Editing Cannibals and Kings (section)

=== Irrigation for agriculture ===
Harris examines the concept of the [[hydraulic empire]], ancient civilizations such as China, [[Persian Empire|Persia]], and [[Egypt]] that were reliant on water for agriculture. The necessity of labor-intensive projects such as [[irrigation]], [[canals]], and flood control [[Dike (construction)|dikes]] led to the development of strong, centralized, and despotic states to mobilize the needed manpower for construction. Despite foreign conquest or change of government, the nature of such states would remain essentially unchanged because of the unchanging need to mobilize human labor.

Because European agriculture relied upon rainfall and not irrigation, Harris argues, European rulers under [[feudalism]] were unable to effectively monopolize power and restrict the rising power of towns. The growth of towns and cities, from a combination of population growth and urban migration, would lead to early forms of [[market economies]].