These are just-so-stories that don't really hold up when you look closely. Yes, Europe has the Mediterranean that is advantageous for travel. But other places also have bodies of water, usually more navigable than the channel and less pirate-infested than the Mediterranean. Important European trade routes didn't really rely on those large bodies of waters. Europe isn't isolated at all, except for maybe the Alps and only in the winter. Other continents also feature loads and loads of different cultures.
Really, what you say is an example for why thinking about human development in this way is flawed from the beginning. There are no single factors responsible for the course of history. Whenever you try to identify some, your view becomes so myopic that it ends in these arbitrary Diamond hypotheses that require endless explanations for all the obvious exceptions.
I reject this. There are macro affects that are identifiable. There may be micros and contrarian examples. But that doesn’t affect that macro elements influence in that circumstance.
But it’s not like the mountains, lack of fast travel etc haven’t defended while holding back Afghanistan for 3000 years. You can argue there are a million other issues there as well but that doesn’t contradict that macro point.
I think you are lost in an attempt to be contrarian where it isn’t really warranted.
But if you want to argue with me about that ask any soldier.
Trying to make a point about Afghanistan as an entity across 3000 years is exactly the kind of sillyness these analysis leads to.
Yes, there are macros, but the point is that there are hundreds of them, they are all interconnected. If you pick just one you either make wrong implications (like the silk road region Afghanistan being isolated or lacking fast travel) or extremely trivial (like mountains being advantageous tageous for defenders in war)
Really, what you say is an example for why thinking about human development in this way is flawed from the beginning. There are no single factors responsible for the course of history. Whenever you try to identify some, your view becomes so myopic that it ends in these arbitrary Diamond hypotheses that require endless explanations for all the obvious exceptions.