Thriving of Europe in Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond
683 Words3 Pages
Guns, Germs, and Steel Geography Essay
Why did certain early civilizations thrive and some fail? Jared Diamond, a famous author and scientist, explains in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. He believes civilizations like the ones in Europe thrived because of geographical luck. Geographic luck is the idea that people in some areas got luckier than others. For example, the Fertile Crescent had a warm, moist climate, and fertile soil to grow wheat and barley, while people that lived in places like Papua New Guinea had to hunt, and forage for their food. Geographic luck aided the European empire, and was the reason they became so powerful. One of the key reasons Europe did so well was farming. Another reason they were able to conquer so much of the world was their well-placed civilization. Finally, Europe’s weapons, made from steel, were much more advanced than the weapons possessed by the rest of the world, and they came from their good geographic placement. Understanding geography’s role in Europe’s technological advancement is important, and to do so you must look at how they became powerful in the first place, which is because of farming, and domestication.
Farming played a huge role in Europe’s rapid growth. Jared Diamond believes Europe’s domestic animals gave them an advantage by providing skins and bones for tools, and meat. Because they did not have to hunt for their meat, or forage for their food, they had more time to spend creating new inventions and ideas. Domesticated animals also helped Europeans build an immunity to smallpox, a disease that devastated other parts of the world. The disease originates from cows, but since the Europeans spent so much time around them their bodies grew accustomed to the disease. Domestic...
... middle of paper ...
...new technology and manipulated into a device of warfare and killing. This is a clear example of how Europe’s success was influenced by geographical luck.
As you can see, geographical luck was the main reason europe was so powerful, and was able to conquer so much of the world. Farming allowed Europeans to form permanent settlements, and spend time coming up with new ideas instead of gathering food. It helped them develop immunities to diseases diseases like smallpox. Europe’s technological, advancements, and superior societies were all due to it’s geographic location. It’s location also helped them develop new metalworking techniques because of knowledge passed down from their ancestors from the Fertile Crescent, and brought them new technologies like gunpowder. In the end, Europe’s success was brought on by many factors, but the main one was their geographic luck.