Cause and Effect Essay: How Weather Has Changed World History

Some people think that humans control their fates. The decisions that people make in their
daily lives can affect many things, and their lives reflect these many small decisions. On the other
hand, people cannot control every part of their environment, and forces beyond human control
often affect human lives. Although some people have an opinion that the weather has little
influence in their lives besides determining what clothes they wear, the weather has caused
military history to shift in important ways that are still felt today.
The first effect of bad weather was in the thirteenth century, when Khubilai Khan ruled over
the huge Mongol empire. To increase his territory, Khubilai Khan led two invasions of Japan.
However, two monsoons caused him to end his attacks. According to Delgado, “The legend of the
Khan speaks of gigantic ships, numbering into the thousands, crewed by Mongol warriors, and of
casualties on a massive scale, with more than 100,000 lives lost in the final invasion attempt of
1281”. Because of this unexpected defeat, Khubilai Khan decided to stage a third invasion of
Japan, but he died before he could fulfill this goal. The effect of these monsoons was that Japan
was saved from invasion.
The second effect of weather is how it changed the result of America’s Revolutionary War.
In 1776, the British were very close to defeating the armies of America and incorporating it back
into the empire. The British soldiers were well-trained and disciplined. In contrast, the American
troops were newly trained, poorly organized, and didn’t have the resources to fight well. General
George Washington could have easily been defeated in the Battle of Long Island on August 22,
1776. According to Seymour, “Sir William Howe, the British commander, was clearly defeating
Washington on Long Island.” However, the weather changed when a heavy fog came, so the
American army was able to retreat, regroup, and survive to fight another day. The weather
changed, and consequently the United States was not defeated in its struggle for freedom.
Thirdly, when Napoleon Bonaparte invaded Russia in the early nineteenth century, he had
some early successes that showed he might rule the world. His soldiers captured Moscow and
destroyed the city, which encouraged him to invade farther. However, Napoleon didn’t pay
attention to the fact that Russian winters are extremely cold. When the temperatures fell below
freezing, many of his soldiers and their horses froze. According to Belloc, “The cold was the
abominable thing: The dreadful enemy against which men could not fight and which destroyed
them”. Due to the fact that Napoleon’s invasion failed, his rule ended soon after.
As these three examples show, weather has caused big shifts in world history. Today we
can predict with accuracy when thunderstorms, hurricanes, tsunamis, and tornadoes will strike,
but our lives are still affected by the influence of the weather.