Guns, Germs and Steel

A detailed Summary of Guns, Germs and Steel

As Jared Diamond, a biologist, was doing research on tropical birds in New Guinea, he spoke with a local politician named Yali. The spoke about the origins of their peoples and about the commodities that Europeans brought to New Guinea such as steel, clothing, various food, etc...Yali then posed the question of why Europeans had so much to bring and that the people of New Guinea and people like them did not. Yali's question goes to the heart of the question to the modern world; why are there such inequalities in the modern world regarding wealth and how did it evolve. In attempting to answer this question, Diamond touches on several factors that are woven into the answer such as food production, domesticated plants and animals, metallurgy, weapons, communication, and better political organization. These factors are crucial element in the development of the world we presently live in.

An example of how different societies had an obvious advantage over each other is exemplified in the encounter between Francisco Pizarro and the Inca emperor, Atahuallpa. This meeting illustrates the basic advantages which the Europeans enjoyed over much of the world at this time. Pizarros' victory over the Incas is an perfect representation o

f how the culmination of many centuries of developments had given Europeans an obvious advantage. Diamond's basic hypothesis is that the Europeans were not "superior in any innate sense over the Incas or Aztecs, but more blessed by geography and nature." The advantages enabled whites to conquer non-whites easily; not only by means of technological advances or the use of large animals as weapons but also the influx of diseases that are developed in concentrated and sedentary societies.

The invention of farming and a sedentary lifestyle was a huge impact of people's lives. In the beginning of this book, Diamond emphasizes the importance of food production. Once hunter-gatherers realized that certain crops and animals could be domesticated and grown in abundance, they began to become more sedentary. The benefits of this lifestyle and the use of domesticating plants and animals were increased available calories (through milk, meat, manure fertilization, and pulling a plow), increased crop yields which allowed larger population density, more frequent child-bearing, storage of food surpluses which can sustain specialists such as a political elite, priests, scribes, artisans, etc. Animals also provide hides for warmth, transport capability, and animal-derived germs (smallpox, measles, flu, etc.) for which partial immunity had developed and which have allowed conquests.

The answer to Yali's question is that accidents of geography and environment brought about the domination of whites of Eurasian origin: differences in animal and plant domestication, rates of diffusion and migration due to ecological and geographical barriers including between continents, and continental differences in population and size. Europeans were favored merely by having more starting materials and more favorable conditions. It is also mentioned that how the dispersal of certain influential individuals could have also contributed to the extreame differences in progress around the world, however, Jared Diamond believes that environmental factors are the main reasons. It is evident that the combination of food production, domesticated plants and animals, metallurgy, weapons, communication, and better political organization have all contributed to the evolution of

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Approximate Word count = 1520
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Category: Science