A groundbreaking guide to world history through regional geography and interdisciplinary insight

World Historical Geography: Regional Trends and Global Themes examines world history through the lens of geography, where landforms, climates, and spatial relationships are not background elements but central agents of change. Bridging the humanities and natural sciences, this unique textbook integrates recent research in paleoclimatology, paleogenetics, and archaeology to uncover how physical and human geographies have shaped distinct historical trajectories across the globe. By foregrounding geography as both context and catalyst, Jaime Moreno-Tejada equips students to think critically about historical causality and regional specificity from a global perspective.

The text divides the world into twelve regions and follows a geographic path from Sub-Saharan Africa to the Caribbean. Each chapter identifies a dominant regional trend—including climate variation, political centralization, or mobility—and weaves it into a broader historical narrative. Throughout the book, 36 concise, interdisciplinary micro-essays (Global Themes) explore key concepts such as domestication, rivers, slavery, and ethnogenesis, both complementing the core material and providing flexible entry points for thematic exploration.

Providing a grounded yet expansive understanding of how geography continues to inform the human story, World Historical Geography: Regional Trends and Global Themes:

• Uses an interdisciplinary approach that connects environmental history, human geography, and historical narratives
• Emphasizes reflexive learning, with each chapter prompting students to question regional boundaries and pursue transregional connections.
• Organized regionally, with each chapter centered on one or two historical-geographic trends for targeted understanding
• Includes questions designed to foster both regional insight and global comparison at the end of each chapter

Offering unique global scope while maintaining depth of analysis within each region, World Historical Geography: Regional Trends and Global Themes is perfect for undergraduate and graduate courses in World History, World Geography, and Area Studies, as well as core curricula in History, Geography, and Global Studies programs.

JAIME MORENO-TEJADA taught World Regional Geography at Missouri State in its China campus for seven years. He holds a PhD in Historical Geography from King’s College London and has published widely on frontiers, environmental history, and spatial theory. His research brings together geographic methods and historical inquiry to explore patterns of human movement, place-making, and power.