The first factor is the continental differences in wild plants and animals because animals have diseases as well therefore these diseases also spread to humans. Every continent has different species of animals and plants; for example, Eurasia had the five major domesticated animals. The five major animals were found in the Fertile Crescent in Eurasia; from there these animals were transported elsewhere in Eurasia and Northern Africa. These animals were not found anywhere else in the world; the only domesticated animal found in the Americas was the llama but they were still not used for agricultural purposes. Even domesticated animals have diseases which can spread to other animals and human beings. The Americas and Sub-Saharan were not immune to many diseases compared to Eurasia; therefore, when the Europeans went over to the Americas the…
These germs that Europeans carried where animal viruses that developed into human viruses because both came into contact where farming usually happens. When Europeans went to the Americas to conquer many places, they eventually ended off killing a lot of Natives with their animal carried viruses. This was such a tragedy that only few native Indians survived the different types of viruses that Europeans carried. Germs that carried over to natives in the Americas made them very weak and Europeans had most control of them, without germs Europeans would have not been able to conquer most of the Americas. Germs nowadays is still a huge problem in today’s Africa where Malaria kills thousands of people each day and also killed off many Europeans in the late 1800s that tried to settle in central…
A.) In the Prologue of Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond, a local politician name Yali asks Jared Diamond a question, the answer to it is explain throughout the rest of the book. His 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?’” By this, Yali wants to know why the advancements in some areas are greater than in others, why there are richer and poorer people, and why the specific races seem to prevail over the others. Yali singled out caucasian and african-americans in this question, but Diamond explains in this section how his question applies to all races. Domination within parts of the countries relate with his question and with the advancements in each country determine how much power they have. The differences in political and technological development set some countries ahead of others and Yali wondered how this came to be, how did it come to be where certain countries can dominate others. His question can deal with how different rates of industrialization came to be and why they are distributed how they are today. Yali’s question can be expanded in many ways and this book explains major ideas to try and answer his question.…
Domesticated animals were a big part of what led Eurasia to become so successful. The animals not only provided sources of food for people, but they provided the germs that allowed many Asian and European explorers to conquer most of the world. Europeans carried germs with them that came from their “long intimacy with domesticated animals” as they often lived in their homes or very close by (205). Europeans were immune to most of the diseases they carried due to the fact that they had been exposed to the germs for a number of years. Though when…
The book Guns, Germs, and Steel by Jared Diamond attempts to answer the question, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had so little cargo of our own?” This question was asked by Yali, a New Guinean politician talking to Jared Diamond. Jared Diamond answers this question by analyzing the development of civilization across the globe, from the deserts of Africa to the woodlands of North America. Each of these civilizations progressed in different ways, some slower than others. Mr. Diamond shows how different aspects of society were developed in different parts of the world, like how 13 large mammals were domesticated in Eurasia, but none were domesticated in Sub-Saharan Africa or Australia. These small details end up compiling together to explain exactly why different societies developed so differently. The author uses clear ideas and thoughts to explain the course of history. He systematically explores different pieces of human development, from domesticating plants and animals to creating different types of weapons. There is a certain need for this book because no one had set out to answer this question before, even though many have asked it in different ways. Scholars had always been arguing about the development of civilizations, and having one book compile information from hundreds of sources allows for a distinct answer. The author used many different types of graphs to help explain his reasoning. His thesis is that certain conditions allowed certain civilizations to develop technology and weapons more than others, allowing them to conquer other civilizations. In his words: “Technology, in the form of weapons and transport, provides the direct means by which certain peoples have expanded their realms and conquered other peoples.”…
The Natives’ Encounter with the Europeans As Hernán Cortés came in contact with the natives, he was able to unknowingly transfer smallpox along with other various diseases to natives. Therefore, after their first battle with the Spaniards, the Aztecs were overwhelmed with illness. This led to the fall of great Aztec Empire. However, even before this the Inca Empire had been swept by with the illness, smallpox, too.…
, diseases like smallpox, measles, and the flu were brought from Europe to Native Americans in the Americas.…
When the sailors and conquistadors came to the native land, they brought a lot of diseases with them. One of the…
