Jared Diamond

“Why do white men have so much cargo and we, Papua New Guineans, have little?” This question sparked one mans journey to find out how one country could have so little and another could became so prosperous. That man was Jared Diamond, a professor at UCLA, a biologist by training and a specialist in human physiology. Diamond spent many years in Papua New Guinea studying birds but one year, a man on the beach asked him a question. That question has since taken him to the Fertile crescent, South America, and Africa to study one of the most important question about our history. Jared diamond believes he has the answer to the question. Eurasian societies prospered, when other countries did not, because of how they were geographically located and

how much knowledge they had of the land they were given.

Luck, a word that describes how fortunate you become without actually putting forth any effort. Many could say that Eurasians had luck and new Guineans did not have any. Further than luck though is knowledge. Eurasians were dealt an amazing hand when it come to how they were geographically located and Papua New Guinean’s hand was not as good. The fertile crescent was the first place to farm or domesticate animals. They farmed hardy grains and handled mammals able to preform many different tasks. The knowledge and goods the Fertile Crescent had spread east and west along the same latitude, right into the heart of Eurasia. Because of the climate and soil, Eurasia was able to grow hardy crops that fed the whole village. They were also able to use the animals that came from the fertile crescent in many different ways: milking, for labor, meat, for warmth from their hair and many more things. Back in new guinea they didn't have the same crops as eurasia. They were dealt a different hand geographically. There they would have hunters and gathers to get food which took long hours and a lot of work. They also could farm small things, but it would go bad easily and wasn't able to be stored for years like they could in Eurasia. The plants they had also lacked protein, something that is substantial for growing a city. When there is more food to go around there is a growth in the population. Then they are able feed pharaohs, scribes, artist, and generals. In the end, Papua New Guineans were not able to become as technologically advanced as Eurasia because the spent so much time feeding themselves.

It is crazy to think that food could have so much of an impact on a society. In the next situation Diamond looks at, food is not the problem. The Incas were a large organized city of native americans in South america. They grew there own food, domesticated animals, and had a huge army but yet they were still at a disadvantage compared to Eurasia. This time knowledge about your land and where you are geographically located played a huge part. The Fertile Crescent started playing with fire years ago and since then, after spreading to Eurasia, the knowledge had time to be perfected. Eurasians had guns and horses and high tech metal gear. The incas had their own type of weapons but they were no match for guns. The Incas domesticated animals like the, docile creature, llama. The llama had no way to be harnessed as an aid in battle nor was it able to do hard labor. Eurasia controlled all the big domesticated animals. When put head to head the incas out numbered the conquistadors by thousands. yet when in battle the Eurasians slaughtered the army of Incas because they possessed horses to carry them, guns to shoot and scare them and last but not least the incas were truly not ready. it was unfair war but what happened after was even more unfair and deadly. The biggest weapon of all was brought in secret and the Conquistadors did not even know they possessed it. After capturing the Emperor, the Conquistadors started to strip the land of all of its resources and no one stood in their way because the deadly germs they brought with them had swept through the city of thousands killing many. Eurasians were not as susceptible to the diseases because they grew up becoming immune. Working and living in close corders with the domesticated animals helped save the eurasians from being affect from the viruses the animals possessed when conquering other lands. Steel and guns helped the conquistador conquer an amazing society so easily. To only think what if they both had the same geographical location, would it be a better match? We will never know, but what we do know for sure is that the location Eurasia possess has helped them be twenty steps ahead.

Germs worked in the favor of the Eurasians when conquering the Incas but when they reach Africa the tables seem to switch.

Eurasians decide the next place they would like to colonize is Africa. There journey starts at the cape of Africa, where they first land. The natives they meet there are not violent and quickly release their land to the Eurasians. Here the weather and climate are almost the same as back home so there crops and animals prosper just like before. After a while some decide they are going to move inland to find more land, expecting it to be like the cape. Further in on their journey they realize that the native people here are not as docile and things come to a war. Many on both sides were killed but the eurasians prevail due to their guns. The eurasians begin to settle down next to rivers and large bodies of water not knowing this will be there downfall. Here, the natives know there land very well. They know the diseases that are here and how to avoid them. They were not dealt the most amazing geographical position but with what knowledge they have, they have been able to survive. The Eurasians and their animals begin to die and their crops wont grow here like in the cape. They settled in big groups which used to work but now it is working against them. Malaria is a diseases carried by mosquitos. The natives in Africa knew the ways to keep from everyone getting sick. They settled in small groups making sure it did not spread that much, they settled in dry

areas away from large bodies of water and had made a sort of vaccine that helped them become more immune. It had seemed the Africa had defeated the guns, germs and steel. if they had beat the Eurasians in a sort of way, many asked why they are so behind. Currently Africa is still not a very technologically advanced society because their geography is holding them back. It is hard for a country to advance when so many people are sick. There ways of life that saved them a long time ago are no longer helping. Diamond believes that just because they were dealt this hand does not mean they will not some day prevail. Hopefully, they can conquer germs so they can go on to develop a better society, with of course guns and steel.

Watching this documentary i was shocked at how the answer to a huge question could be so simple.

After hearing the entire argument and its supporting factors I agree with diamonds argument. Imagine trying to build an entire city if you have no food, it would be almost impossible if everyone was needed to gather food. With farming and the domestication of animals, Eurasia had the upper hand when it came to technological development. With the fertile crescent so close, they gained many things that helped push them into one of the richest societies. Because, of their geography they had a chance to grow the right crops and domesticate the right animals. It isn't weather they could farm it is what they can farm. Societies like Papua New Guinea did not have a chance to develop steel because they did not have the resources to spare someone to do things like that. When you have an abundance of food that only takes a little bit of people to make, you have enough to feed people who invest their lives in things that better a

society.

After everything has been presented it is clear to see why certain societies prospered and other did not. It comes down to one small but yet huge thing: geography. euasians had the upper hand because they were geographically located right next to the Fertile resant. The information and goods that spread from there to Eurasia allowed the society to grow, create, and prosper. In Papua New Guinea, their society was held back because they could not make enough food to support the growth of a complex society. The Incas on the other hand were effected by the guns and the germs that the conquistadors brought. Then the africans were just effected by germs all together. All of these societies have different levels of societies all dependent on their geography. Diamond reminds us that the societies are doomed, this is not a reason to quit, but to say that if they master the lands they were given they could come out in the end with a complex society as the Eurasians. In the end, Gun, germs, and steel where all a result of luck, and geography.