History has been shaped by many varied forces, and controversy exists as to why some societies conquered others, instead of being conquered themselves. The book Guns, Germs, and Steel, by Jared Diamond, has an unusual theory as to why Eurasia conquered much of the world: geography. The author distills the differences among various civilizations to their underlying geographies, such as the amount of domesticable animals and plants available for farming, arguing that an excess of those factors in Eurasia gave it an edge over other societies. The author uses examples spanning the themes of human-environment interaction, culture interaction, state-building, creation of economic systems, and the development of social structures to prove his argument.
One instance of the theme of human-environment interaction in the book is the various diseases that the domestication of large animals conferred upon farming societies. The author writes that the most lethal diseases, like smallpox, flu, malaria, etc, have evolved to infect humans from animals. Over time, societies with a large variety of livestock species, such as the farming societies in Eurasia, would have been exposed to many such diseases. The people in those societies eventually became resistant, as a population, to the microbes’ harmful effects. Thus, when they came into contact with societies with fewer domesticated animals and thus fewer dangerous infections, the lethal diseases spread among the hunter-gatherers. For example, when Pizarro arrived to the Incan empire, most of the Incas had already died of diseases like smallpox that had been spread earlier by Europeans. Thus, the diseases, and indirectly domesticated animals, changed history by being the main reason that Europeans conquered the Incas, and not the opposite. Thus, this supports the author’s main argument that geography led certain societies to have an advantage over other societies. This example illustrates the theme of human-environment interaction because it is the environment, in the form of the domesticated animals, interacting with humans and passing on diseases to them, giving them more immunity to those diseases compared to hunter-gatherers. I chose this example of the theme because it was interesting to see how such small things like bacteria and viruses can have such a large effect on history, and how, even though the Eurasians suffered from the diseases in the short-term, it led them to conquer much of the world in the long-term.
An example of the theme of interaction of cultures in the book is the dissemination of gunpowder throughout the world. First, gunpowder was invented in China. The technology eventually spread to the Arabs from there. The English saw the Arabs using cannons against the Spanish, and the English introduced cannons and guns to their own armies. From there, the technology inevitably spread across all Europe, since countries who refused to use it would be conquered by those who did. An especially interesting case occurred when one New Zealand tribe acquired muskets from Europeans, thus having an enormous military advantage over other tribes. New Zealand then had the musket wars, where the individual tribes either acquired muskets or were destroyed by those who had. It is also a great example of the immense power of technology, and how even one technology can cause a large advantage for the societies that have it. This example supports the author’s argument because although the technology rapidly disseminated across Eurasia for a specific reason- the author argues this is because of its East-West axis. Specifically, the East-West Axis allowed for diffusion because locations at the same latitude have similar climates, making it easy for people to trade with each other. On the other hand, technology dissemination did not occur in the Americas, with a North-South axis, since there were many varied climates across Panama, which separated North and South America. That difference in technology made it very easy for few Europeans to subjugate Native American civilizations. This example illustrates the theme of interaction of cultures because it is about how technology spreads by way of cultures interacting, whether the technology gets spread through trade or through war. I chose the example of gun technology dissemination because it showed how cultures were forced to acquire the latest technology, even if they did not wish to do so.
An interesting example of the theme of state-building is the conquest of the Incas by the Spanish, with the Spanish aiming to expand their empire. The Incas had more than 80,000 soldiers, while the Spanish had only 150. However, using their superior metal weaponry of cannons and guns, the Spanish destroyed the Incan empire in a series of battles. An intriguing part of the conquest is what the Spanish used to justify the conquest. According to the writing of a Spanish soldier who had been with Pizarro, the reason the Spanish attacked was that Atahualpa dropped a copy of the bible on the ground after it was given to him by a priest. This example supports the author’s argument that it is geography - which causes contrasting technology in places with different geographies, as explained in the previous paragraph- that causes one society to triumph over another. This is because it shows how superior technology that arose from favorable geography, in this example ships and gunpowder, can play such a large role in the meeting of two civilizations. The Spanish subjugation of the Incas is a great example of the theme, since it shows the enormous lengths societies will go to to conquer more land and build up their state’s power. I chose this example because it was fascinating how the Spanish used a seemingly weak excuse of someone dropping a book to start an enormous war with the Incas.
The main example of the creation of an economic system in the book was the emergence of specialized workers, who could produce unique goods to trade with others, from an agricultural lifestyle. Farming developed in different locations around the world independently, though for similar reasons. First of all, there had to be suitable crops in an area, for example barley, rice, wheat, and other productive plant species. Rising populations could have led some societies to start planting crops purposefully after noticing plants growing from seeds accidentally dropped onto soil. Crops provided a large excess of food, which meant a part of the population would be free to pursue activities other than food production. These were specialized workers who could create items like pottery, art, and metal. These items were then traded with other societies. This example supports the author’s argument because it shows how important agriculture is to the creation of specialized products, which could lead to advanced technology. Specifically, geographical conditions were more favorable for agriculture in some parts of the world than in others, and those with agriculture developed an advantage over those who remained hunter-gatherers in population size, and, more importantly, developed specialized products that led to trade and dissemination of technology and ideas. Specialization because of agriculture illustrates the theme by showing how varied products emerged that could then be traded with other civilizations. I chose this example because it was intriguing how knowing the diet of a civilization correlates with its influence.
An important example of the development of social structures is the author’s description of the evolution from bands to chiefdoms. Bands are groups of less than a hundred related people. They are nomadic hunter-gatherers, and thus cannot support a large population. Tribes are larger, with hundreds of people, that live in a village and may use farming. In both, the members are kin to each other, and there is no actual leader with more power than the rest of the people. However, at the next stage of social structure, a chiefdom with thousands of people, different economic classes emerge. One person, the chief, had power over the others in that he made all the major decisions, and that role was hereditary. Food surpluses in chiefdoms went to the chief and various bureaucrats, who did not actually work the land. Slaves were sometimes used, a practice nonexistent in bands and tribes. The commoners gave tribute to the ruling class,some of which was given back to them eventually. Overall, societies became more complex and unequal as time went on. However, this evolution started occurring earlier in areas with agriculture, giving those areas that progressed to more complex societies a military and technological advantage over those still living as bands or tribes. Thus, the author’s argument is supported, since the root cause of why one society triumphed over another is once again distilled down to social structure, which in turn arouse from geography, as discussed earlier. This example illustrates the theme of development of social structure by showing its evolution from bands to chiefdoms and the changes that occurred from that progression. I chose this example because it is interesting that though societies became wealthier on the whole, most of them went to the emerging upper class, so income inequality vastly increased.
In conclusion, the book Guns, Germs, and Steel made a good argument for geography being the root cause of historical destinies of various societies. The author claims that an excess of domesticable plants and animals, an East-West axis, and other geographical factors led the Eurasians to lead the world in complex societies and technology. It was thus geography, not the people themselves that was really responsible for their success or failure, and people should take in account geographical factors when predicting the success of present societies.
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