The Story of Mankind
By Hendrik Willem van Loon (1921)
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon (1921). Unabridged Charlotte Mason living book edition for Form II History.
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Chapter 2: The Setting Of The Stage
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 2
WE live under the shadow of a gigantic question mark.
Who are we?
Where do we come from?
Whither are we bound?
Slowly, but with persistent courage, we have been pushing this question mark further and further towards that distant line, beyond the horizon, where we hope to find our answer.
We have not gone very far.
We still know very little but we have reached the point where (with a fair degree of accuracy) we can guess at many things.
In this chapter I shall tell you how (according to our best belief) the stage was set for the first appearance of man.
If we represent the time during which it has been possible for animal life to exist upon our planet by a line of this length, then the tiny line just below indicates the age during which man (or a creature more or less resembling man) has lived upon this earth.
Man was the last to come but the first to use his brain for the purpose of conquering the forces of nature. That is the reason why we are going to study him, rather than cats or dogs or horses or any of the other animals, who, all in their own way, have a very interesting historical development behind them.
In the beginning, the planet upon which we live was (as far as we now know) a large ball of flaming matter, a tiny cloud of smoke in the endless ocean of space. Gradually, in the course of millions of years, the surface burned itself out, and was covered with a thin layer of rocks. Upon these lifeless rocks the rain descended in endless torrents, wearing out the hard granite and carrying the dust to the valleys that lay hidden between the high cliffs of the steaming earth.
Finally the hour came when the sun broke through the clouds and saw how this little planet was covered with a few small puddles which were to develop into the mighty oceans of the eastern and western hemispheres.
Then one day the great wonder happened. What had been dead, gave birth to life.
The first living cell floated upon the waters of the sea.
For millions of years it drifted aimlessly with the currents. But during all that time it was developing certain habits that it might survive more easily upon the inhospitable earth. Some of these cells were happiest in the dark depths of the lakes and the pools. They took root in the slimy sediments which had been carried down from the tops of the hills and they became plants. Others preferred to move about and they grew strange jointed legs, like scorpions and began to crawl along the bottom of the sea amidst the plants and the pale green things that looked like jelly-fishes. Still others (covered with scales) depended upon a swimming motion to go from place to place in their search for food, and gradually they populated the ocean with myriads of fishes.
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Table of Contents
65 ChaptersEvery chapter below is pre-indexed for oral narration and easy 1-click scheduling into your weekly Charlotte Mason lesson plan.
Chapter 2: The Setting Of The Stage
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 2
Chapter 3: Our Earliest Ancestors
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 3
Chapter 4: Prehistoric Man Begins To Make Things For Himself
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 4
Chapter 5: The Egyptians Invent The Art Of Writing And The Record Of History Begins
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 5
Chapter 6: The Beginning Of Civilisation In The Valley Of The Nile
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 6
Chapter 7: The Rise And Fall Of Egypt
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 7
Chapter 8: Mesopotamia—The Second Centre Of Eastern Civilisation
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 8
Chapter 9: The Sumerians
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 9
Chapter 10: The Story Of Moses, The Leader Of The Jewish People
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 10
Chapter 11: The Phoenicians Who Gave Us Our Alphabet
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 11
Chapter 12: The Indo-European Persians Conquer The Semitic And The Egyptian World
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 12
Chapter 13: The Aegean Sea
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 13
Chapter 14: The Greeks
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 14
Chapter 15: The Greek Cities That Were Really States
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 15
Chapter 16: Greek Self-Government
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 16
Chapter 17: How The Greeks Lived
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 17
Chapter 18: The Origins Of The Theatre, The First Form Of Public Amusement
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 18
Chapter 19: The Persian Wars
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 19
Chapter 20: ATHENS vs. SPARTA
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 20
Chapter 21: Alexander The Great
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 21
Chapter 22: Rome And Carthage
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 22
Chapter 23: How Rome Happened
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 23
Chapter 24: The Roman Empire
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 24
Chapter 25: The Story Of Joshua Of Nazareth, Whom The Greeks Called Jesus
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 25
Chapter 26: The Twilight Of Rome
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 26
Chapter 27: How Rome Became The Centre Of The Christian World
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 27
Chapter 28: Mohammed
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 28
Chapter 29: Charlemagne
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 29
Chapter 30: The Norsemen
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 30
Chapter 31: Feudalism
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 31
Chapter 32: Chivalry
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 32
Chapter 33: POPE vs. EMPEROR
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 33
Chapter 34: The Crusades
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 34
Chapter 35: Why The People Of The Middle Ages Said That "City Air Is Free Air"
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 35
Chapter 36: Mediaeval Self-Government
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 36
Chapter 37: The Mediaeval World
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 37
Chapter 38: Mediaeval Trade
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 38
Chapter 39: The Renaissance
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 39
Chapter 40: The Age Of Expression
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 40
Chapter 41: The Great Discoveries
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 41
Chapter 42: Concerning Buddha And Confucius
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 42
Chapter 43: The Reformation
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 43
Chapter 44: The Age Of The Great Religious Controversies
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 44
Chapter 45: The English Revolution
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 45
Chapter 46: The Balance Of Power
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 46
Chapter 47: The Rise Of Russia
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 47
Chapter 48: RUSSIA vs. SWEDEN
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 48
Chapter 49: The Rise Of Prussia
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 49
Chapter 50: The Mercantile System
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 50
Chapter 51: The American Revolution
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 51
Chapter 52: The French Revolution
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 52
Chapter 53: Napoleon
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 53
Chapter 54: The Holy Alliance
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 54
Chapter 55: The Great Reaction
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 55
Chapter 56: National Independence
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 56
Chapter 57: The Age Of The Engine
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 57
Chapter 58: The Social Revolution
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 58
Chapter 59: Emancipation
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 59
Chapter 60: The Age Of Science
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 60
Chapter 61: A Chapter Of Art
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 61
Chapter 62: Colonial Expansion And War
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 62
Chapter 63: The Great War Which Was Really The Struggle For A New And Better World
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 63
Chapter 64: As It Ever Shall Be
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 64
Chapter 65: Concerning The Pictures
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 65
Chapter 66: An Historical Reading List For Children
The Story of Mankind by Hendrik Willem van Loon — Chapter 66
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