The discussion also touches on contemporary challenges like pollution and climate change, emphasizing the urgent need for environmental activism in protecting these vital waterways and the communities that depend on them.
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Rivers As Historical Threads
- Vanessa chose seven famous rivers to show common properties and long-term human connections with rivers.
- Big rivers act as historical threads that reveal how societies harness, worship, and contest water.
From Drinking Fountains To Global Rivers
- Vanessa began her river work researching Victorian drinking fountains and expanded outward to rivers and water systems.
- An agent later invited her to write a global history of rivers, which became Seven Rivers.
The Nile's Symbolic Power
- Ancient Egypt shows rivers' deep symbolic worlds, with gods and creatures tied to the Nile's rhythms.
- That spiritual mapping embeds water into cosmology and long-term social continuity.