Choosing a place to settle
Every settlement began with a decision about where to build, and that decision still shapes the place today.
The first settlers had no planners and no detailed maps. They chose land that met their everyday needs. They needed water to drink, ground that stayed dry, protection from attackers and bad weather, and materials to build with and burn. Places that met these needs survived. Places that also sat on good routes for travel and trade often kept growing.
The reasons a settlement started in a place are not always the reasons it is important now. Keeping these two ideas apart will help you when you read maps later. How settlements develop and change their function over time is covered in the lesson on development and growth of settlements.
Imagine a group of farming families arriving in an empty river valley with only what they can carry. Write a list of five things they would look for before building.
Then rank your list from most to least important. Most of your list will turn out to be physical factors, and any that involve other people (roads, neighbours, markets) are human factors.
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