What are the roots of inequality? What do some societies have that cause them to progress while others fall behind? From the three episodes of Guns, Germs, and Steel, viewers can conclude that the success of a civilization depends on their location. Different environments give different advantages, such as livestock, crops, and metal. Domesticated animals were an essential part of the growth of powerful nations. Only fourteen animals have been domesticated in 10,000 years Middle Easterners had animals like horses and cattle to plow terrain more quickly and efficiently. Livestock animals came from the Fertile Crescent to Europe and were used for food, clothing, milk, and labor. When Spaniards battled with the Incans, they rode in on horses, …show more content…
People started working with metal in the Fertile Crescent 7000 years ago. This metalwork lead to the creation of sophisticated tools and weapons. Instead of stone and wood tools, which were easy damaged, metal tools proved reliable. Swords and knives were created from metal, and eventually so were guns. When Europeans arrived in Africa in the mid-1600s, these weapons saved their lives. A native African army attacked and killed nearly 300 Europeans to stop them from advancing into Zulu territory. When they attacked again in a fight called the Battle of Blood River, the Europeans were prepared. They used their guns to defend themselves, and the soldiers guarding Zulu were decimated. Three to three and a half thousand African soldier were killed in the Battle of Blood River. Where people lived decided whether or not they would prosper. Even the most resourceful people will only get so far if they do not have any resources to work with. The Europeans thrived and flourished in their climate and geographic location, and there was nothing others could do to make up for the limitations nature imposed on its population. Pure environmental luck was the determining factor of a regions
Jared Diamond discusses the reasons why geographical and environmental factors lead to a more rapid progression of certain civilizations throughout history. The book Guns, Germs and Steel portrays an argument that due to some societies’ access to an area witch contains sufficient amounts of wildlife and climates that are easily inhabitable, these societies developed into more advanced ways of living much easier and also earlier than societies who lacked these geographical attributes. These beneficial geographical attributes promoted the growth of technological improvements in weapons, religion, and farming.
Major domesticated animals in the Old World in 1492: horse, cow, pig, sheep, goat, chicken, camel, oxen, cat, dog
Livestock and agriculture grown in Europe became important as the Columbian Exchange slowly overtook the Americas. Water and wind were harnessed for power on farms, and domesticated animals were a crucial element of farm life also. Pigs and sheep were the main source of meat and leather. Mules pulled
Domestication is a very useful skill that has remained the same for many years. Animals can be used for meat, milk, wool, etc. They are also used as farming tools and transportation. Certain animals much better suited to domestication than others; Jared Diamond calls this the “anna Karenina principle’ (Class Lecture).
When the Columbian Exchange didn’t happen yet many of the Native Americans had to do all of the labor by themselves without any use of animals. After the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought over horses, dogs, cattle, goats, and chicken and it provided the Natives with a new source of labor and also with a new source of food. Many of these animals carried diseases and humans were dying. Those diseases that the animals carried with them came to the New World. Cattle were very profitable because you could eat their meat and also use their hides as a blanket. The cattle hides were then shipped back to Europe to be sold as well as the meat. Cattle have a downfall because they were destroying Native American crops by eating them or by just simply stepping on them. Black rats carried bubonic plague and typhus; the black rats came from the Old World to the New World and that plague spread to the colonist. The plague also killed off some of the smaller animals that belong to the Native Americans. Horses also land a great impact in the new world for Europeans; they used horses to scare the Native Americans because the natives didn’t know what a horse was and what they do. Horses have lots of power and compared to the other animals the horses are much faster and have a bolder look and that is why the Natives are so frightened of
The Old World introduced horses, pig, cattle, and sheep, which helped the Europeans while they were settling. Before the arrival of these animals the native people only had turkeys, llamas, alpacas, and dogs. However, years after Columbus’ arrival the cattle and sheep because wild and were everywhere. The Natives were not very pleased with these wild animals, considering that they would destroy food crops. The horse, however, made the lives of the Natives easier by helping them move and kill faster than before. Due to horses, Indians decided to leave farming and become nomadic buffalo hunters which made them a bigger enemy to the settlers. For this reason horses were one of the few things that the native peoples would want from the Europeans.
Due to the domestication of animals along with plants these nomadic people created steady food source no longer requiring them to follow their food but raise it themselves (Author 2010). The wheel was not created until the Bronze age, therefore animals were not used for farming, put they provide other resources to humans (Authors 2007). Much like today they used the wool from sheep for clothing, other animals such as goats where used for meat and even milk. During the Neolithic Revolution, the first wolves were domesticated as pups to help with herding once grown (Authors 20071). Other animals they domesticated are pigs and cattle. Because of their ever-growing knowledge of farming, they also would use the manure of the animals as fertilizer in the fields to richen the soil for the crops (Authors 2007).
