Similarities Between Guns Germs And Steel

Guns, Germs, and Steel Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel answers the question about why human societies are so different from each other. He points out that although Africa seemed to have had a head start in developing their society, the continent of Eurasia had definite advantages. Eurasia’s advantages over many other continents included environmental factors as well as a location that had many more species of animals that could be domesticated, larger scale farming, and easier trade of goods and the spreading of ideas among people. 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
Eurasia had many cereal crops that were “fast growing, high in carbohydrates” and yielded a large harvest (119). This allowed the people of Eurasia to grow large amounts of food that could sustain large populations. Eurasia’s vast size meant there were many more species of plants available for domestication and food production at a much larger scale. Although Africa, the Americas, and Australia “ ended up somewhat less well endowed” due to smaller number of domesticated plants and land size (390). The farming on this continent also led to the cultivation of deadly germs. Because farmers and their animals were now sedentary, so was their sewage. Often enough germs from their sewage were swept into the water supply, which made it easy for not only humans but also animals to contract diseases and spread them