The History

We lived in balance with nature like all living beeings

Our species is in existence for roughly 300.000 years.

Most of the time we spent as hunters and gatherers.

We lived in small groups of about 30-50 people (band society). 

We couldn’t store food, so we shared. We could not own much because we often had to carry our stuff. Life was not easy and comfortable, but it was in balance with the natural environment.

Then we invented farming
About 10.000 years ago we invented farming.

Then land was staked out and some took possession.

The so-called Neolithic Revolution marked the starting point of an ever-accelerating transformation that now exhaustes not only most people but also nature.

The law of the strongest has applied for centuries

First there was enough land for few people. Tribal leaders developed, that helped divide the land and settled disputes. 

But one could keep the land only as long as one could defend it.

At some point some people began to attack the more successful farmers. These armed themselves with fortified settlements and trained fighters. The tribal leaders became army leaders and the voluntary levy became a fiefdom. Defense armies became attack armies and rulers became kings.

For most of humanity farming was a very bad idea

Farming was and is pretty hard without machines.

Farmers were and are often dependent on landlords.

Throughout history, billions had a pretty tough life.

In fact, hundreds of millions still do today.

Colonialism became a popular form of land grabbing

Colonialism is the seizure of foreign territories and the subjugation, expulsion or murder of the resident population by a colonial ruler. In modern colonialism, this was linked to the colonial rulers' belief in their cultural superiority over the so-called "primitive peoples" and, in some cases, in their own racial superiority. By 1914 europeans had gained control of 84% of the globe.

The history of man is a history of war 

Througout history there were countless wars. After the war farmers where either dead or lost their land. In any case they had to server under the winning regime.

In most countries, the two systems of rent for the landowner and taxes for the king developed. Royal families distributed their wealth to friends by granting titles and deeds to lands that allowed the holders to collect the income (rent) generated by the peasants who lived there.

Land grabbing is still an issue

Kings and emperors have occupied and leased the land.

Colonialists took and corporations take it away.

Many were and are more or less slaves.

And is not so different for factory workers. 

After the agriculture revolution farmers became factory workers

Machines in agriculture brought huge productivity gains that made many farm workers redundant. They ended up as industry workers with also quite unpleasant working conditions.

Industries took air, water and soil for granted

In the last 100 years, we have burned fossil fuels that took millions of years to develop. More than 90% of the world's population suffers from air pollution. The list of destroyed and threatened ecosystems is endless.

The history of mankind has meant suffering for most people who have ever lived

History in film or education takes allways the perspective of the interesting people. Kings and emperors, knights and ladies. For 99% of people that lived since about 10.000 BC life was suffering. To loose the life in nature with family and tribe meant to loose faith and gain anxiety. To switch from hunting and gathering to farming meant suppression, dependence in many cases close to slavery and malnutrition with all kinds of effects.

The industrial revolution brought progess in many respects for many people, but that progress came with a price. The price of nature.

Farming made the life of most people pretty miserable real quick. But it took more then 10.000 years before nature came to its limits.

SUMMARY

There was a time when people lived in balance with nature.
This changed about 12,000 years ago.
The first farmers still used the land for their own needs and lived in peace.
Then the strongest took each other's land.
By 1914, the colonialists had gained control of 84% of the globe.
Being liberated meant only a different landlord for most people in the former colonies.
After industrialization, there were fewer guns and more lobbying and elbowing.
Today, someone owns the land under national law.
Landowners use land and cheap labor to capitalize on it.
Profits are private, environmental damage is at the expense of the general public.