HISTORY OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION PART-3

Carriages: 17th century Throughout the Middle Ages, when Europe's roads are little more than tracks, wheeled vehicles are used only for the laborious process of carting goods from place to place. When going on a journey, the able-bodied ride; the infirm are carried in a litter. This changes in the 17th century, when there is some improvement in the paving of roads. Carriages...

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HISTORY OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION PART-2

The great canal of Darius I: 6th century BC The cutting of canals for irrigation has been an essential part of the civilization of Mesopotamia, controlling the water of the Euphrates and the Tigris. Several canals link the two rivers, and small boats use these waterways. But the world's first canal created purely for water transport is an incomparably more ambitious affair. Between...

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HISTORY OF TRAVEL AND TRANSPORTATION PART-1

The sledge: 7000-4000 BC From the beginning of human history people have dragged any load too heavy to be carried. But large objects are often of awkward shape and texture, liable to snag on any roughness in the ground. The natural solution is to move them on a platform with smooth runners - a sledge. Wooden sledges are first known, by at least 7000 BC, among communities...

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