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Guns, Germs and Steel "Essay Based on Jared Diamond's Observation "

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Guns, Germs and Steel "Essay Based on Jared Diamond's Observation "
Name: Nishita Khanna
Block: D
Date: 19/2/2013
Why Europe? (Final Draft)

There was a difference in the ability of the Europeans to dominate and colonize the Americas and the Chinese Empire between the 15th and 18th centuries. The oldest argument before Jared Diamond’s observation, was that white people were smarter compared to other people across the whole world. Jared Diamond’s observation proved this argument wrong by observing the environmental conditions, because everyone has the ability to invent new ideas, however, only some people have the opportunity to use what their environment provides them, in order to support their ideas. There are four main factors that affect the advancement of every place in the world. The first factor is; a continental difference in wild plants and animals. The second factor is; the factors that affect the rate of diffusion and migration. The third factor is; the diffusion within continents. The fourth and the last factor is; the difference in population size and total area in a continent. These were the four main factors that affected the expansion of the Europeans. 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

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