A Brief History of Border Walls

From China to Israel, huge barriers have been tried before

An image of a “steel slat barrier” tweeted by Donald Trump

Now that President Donald Trump forced a government shutdown over his proposed wall along the Mexican border, it’s worth taking a moment to examine other big walls in history. Let’s break it down:

Great Wall of China

This massive series of fortifications across China’s historical northern border was designed to stop raids by tribes that lived in the Eurasian Steppe. The project began as a series of smaller walls that gradually interlocked into the Great one. Much of this work took place during the Ming dynasty.

The Great Wall featured towers and garrison stations, and it did repel some raiders, but it ultimately failed at key points. For example, Hong Taiji, emperor of the Qing dynasty (fiercely opposed to the Ming dynasty), managed a spectacular breach in 1629. The Qing armies repeated that feat in 1642, on their way to overthrowing the Ming dynasty two years later.

While the wall was spectacular (bigly!), such a defense is only as good as the forces defending it—and if those forces are pulled in too many ways at once, the wall will fall.

Come to think of it, maybe the Great Wall of China isn’t a fantastic example. Let’s try…