Western Europe has no real deserts, the frozen wastes are confined to a few areas in the far north, and earthquakes, volcanoes, and massive flooding are rare. The rivers are long, flat, navigable, and made for trade. As they empty into a variety of seas and oceans, they flow into coastlines that are— west, north, and south—abundant in natural harbors. If you are reading this trapped in a snowstorm in the Alps, or waiting for floodwaters to subside back into the Danube, then Europe’s geographical blessings may not seem too apparent; but, relative to many places, a blessing they are. These are the factors that led to the Europeans creating the first industrialized nation states, which in turn led them to be the first to conduct industrial-scale war

Western Europe has no real deserts, the frozen wastes are confined to a few areas in the far north,
and earthquakes, volcanoes, and massive flooding are rare. The rivers are long, flat, navigable, and
made for trade. As they empty into a variety of seas and oceans, they flow into coastlines that are—
west, north, and south—abundant in natural harbors.
If you are reading this trapped in a snowstorm in the Alps, or waiting for floodwaters to subside
back into the Danube, then Europe’s geographical blessings may not seem too apparent; but, relative
to many places, a blessing they are. These are the factors that led to the Europeans creating the first
industrialized nation states, which in turn led them to be the first to conduct industrial-scale war