China Geographical Factor

PART A
In the time period of 600 BCE to 600 CE, both Rome and China were key players in the known world. For the empire of Rome, the most important geographical factor was the Roman’s access to the Mediterranean Sea. The sea played a pivotal role in both trade and expansion for the Romans. For China, the most important geographical factor wasn’t water but both their isolation and their agriculture. Both of which played large roles in helping to shape the direction that China grew as a nation.
For the Romans, the Mediterranean Sea was a gold mine. Originally an agricultural community, the ability to seek out trade partners by traversing the Mediterranean Sea opened up a whole new world. Their primary crops of wheat, barley, olives and grapes were very marketable to the outside world. Eventually, Rome was able to integrate all of the local and regional economies of the Mediterranean into one big Mediterranean economic system. This grand economy of the Roman Empire was
They used this navy to patrol the Mediterranean Sea and to support their trade routes. However, the creation of the navy broadened the reach of the Roman Empire and they were no longer limited to conquering nations that they could access by land. Over time, the strong Roman navy and well-trained Roman soldiers would be able to conquer all of the land that was adjacent to the Mediterranean Sea. The resources the Roman’s invested into controlling both the land surrounding the Mediterranean and all the Mediterranean trade routes was vast. The Roman Navy, at its largest, reached over 400,000 men and it took 25% of the overall Roman budget to keep it afloat. If it’s true that what a nation invests in the most determines what it values the most, then surely controlling the Mediterranean and the lands surrounding it was the single most important thing in the eyes of the