Comparing Jared Diamond's Theory Of 'Guns, Germs And Steel'

Jared Diamond’s theory of “Guns, Germs and Steel” accounting for global inequalities is a concept which has raised many conspiracies over the years of publication. Professor Diamond’s theory answers a significantly complex question with simple answer; the reasons which ‘history unfolded differently on different continents1’ as the result of the primary basis of geography and climate. It is an interesting and arguably true notion, which agrees greatly with the facts of history, including the Australian context during 1888 to 1900. The thesis is associated to European technological superiority over the Aborigines who lived a balanced lifestyle and did not require advancement in any regards. It is therefore important to discuss the guns, germs

and steel aspects of Diamond’s theory in the context of New South Wales during the period of European colonisation to understand the perspectives of two contrasting groups.
The English’s advancement in weaponry is an evident aspect of the ‘guns’ element in Diamond’s theory. The dangers imposed to the Aboriginal tribes upon the First Fleets’ arrival at Australia is apparent from a scene, involving an English officer firing a pistol at a bark shield to demonstrate the superiority of their arms to the Aborigines. Watkin Tench, a marine officer, described (1788), “The Indians [Indigenous Australians], though terrified at the report, did not run away, but their astonishment exceeded their alarm2.”¬ From this extract, one can perceive the purposes to which the English applied their gunnery to their advantage. The power of the ‘guns’ element, functioned as an opposing force emphasising the existence of a world beyond the sky and sea to the Aborigines. To have witnessed such a foreign phenomenon from an Aborigine’s perspective would have certainly defied all Dreamtime beliefs. Furthermore, it was not unknown for the English to oblige to the use of firearms to command respect and cause destruction in conflicts, having previously done so in the aforementioned evidence in addition to other occasions.