Explaining the Mediterranean's Decline

History 102 with WhatifAltHist's Rudyard Lynch and Austin Padgett

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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