Did Europe Create the Third World? A historiographical debate on colonialism, development, and global inequality (19 October 2026)

• Did European colonialism create the poverty of the modern developing world? Historians have offered sharply different answers. This essay examines the evidence behind one of the most important debates in modern history. Read more →

Why are low incomes clustered in the tropics? Is climate the answer?



• Because wet and extreme dry seasons alternate in the semi-arid tropical climate, control over water formed the foundation of tropical development, through a pathway that generates inequality and environmental stress.