- Title
- North Carolina historical review [1935 : October]
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-
- Date
- October 1935
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-
- Place
- ["North Carolina, United States"]
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North Carolina historical review [1935 : October]
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The North Carolina
Historical Review
Volume XII October, 1935 Number 4
GEOGRAPHIC INFLUENCES IN THE HISTORY
OF NORTH CAROLINA
By Ben Franklin Lemert
The history of North Carolina is one of continuous effort at
adaptation to an heterogeneous array of environmental influ¬
ences. Location with respect to the prevailing wind direction
and the Gulf Stream influenced the first attempts of English
people to settle the State. Location, topography, climate, and
soil discouraged attempts at settlement of the coastal area. Lo¬
cation and topography exerted profound influences in the settle¬
ment of the State via neighboring colonies. Environmental fac¬
tors have always produced influences preventing homogeneity of
thought and activities within the State’s boundaries. Geo¬
graphic, human, and economic influences which combined to keep
North Carolina an agricultural state prior to 1880, coordinated
just as strongly to influence its industrial development in the
years that followed.
Settlement
The cold northeastern section of North America lies closest to
Europe. Its climate and poor rocky soil offered little induce¬
ment for permanent settlement by people accustomed to mod¬
erate marine climate. The Northeast Trade Winds carried
Latin settlers to southern North America and the South Ameri¬
can continent. English seamen became familiar with the trade-
wind route when they began to sell slaves to the Spanish col¬
onists and later during their raids upon Spanish commerce.
Returning from the Tropics to England, these same raiders made
use of the Gulf Stream and Prevailing Westerlies Route along
the southeastern coast of North America. By these journeys
the English became somewhat familiar with the climate and
coast line of what is now the southeastern part of the United
States.
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