Guns Germs And Steel Summary
In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Jared Diamond answers Yali’s question, “Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo, but we black people have little cargo of our own?”. Diamond begins his research in Papua, New Guinea where he says people have been living for 40,000 years. In Papua, Diamond discovers that gathering is both more productive and effective rather than hunting. He wonders why these New Guineans did not advance like more developed countries did. Geographic luck is the term that comes into play. Crops, animals, and climate effect geographic luck. The New Guineans were not lucky when it came to what crops and animals were provided in their environment. However, the Fertile Crescent’s environment contained productive crops and helpful animals, thus propelling them …show more content…
The Incas were going about their life peacefully, until they caught sight of men on horses. “To the Incas, the sight of Pizarro’s conquistadors passing through their land is extraordinary. They’ve never seen people carried by their animals before. Some think they are gods.” (Diamond). The sight of the white men stunned them so much they gave offerings and treated them well. Historian Efrain Trelles states that the Incan leader, Ataxalpa, played a mind game with the Spaniard, being nice and inviting them in, but really prepared for attack. 80,000 Incas stood ready for battle, however, they were unarmed. Diamond says the Spaniards tried to introduce the bible to the Incas. The problem was that they couldn’t read it! That misunderstanding led to a massacre of thousands of Incas. Diamond estimates around 7,000 to be more precise. Francisco Pizzaro and his men did not suffer any casualties themselves when they conquered these natives. The concept of guns in Guns, Germs, and Steel ties in again as one of the main factors that shaped human
Summary Of Guns Germs And Steel
466 Words | 2 PagesIn the book, Guns Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond attempts to answer questions of conquest, such as why Eurasia conquered the Americas, and not the other way around. Diamond is a biologist by trade, and both impressed and disappointed the academic world with his new historian side. He believes the answer to western dominance lies in geography and the spread of guns, germs and steel. His theories had led him to be heavily critiqued by historians everywhere, including environmental historian J.R McNeil and Professor of Anthropology and Geography James Blaut. While Diamond provides solid ideas relating to the conquest of the New World, he often uses his scientistic background loosely with unclear supports forgetting other historical factors that
Native Americans Dbq Analysis
580 Words | 3 PagesIt raises the question of how the Spanish viewed the natives: as people standing in the way of their gold, or fascinating and interesting people with rich culture and
Hernan Cortez
558 Words | 3 PagesPizzaro’s army had swords and guns, unlike the Inca. One of the difficulties that the Inca Empire faced was smallpox, which wiped out thousands of people. Not to mention, the battle with Atahualpa’s half brother. In the end Pizzaro captured Atahualpa (the leader of the Inca Empire). With this leverage, Pizzaro received twenty four tons of gold and silver if he returned the Inca’s leader.
Why Is Francisco Pizaro Important
759 Words | 4 PagesFrancisco Pizarro was a Spanish explorer who conquered many places and gained land for Spain. He went on numerous explorations where he founded Peru and its capital. Pizarro was historically important due to explorations he led and participated in. He was a participant in the exploration and discovery of the Pacific Ocean and the city of San Sebastian. He also founded Peru and conquered the Incan people.
Devastation Of The Indies Analysis
867 Words | 4 Pages“ It should be kept in mind that their insatiable greed and ambition, the greatest ever seen in the world, is the cause of their villainies.” (Las Casas) The people of Spain used murder and slavery as a means to depopulate the Islands due to their greed. According to Casas, the number of slain Indians is about 15 million in the fourty years that the Spaniards have intruded on the Natives land. Young men and rulers were killed, while women and young children were forced to be slaves to the Christians.
Conquistadors Vs Aztecs
209 Words | 1 PagesIn Francisco Pizarro’s case, they took down the Incas. Cortez and Pizarro met a difficulty when facing enemies. Both explorers only had a couple hundred soldiers. Most small armies would not have been able to dismantle such a large and expansive empires. Despite that, they still eradicated the Incas and Aztecs.
The Broken Spears Summary
573 Words | 3 PagesThe Broken Spears, by Miguel Leon-Portilla, is an all-inclusive and compelling account of the Spanish conquest, told by the Aztecs also known as the conquered. Leon Portilla’s choice of events depicted in this book collides together giving the reader a broad view of the Spanish conquest. This book gives a history of emotional and spiritual human experiences, allowing the readers to comprehend, and relate to the Aztecs as they went through terror and faced their fears. This book provides an extensive amount of details concerning lack of leadership, bias and technological hardship that led to the Aztec defeat. After reading this book the reader will start to understand how and why the Aztecs suffered .
