Germs Guns and Steel

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The Europeans colonized most of America because they saw the land they had available where they could expand their influence on the world. Also, they were able to establish colonies that sent raw materials home which would make them money. Through the analysis of Jared Diamonds video Guns, Germs, and Steel, this essay will show that the Europeans were able to conquer the Native American’s so easily because of their geography, weapons, and diseases. The advantages from the geography that the Europeans had allowed them to have agriculture and domesticated animals causing complex societies to be developed which lead to the conquering of the Native Americans (Guns, Germs, and Steel Video). The germs and diseases that were exposed to the America’s made the settlement of the land a lot easier. Since the Europeans settlers did not understand the causes of Malaria, they settled by river and water sources where they were exposed to Malaria even more. Also, they all lived close by each other so the epidemics were occurring often and were very deadly to the other settlers (Guns, Germs, and Steel Video). The Europeans had great agriculture. Since there was rich soil, they were able to harvest a lot. For example, cereal crops like wheat and barley. These were easy to store and also very easy to produce. All you had to do was scatter the seeds around in order to get the plant to start growing. Also, they were very high in calories so it filled you up quickly (Guns, Germs, and Steel Video). There were a lot of different plants to gather. Gathering was a lot easier and effecting than hunting. Most of the gathering was done by women. Domesticated animals were a way of life to the Europeans. As well as meat, animals could be used for their milk, ... ... middle of paper ... ... to. Since they had been exposed to these diseases, their bodies were immune. When the people of the America’s and the South African cape came in contact with these germs, they were automatically killed in large numbers. The African’s knew how to avoid Malaria by living in dry areas since mosquitoes were responsible for spreading the diseases to begin with. However, Malaria was the number one killer for children under the age of five (Guns, Germs, and Steel Video). As you can see, the Europeans were able to conquer the Native American’s easily. They were able to do this because of their geography, weapons, and diseases. Their soil was very rich and they had domesticated animals. Also, the guns they had allowed them to shoot from long distances. Their horses allowed the Europeans to travel faster. Also, the diseases like Malaria and Smallpox let them settle easier.

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