How did the native Africans protected themselves from the germs that caused diseases such as Smallpox and Malaria? Give specific examples cited in the film. Answer: The native Africans had developed immunity to Smallpox through repeated exposure over thousands of years and vaccinations they had developed that could provide immunity for life. In addition, the Africans also knew how to avoid diseases like Malaria by preventing infection. This was done by choosing to live in high, dry areas where the mosquitoes responsible for spreading the disease do not typically live. Because the Africans lived in small communities spread out over relatively large areas, they could minimize the transmission of diseases such as Malaria when outbreaks occurred. Because European settlers did not understand the causes of Malaria, they concentrated their settlements near rivers and water sources where they faced the greatest exposure to Malaria. Because they all lived in close proximity, epidemics were frequent and deadly to the settlers. 6. How has the colonization of Africa created countries riddled with disease? Give specific examples from the film. Answer: Because European colonists in the late 1800’s forced the native Africans out of their small villages and into cities and large, crowded communities to mine and ferry the continent’s natural resources, they took the successful economic and social systems away from these people. By putting so many people together in areas where diseases…
Diseases that affect organisms are often seen in negative light. Often, when people hear the word disease they are likely to think of microscopic organisms that harms the host it inhabits. However, scientists like Dr. Sharon Moalem would suggest that the modern day human diseases contributed to the survival of our ancestors. He states that the diseases we still have protected us from other diseases that were much worse. The reason why the diseases are still in existence in modern times is due to the evolutionary advantage it provided to our ancestors, that advantage gave humans the ability to live long enough to reproduce. To show his studies, Dr. Sharon Moalem wrote the book Survival of the Sickest where he explains how diseases like favism,…
Americans discover new ways to cure and control diseases. In the past, people died due to many incurable diseases and illnesses. People are vaccinated now for different types of diseases that are rarely around in America because of these vaccines. According to Laura Hillenbrand in Unbroken, “Just as at Ofuna, beriberi and other preventable diseases were epidemic at Omari” (235). Louie and the POW captives could not be saved from the diseases spreading because they were being tortured and not nurtured. In the same manner, Europeans encountered many diseases that at the time were not discovered yet therefore did not have a cure or vaccine. Medicine has made it possible for people to live longer. Discovery is the basis for the knowledge doctors have of the diseases that are around and how to prevent them. Doctors continue to discover new ways to help people and save…
* Birthrates rose in result of better economy and drop on the average marriage age…
People were exposed to diseases they didn’t know about, and they didn’t have any treatment for it or immunity to it. One place involved with it was Greek city-state of Athens, which was affected by new and unidentified diseases, it killed about 25% of its army and weakened the city-state for good. The widespread diseases also affected the Han Dynasty China and the Roman Empire, but contacted on the Silk Roads all across Eurasia was basically promoted. Sporadic outburst of the bubonic plague ruined the coastal areas of the Mediterranean Sea as the black rats that held the plague came through the sea trade with India, where they came from. The capital of the city of the Byzantine Empire, lost thousands of people per day throughout 40 days. The same death count troubled China and parts of the Islamic world. In the Central Asian steppes that were home to a lot of nomadic people involving the Mongols, who also struggled horribly. In the prolonged shoot of world history, the transfer of disease gave Europeans a specific benefit when they stood up to the people of the Western Hemisphere. Revealing over time had given them some level of resistance to Europeans and Africans from over the Atlantic, they died in shocking…
Guns, Germs and Steel somewhat explains how the Europeans were able to conquer Africa and the Americas, but also leaves out some very important information. This Information includes things like political decisions, alliances, human decisiveness, and some information that flaws his theory of “Geographic Luck” (Guns Germs and Steel) . Essentially, Diamond's theory basically claims that Europeans conquered based solely on geographic luck, and leaves out all other information that also impacted the situation.…
Not only was Europe close to the Fertile Crescent, but it also it contained climates and habitats that animals and crops could adapt to. In the 16th century, livestock animals that came from the Fertile Crescent dominated European farms. These animals included the cow, sheep, goat, horse, and many others. They served as a source of meat, milk, wool, manure, and muscle power. They transformed the productivity of farmland, as European farmers were able to grow more food and feed more people, who could then build bigger and more complex societies. Horses provided an efficient form of transport since they allowed people to move around control their land. Farming also gave some cultures an enormous head start. Those who had the most productive crops and animals became the most productive farmers. The spread of animals and crops spread to North Africa and Europe triggered an explosion of civilization.…