Human Race

Human Race: Ten Centuries of Change on Earth, Ian Mortimer

Where do you learn your history? Do you read any history at all? As I get older I’m more interested in understanding the past and the world in which we live. I suspect this is common, for as we age, we start to realise how much we do not know. We also see in a small, personal way in our own lives how much we can learn from the past and how history repeats itself, and so we might also be intrigued about that on a larger scale.

This is a great, illuminating book. It’s a solid read and one that you will probably take a little time over, but if you are interested in learning more about the major changes of the Western World over the last millennium and how they impacted life today, Human Race is a great option.

The idea for the book started when Mortimer heard a TV presenter at the end of the 20th century claim that it was the century that had seen the most change. It prompted him to think, “was it really?” So he set about to analyse the last 10 centuries, considering the major changes that affected them. He has then drawn conclusions about each and tried to select one key agent of change (one person) that most affected that century. He has also limited it to the Western World, which for most of the book means Europe.

It’s a book well worth reading if the above interests you. For those that want a brief summary of some things he covers, here goes:

Starting with: “The human race in 1001 was not just illiterate, superstitious, ignorant of the outside world and devoid of spiritual supervision: it faced continual hardships and dangers.”

The church grew widely in the eleventh century, and ended in the call for crusades:

“Just imagine setting out from France today on foot for Jerusalem. Now imagine doing it without any guidebooks, phrasebooks or money, facing incredible heat and large numbers of heavily armed enemies. And imagine doing it without ever having travelled more than a few miles from your native village.”

One large change in the 12th century was the rise in medicine, “it marks the start of the process by which men and women came to trust their fellow human beings rather than God with their physical salvation, and systematically employed medical strategies to cope with sickness rather than relying on prayer or magic.“

The 13th century saw a shift to written records and the introduction of the Magna Carta, which was “indicative of a growing need for people to have a say in the government of the realm.”

Overwhelmingly the major agent of change in the 14th century was the plague. While the plague hit in a couple of major instances, it also returned every decade or so for hundreds of years. It’s first major wave killed 45% of Europe’s population over 7 months. "The 14th century thus heralds an age of fear. People went to bed aware that every night might be their last." This century also saw projectile warfare (arrows, guns and cannons) completely change the field of war.

In the 15th century clocks came into common use which meant that time was now secularised rather than set by the church and times of prayer. At the same time mirrors also came into regular use, increasing the sense of individuality and uniqueness of each person.

The sixteenth century saw "The combination of three things – the printing press, the use of the local vernacular and the spiritual significance of the Bible – that challenge the dominance of the pulpit and the marketplace and ultimately turned Europe into a literate society." Part of this was the Reformation which challenged the previous authority of the church.

The seventeenth saw multitudes die from famine, yet there were also medical and scientific revolutions as well as expansion by Europeans into the rest of the world. The eighteenth century had huge change in transport medication as well as agriculture practice and economic and social theory. By the 19th century, “life in Europe for the vast majority of its burgeoning population was no longer a matter of how to survive; it was a question deciding how to live.” There were major developments in medicine, photography, transport, communication and the concept of leisure.

Many of us know the huge changes of the 20th century, and Mortimer includes developments in transport, the increasing isolation of people with urbanisation, our reliance on electricity, and the media. The idea of total war (affecting an entire country or population) also defined the century: “The increasing deadliness of warfare is surely the greatest irony of human civilisation.”

The final two chapters is where analysis of the main question comes into play. He first tries to categorise the primary forces underlying change, and then develops a scale for how to measure each of the changes. Need for change is usually determined by basic needs: the need to eat, or the need for shelter. When basic needs are met then humanity turns to issues of security, law and order and health. Generally after all that comes ideology and personal fulfilment.

We also see that change is never just about technology:

"Breaking down the overall overarching concept of change into smaller facets has allowed us to glimpse the dynamics of long-term human development. We can see that not all change is technological: it includes language, individualism, philosophy, religious division, secularisation, geographical discovery, social reform and the weather."

Finally, he considers the future, and some of the major changes that might affect us in the western world in years to come. Considering energy consumption versus long-term supply, he raises the question of whether the world can continue to function as it does for much longer. Some of his conclusions are somewhat depressing but they are also informed and challenging.

I really enjoyed this book, and learning about change over history. I appreciated his analysis and have come away more informed about the last millennium.


Spoiler alert:

What I found fascinating was that in the final analysis, Mortimer came to the conclusion that the principal agent of change for the entire millennium was God. Now he openly acknowledges he does not believe in God and for him, God does not exist. However, he concedes what he thinks is irrelevant, because faith in God drove much, including changes in the church, and learning in medicine and science. Studying God in the written word gave people the ability to read, and a desire to understand God’s creation pushed people to understand the world better. Knowing God made all people equal also pushed various changes for equality. I was impressed with his analysis here, and wonder if he was himself personally challenged by it. I have already noted in his historical fiction novel that it is clear he has no faith himself, yet there is a humility that allows him to come to the conclusions that he has.