1. Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay
Guns, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond, attempts to explain why
history progressed differently for people from various geographical regions. Diamond introduces his
book by pointing out that history followed different courses for different people because of
differences among peoples' environments, not because of biological differences among people
themselves. Through his convincing explanation for how civilizations were created and evolved
throughout the course of history, he argues that environmental factors gave some societies
advantages over others, allowing them to conquer the disadvantaged societies. While I agree with
Diamond's argument that the orientation of continental axis, availability of potential...show more
content...
The establishment of food production proved to be more fulfilling than hunting and gathering since
it reduced the risk of starvation. Despite being provided with some of the advantages that came with
transitioning to agriculture, many regions remained as hunter–gatherers. While some areas, such as
the Fertile Crescent and Eurasia, had many advantageous plants and animals that could be
domesticated, other areas, New Guinea, Eastern United States, and Mesoamerica, possessed limited
availability. Some areas are simply not suited to agriculture of any kind, while others may support
some crops that are suitable for domestication but not others. Likewise, while there were big animals
living in several regions, those species were not suitable for domestication since they did not follow
the six requirements, which involved being sufficiently obedient, humble to humans, cheap to feed,
able to breed well in captivity, immune to diseases, able to grow rapidly (Diamond 1999, 169). On
the other hand, in some areas, food production developed independently. However, only a few places
developed food production without any outside influence, which included the Fertile Crescent in
western Eurasia, China, the eastern United States, Mesoamerica, and New Guinea. In the Andes and
Amazonians, and three areas of Africa, food production was also probably an independent
development, but there are
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2. Guns, Germs, And Steel
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Prologue:
1.Yali's question puzzles over why the white people have become more successful than others.
Diamond states that Eurasian societies were set to dominate from before 3000 B.C. He wants to
know why other races are unable to be as advanced with technology and power.
2.Diamond's first objection is implying that if we explain why some people rule over others we're
okay with the domination by others. His second reason explains that Europeans are disappearing
anyways and it's wrong to talk about them dominating the world. His third objection states that we
must understand other societies and that the question implies that some are better than others.
3.A "Eurocentric" approach to history is a way of teaching history, mainly focused onEurope, while
ignoring the other countries such as China, India, Japan, Southeast Asia, or other societies.
4.Diamond believes that everyone's intelligence is based on where they live and grew up. One major
point explaining that Europeans are not more inborn intelligent than New Guineans, is that the New
Guineans need intelligence to live in the wilderness. Another is the lack of entertainment and
distractions they have which doesn't negatively affect their brain development.
5.Passive entertainment means little to no interactivity due to entertainment such as television,
videogames, or radio. While Americans are busy spending hours with these activities, New Guineans
are out doing something that encourages them
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3. Guns Germs And Steel
Throughout Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond explains the importance of geography in
the ways ancient civilizations grew and spread and how some areas were more advanced than
others. He began his research when he was asked a question by a Papua New Guinea residence,
Yali. Yali had asked Diamond "[w]hy you white man have so much cargo and we New Guineans
have so little?" At that point Diamond had no answer and he was curious to find out why Eurasia
had a head start in civilizing people meanwhile the other continents were behind. As a result, several
differences were made between countries that did not have the same resources as those who were
advanced. Some of the developing countries were poor and they had to rely on whatever was given
to them through nature. When Diamond went to Papua New Guinea, he discovered that the
residences of the island had the same routine as those in the ancient civilizations of Eurasia. They
would often hunt for animals and used stone weapons instead of metal....show more content...
They didn't have the proper farmland and the same animals. Furthermore, this digressed the way
their civilization spread and grew. Diamond researched and established that certain lands were
blessed only due to their geographical location. The earliest civilization began in the Fertile
Crescent in the Middle East. This land had rich soil and a variety of animals, which made the land
promised and geographically lucky. As time passed people living in the area learned new ways to
keep their civilization alive. The Fertile Crescent became known as the "Promised Land" and a way
of survival was introduced as farming and the domestication of
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4. Guns, Germs And Steel
Guns, germs, and steel have developed the world significantly, so that different continents have
geological advantages over others. Guns had a large impact on why Europeans were able to
dominate others. Germs affected others who were exposed to new diseases, and were unable to
adapt an immune system to avoid getting ill. Steel helped the world grow in economic power, and
those civilizations that had a greater range of metallic technologies, like steel have always defeated
their rivals.
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5. Guns, Germs, And Steel
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Book Review
Why do the origins of every major civilization lead to European conquest and settlement? How did
Europe somehow gain the upper hand so early in history? Gun, Germs, and Steel: The Fates of
Human Societies delivers a clear theory as to why the Europeans were able to conquer almost the
entire world in less then one millennium. Jared Diamond, an esteemed historian takes readers on a
journey through time. He explains that through many different factors and resources, Europe was
able to conquer nearly every civilization due to three major factors, guns, germs, and steel. Diamond
constructs the majority of his arguments based upon the political, economical, and natural
differences and variances between each continent. In the prologue, his friend Yali asks the question,
"How did Europe end up with all the 'cargo'?" This question was never fully answered but Diamond
goes on to explain how Europe used this so–called "cargo" to exploit every weakness of smaller and
less developed civilizations. So the question remains, how did Europe get so lucky when it came to
their natural resources and supplies? Many people think that the "cargo" found in Eurasia was
unquestionably responsible for allowing the European colonies to conquer almost every other
society. In spite of the fact that Diamond constructs most of his argument based upon this point,
others believe that the cargo had nothing to do with Europe's success.
Did Europe have
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