THE EVOLUTION OF NATIONS 175 



cussion, since it has more or less of a modifying effect on all the pre- 

 ceding factors. It influences climate, favors or hinders the securing 

 of necessities from the soil and the earth's crust, and has much to do 

 with the important question of accessibility, especially by sea. Yet the 

 direct influence of surface configuration by itself on national evolution 

 is, on the whole, less readily traced than in the case of the factors al- 

 ready discussed, for the reason that surfaces practically identical in all 

 important respects may show radically different conditions of develop- 

 ment as the result of difference in position, climatic relations and area. 



The extremes of configuration, like the extremes of climatic posi- 

 tion, are unfavorable to the best national development. Either great 

 diversity, or great monotony of surface are undesirable, but of the two 

 the latter is preferable. Great diversity of surface features, in any ex- 

 cept very large areas, may be regarded as the equivalent of prevailing 

 ruggedness, and as a practical barrier to national development on any 

 important scale. The Balkans district of Europe affords the best case 

 in point; a region of decidely irregular contour, it is so completely 

 broken up by more or less effective mountain barriers that ready com- 

 munication and intimate contact between the people of one part and 

 those of another are not possible. Under such conditions, local interests 

 are greatly magnified, become dominant and the general growth of 

 strong national attributes is unlikely. Great diversity of surface, then, 

 may be said to favor a permanent establishment of the clannish or 

 tribal organization, rather than to promote evolution toward the na- 

 tional state. The effect of surface configuration is shown also in the 

 case of Britain, where the prevailing ruggedness of Scotland and Wales, 

 served, it is true, as a stronghold of defence for refugee natives, but it 

 did not afford the material strength to cope successfully with the more 

 favored and less rugged England. It might even be said that surface 

 features alone made inevitable the domination of all Britain by the 

 people inhabiting the lowlands of England. The combined significance 

 of area and configuration is shown in a contrast of England and Nor- 

 way, the one, small, moderately diversified, and long important; the 

 other, over twice as large, prevailingly rugged, and never important. 



Too great uniformity of surface, amounting to monotony, means 

 little variety of initiative, hence a tendency toward one-sided develop- 

 ment. Where variety of surface is lacking, variety of initiative usually 

 depends on one of two factors, first, on the chance location of useful 

 materials in the earth's crust, and second, on sufficient size to produce 

 critical differences in climatic features. In the case of the first factor, 

 however, the discovery and exploitation of the useful materials is, in 

 most cases, distinctly not favored by a uniform surface; and too great 

 contrasts of climate may prove hostile to national solidarity. 



When considered from the standpoint of mature nations, however. 