When the Columbian Exchange didn’t happen yet many of the Native Americans had to do all of the labor by themselves without any use of animals. After the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought over horses, dogs, cattle, goats, and chicken and it provided the Natives with a new source of labor and also with a new source of food. Many of these animals carried diseases and humans were dying. Those diseases that the animals carried with them came to the New World. Cattle were very profitable because you could eat their meat and also use their hides as a blanket. The cattle hides were then shipped back to Europe to be sold as well as the meat. Cattle have a downfall because they were destroying Native American crops by eating them or by just simply stepping on them. Black rats carried bubonic plague and typhus; the black rats came from the Old World to the New World and that plague spread to the colonist. The plague also killed off some of the smaller animals that belong to the Native Americans. Horses also land a great impact in the new world for Europeans; they used horses to scare the Native Americans because the natives didn’t know what horse was and what they do. Horses have lots of power and compared to the other animals the horses are much faster and have a bolder look and that is why the Natives are so frighten of
When the Columbian Exchange didn’t happen yet many of the Native Americans had to do all of the labor by themselves without any use of animals. After the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought over horses, dogs, cattle, goats, and chicken and it provided the Natives with a new source of labor and also with a new source of food. Many of these animals carried diseases and humans were dying. Those diseases that the animals carried with them came to the New World. Cattle were very profitable because you could eat their meat and also use their hides as a blanket. The cattle hides were then shipped back to Europe to be sold as well as the meat. Cattle have a downfall because they were destroying Native American crops by eating them or by just simply stepping on them. Black rats carried bubonic plague and typhus; the black rats came from the Old World to the New World and that plague spread to the colonist. The plague also killed off some of the smaller animals that belong to the Native Americans. Horses also land a great impact in the new world for Europeans; they used horses to scare the Native Americans because the natives didn’t know what a horse was and what they do. Horses have lots of power and compared to the other animals the horses are much faster and have a bolder look and that is why the Natives are so frightened of
When the Columbian Exchange didn’t happen yet many of the Native Americans had to do all the labor by themselves without any use of animals. After the Columbian Exchange, Columbus brought over horses, dogs, cattle, goats, and chicken and it provided the Natives with a new source of labor and a new source of food. Many of these animals carried diseases and humans were dying. Those diseases that the animals carried with them came to the New World. Cattle were very profitable because you could eat their meat and also use their hides as a blanket. The cattle hides were then shipped back to Europe to be sold as well as the meat. Cattle have a downfall because they were destroying Native American crops by eating them or by just simply stepping on them. Black rats carried bubonic plague and typhus; the black rats came from the Old World to the New World and that plague spread to the colonist. The plague also killed off some of the smaller animals that belong to the Native Americans. Horses also land a great impact in the new world for Europeans; they used horses to scare the Native Americans because the natives didn’t know what a horse was and what they do. Horses have lots of power and compared to the other animals the horses are much faster and have a bolder look and that is why the Natives are so frightened of them. The more and more the horses got in contact with the Natives;
Clearly the largest cause for inequalities within regions are Economic factors, As shown they have the largest impact as development in certain places will lead to migration and only make the development in the less developed parts slow even further and mean that the Gap becomes ever larger. Other Causes do contribute such As environmental Factors; E.g in the south climate change has prohibited framing which again widens the gap. Social Factors such as corrupt governments play a part in the ever widening Gap, also because the south was seen as Backwards there is little attempt to narrow the gap by
Jared Diamond's bestseller Guns, Germs, and Steel (GG&S) is an attempt to explain why some parts of the world are currently powerful and prosperous while others are poor. Diamond is both a physiologist and a linguist who spends a good deal of his time living with hunter gathers in Papua New Guinea. As a researcher and as a human being, he is convinced that all people have the same potential. Hunter gatherers are just as intelligent, resourceful, and diligent as anybody else. Yet material "success" isn't equally distributed across the globe. Civilization sprung up in relatively few places and spread in a defined pattern. I should emphasize that Diamond doesn't equate material
Income inequality has been a major issue in American history. There are many different factors that contribute to inequality. These include education, wealth, discrimination, ability, and monopoly power.
There are many reasons as to why the Europeans were able to make empires far away from their homelands. The first reason being that Europeans were near the Americas unlike their opponents (Asia) in which were father away. The Europeans were determined to gain more land, enlarge the religion of Christianity, and expand the economy by gaining more territory. Every European had their own reasoning for wanting to expand therefore, everyone had their own motives. Another reason that enabled them was that they were also involved in trading which helped them transport items to and from the Americas. The last reason was the Europeans immunity to diseases. While many Americans fell ill because of all of the European diseases, the Europeans did not, enabling them to conquer more land.
Why the income inequality exists in America? There are numerous reasons why income inequality exists in America and why people get sick from it. Scarcity is not the reason for income inequality. We certainly have enough, but what we have is unequally distributed. People who are at the top of the ladder possess high percentage of the wealth and income and this leads to poverty and income inequality. One other reason for the income inequality is discrimination. It is structural causes that let the discrimination to exist in our country. Social structures harm people by excluding the