Climatic Change and Agricultural Exhaustion as Elements in the Fall of Rome

Ellsworth Huntington

The Quarterly Journal of Economics, 1917, vol. 31, issue 2, 173-208

Abstract: I. Decline in Roman agriculture, 173. — Contrasted views, 175. — Liebig and Simkhovitch on exhaustion of soil, 176. — Conrad on climatic change, 177. — II. Four climatic hypotheses: (1) Uniformity, 178. — Geological view, 178. — Historical view, 179. — Ancient famines, 180. — Water works, 181. — Cyrene, 181. — Ilandarin, 182. — Ancient vegetation and crops, 183. — (2) Local changes and deforestation, 185. — (3) Progressive change in one direction, 185. — (4) Pulsatory or irregular changes, 186. — III. Caspian Sea, 186. — California lakes and trees, 188. — Palmyra as an example of effect of climatic changes, 188. — Nature of such changes, 189. — Dates of changes in old world and new, 191. — IV. Historical effects of changes: (1) Economic results, agriculture, forests, cattle, 194. — (2) Political results, taxation, barbarian invasion, 198. — (3) Biological results, elimination of Nordics, increase of malaria, decline of physical energy, 201. — V. Climate and civilization, 204. — Conclusion, 207.

Date: 1917
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