Historical Bookends: England and Japan.

The article discusses how being islands shaped the economic histories of England and Japan. England had the advantage of being in a temperate zone which made farming and animal husbandry much easier and reduced the number of diseases. It also benefited from being an island, which made transportation and trade easier and prevented the population from being isolated. Its close location to Europe also involved it in continental affairs. Similar conditions prevailed in Japan, but the larger distance between the island and the rest of Asia allowed the country to cut itself off when it suited its development needs.