Causes Of The Pueblo Revolt
2014 Words | 9 PagesFrom 1540 to 1600 the Pueblo Indians of New Mexico were subjected to seven consecutive waves of soldiers, missionaries, and settlers. These encounters, referred to as the Entradas, were characterized by violent actions between Spanish colonists and Pueblo Indians. The Tiguex War, fought in the winter of 1540-41 by the expedition of Francisco Vásquez de Coronado against the twelve pueblos of Tiwa Indians, was particularly catastrophic to Pueblo and Spanish relations. (Handbook of North American Indians. pg.
Black Conquistadors Analysis
993 Words | 4 PagesWhen thinking of the Spanish Conquest, two groups often come to mind: the Spaniards and the Native Americans. The roles of each of these groups and their encounters have been so heavily studied that often the role of Africans is undermined. As Matthew Restall states in his article Black Conquistadors, the justifications for African contribution are often “inadequately substantiated if not marginalized [as the] Africans were a ubiquitous and pivotal part of the Spanish conquest campaigns in the Americas […]” (Restall 172). Early on in his article, Restall characterizes three categories of Africans present during the Conquest – mass slaves, unarmed servants of the Spanish, and armed auxillaries (Restall 175).
Analysis Of The Broken Spears: The Aztec Account Of The Conquest Of Mexico
1506 Words | 7 PagesThis power imbalance and these payments are key in the subjugation of the natives. Furthermore, the paternalism of the Spanish toward the Indigenous peoples is obvious: “Captain [Cortes] stared at him [Cuauhtemoc]…then patted him on the head” (p.117). Post-conquest, and still today, “difficult relations” between the descendants of the Indigenous peoples and the “others” (p.117) still exist. The European view of the natives “as idolatrous savages” or, on the contrary, as “models of natural virtue” (p.175) demonstrate the versatile and often contradictory views held. Similarly, the Aztecs at times saw the Spaniards as gods, and other times as gold-hungry savages who “fingered it like monkeys” (p.51).
When Dogs Could Talk Analysis
960 Words | 4 PagesThe first Europeans set foot on the New World was by a complete accident. Despite their differences, the Spanish was fed and sheltered by a group of Indians. The Spanish’s warm welcome was cut short when they began to spread diseases to the Indian group, killing over half of them. I can understand how the indigenous people would be enraged at these strangers, however in the Spanish’s defense they were not aware of the threat they posed to the Indian tribe. Eventually, the leader of this Spanish expedition escaped the clutches of the angry tribe and trekked onto Mexico.
Compare And Contrast The Fall Of The Aztec And Inca Empires
849 Words | 4 PagesPizarro only had a troop of roughly 168 Spaniards against the tens of thousands indigenous army of Inca leader, Atahualpa. Pizarro took the Inca ruler captive in 1532, which was a crucial part of their divide and conquer strategy. The advanced weaponry of the Spanish was much overpowered compared to the arsenal of the Inca Empire. Pizarro invited the troops of Atahualpa into a space where they were then ambushed by the Spaniards. On this day, Pizarro and his troops had hidden cannons to attack the indigenous troops.
How Did The Europeans Affect Native Americans
1079 Words | 5 PagesThroughout the late 1400’s and the 1500’s, the world experienced many changes due to the discoveries of new lands and peoples that had been never been visited before. The new-found lands of the Americas and exploration of Africa by the Europeans led to new colonies and discoveries in both areas. It also brought different societies and cultures together that had never before communicated, causing conflict in many of these places. While the Europeans treated both the Native Americans and West Africans as inferior people, the early effects they had on the Native Americans were much worse. Beginning in the late 1400’s, many different European explorers started to look for new trade routes in the Eastern Hemisphere in order to gain economic and religious power.
Hernan Cortes Hero
975 Words | 4 PagesUsing war equipment that the Aztec had never seen before and different battle techniques, Cortes and his men were able to quickly and effectively conquer Tenochtitlan. During battle against the Aztecs, animals from Spain that served in many battles called horses (about twelve), as well as swords and crossbows (a much more advanced version of the Aztec war club and spear-thrower) were labelled as advanced technology as they were quicker, deadlier, and consequently more efficient. These many advantages against the Aztecs and their traditional weapons; and therefore the Spaniards won many battles alongside their allies, and succeeded greatly by using guns that were far more powerful than the Aztecs' weapons. Unfair as it is, this gave the Spanish explorer a supremacy in conquering one of the most elaborate European cities at the time. “The Aztecs were unable to rebel against the Spaniards because most of them were sick or dead from smallpox.
The Accuracy Of Jared Diamond's Theory
266 Words | 2 PagesJared Diamond's theory is accurate. He claims that having geographic luck is fundamental for growing nutritious crops. Which is factual. On one hand, there is Asia. Asia's latitude is between 30-50% North of the equator.
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