The Geological And Biological Strength Of Europe Chapter Summary

The geographical advantages of Eurasia allowed civilizations to develop productive agriculture, and domesticated animals as a result the Europeans had food surplus, developed immunity to epidemic diseases, and forged steel. These inherited advantages allowed them to decimate other civilizations and appropriate their resources making them even more powerful.

So the question remains, how did Europe get so lucky when it came to their natural resources and supplies? Many people think that the “cargo” found in Eurasia was unquestionably responsible for allowing the European colonies to conquer almost every other society. In spite of the fact that Diamond constructs most of his argument based upon this point, others believe that the cargo had nothing to do with Europe’s success.

Geography and history are different ways of looking at the world, but they are so closely related that neither one can afford to neglect the other. Moreover, each of them offers not just one perspective upon the world, but also multiple perspectives upon the characters of people, places and

During the period of 1492 to 1750, Europe experienced drastic changes during their Age of Discovery. As a result of contact and colonization, Western Europe’s economy, political, social, and military systems changed, but also maintained certain aspects that enabled them to build strong civilizations. Such changes include increased (international) trade routes, more centralized governments such as monarchies, decreased unifying influence of the Catholic Church, and increased interest in military conquest and expansion.

1500 A.D. is known as the Rise of Europe. Europe took Chinese inventions and developed them to their full potential. They used the new ideas for overseas expansions, in return, this triggered more technological advances and changes. This caused a transition from medieval to modern civilization. The rise of the nation-state also was an important factor in the rise of Europe. European power rose to a new level of effectiveness and for the first time it gave Europeans a clear margin of superiority over the other great world cultures. European's domination was challenged and rejected. Others felt that Europe's domination left little to individual choice and destroys life's richness and diversity. The two historical fault lines that run in Europe are significant because they stand for the lines that show where war and conflict was located.

The book, Germs, Guns, and Steel: The Fates of Human Societies, by Jared Diamond, shows how different cultures followed different courses of history. The book also looks at how Europe became the superpower it is and how it evolved faster than other cultures at the time. This is because some environments provide more favorable conditions for new societies than other environments. Diamond says there are four main reasons the Europeans rose to power and were able to expand across the globe. The first reason is because the continent of Europe has different animals and plants ready for domestication meaning more food which lead to a larger population. The second reason is there were more technology and innovation from all the domestication of

“Geography has made us neighbors. History has made us friends. Economics has made us partners, and necessity has made us allies. Those whom God has so joined together, let no man put asunder.” ~(John F. Kennedy) Geography has impacted countries and regions dissimilarly throughout the duration of history. Geography influences the historical and social development of a country or region. These features can either cause an area to be hindered or prosperous in its development. Likewise, the Tigris and Euphrates rivers of Mesopotamia were essential because it provided fertile soil for crops, trade, transport and the necessities to food sources. Also, the mountainous terrain of Greece caused the country to have independent city- states. The mountains

In the beginning of this book Yali asked Jared Diamond a question, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?”, and in the epilogue Diamond answers. The answer to Yali’s question is that the geography and environment of Europe was an advantage which they used to dominate and conquer people of New Guinea and other remote areas. The difference in animal and plant domestication, rates of diffusion, and migration due to ecological barriers between continents has contributed to Europe as an advanced continent. Europe also came to dictate the Fertile Crescent and China which were the first to develop the earliest food production. The Fertile Crescent underwent

It is amazing to look at how much Western Europe developed from the start of 1450 to 1750. After the Fall of Rome, Western Europe had a very backward civilization. Many changes happened in Western Europe that made evolution possible. It all started in 1450 with the Renaissance, then in 1600 with the Scientific Revolution and then ending with the Enlightenment in 1750. Western Europe went from having a backward civilization to having a big world power.

For many generations, it was taught that the expansion of Europe to the Americas, (also known as the European expansion), had a huge impact on all societies of the old world. The importance of this was taught to societies all across the world, and was indeed a necessary occurrence. Up until recently, the idea was never given any real thought for the majority of people as to how, over many generations in the family and throughout the passage of time, how they precisely got where they are currently today, as well as what kind of pain and suffering the continents known as North and South America was initially founded on. European expansion did have some positive effects for the Europeans, such as new lands and resources, however at the same time it had caused many more negative effects on both the Natives and Europeans.

Jared Diamond’s theory of landmass helps explain why the Europeans were much more successful with their diverse crops, plants and animals. Their soil and weather made it a lot easier to grow diverse crops and plants thus leading to a wider range of animals. The wider range of animals helped the Europeans domesticate the animals for trade and to reproduce the animals for a greater food

Europe is the second smallest continent and though it is small it contains forty countries, it's heavily populated just under six hundred million people. Its countries have had and still have a major impact on world affairs, whether it's fashion industry, famous for their cuisines, and their advances in technology, and the way some of these European countries enjoy high level of development despite major physiographical challenges. Europe is rich for their resources like the cultivable soils which is great for their farming and wild animals that can be domesticated to do help with labors. They are also known for their rich fishing waters and they also contain deposits of oil and natural gas.

Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900, by ecological historian Alfred W. Crosby explores how “portmanteau biota”, helped Europeans to eradicate whole societies in the Neo-Europes (xv, 89). Crosby believes that temperate zones, climates similar to that of Europe, allowed European biota to thrive, which allowed for European expansion. Crosby discusses the Norse invasions and the Crusades as examples of how Europeans were not able to expand. Crosby claims that climate was crucial to European expansion because it allowed portmanteau biota to thrive. The strength in Crosby’s argument is that he introduces ecology as a crucial factor in European expansion. However, he forgets that without technology, ecological

In the article, The Boundaries of Europe: Deconstructing Three Regional Narratives, Lila Leontidou mentions that shifting the borders of Europe will impact the domains of European cultures and the identities as well as influence the economy, politics, and social organization. In order to understand how or why European culture is secular, the author gives information regarding the wars that led to the reconstruction of the European borders and the creation of the hierarchies. This concept of constructing borders related to the article, Policing Borders, Producing Boundaries. The Government of Immigration in Dark Time, where Fassin mentions that borders represent the division in society. The author makes a reference to Michel Foucault's interpretation

Europe is given special consideration thus far in this class. What made Europe or European civilization unique in the perspective of some authors? It went from ‘marginal’ status to powerful region in a few hundred years. What did this process look like? Be sure to address this at the various levels (ideological, behavioral, institutional, material etc.). Are there reasons for this dominance that are more important than others?