Guns, Germs, and Steel

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1. 
   pmiranda2857 Teacher
   High School - 11th Grade

   Your question addresses the belief that Europeans were able to conquer so many other nations and peoples because they were considered superior to other races of people. 

   Jared Diamond sets out to disprove this theory by presenting us with his argument, nature vs. nuture.

   "Major portions of the Eurasian area, Diamond points out, had a natural advantage in agriculture because of the presence of plants and animals that were easily domesticated. Not only did this allow food surpluses to develop, but it also enabled crops such as cotton, flax, and hemp to be easily processed into clothing, blankets, nets, and ropes."

    

   "So the reason there wasn't a 15th century Inca invasion of Europe is that the Inca had no horses or cows, no grains to compete with rice or wheat, and so (ultimately) no vast metropolitan areas to serve as Darwinian proving grounds.  And thus no one with the free time to invent the alphabet, the blunderbuss and the caravel."

   Sources:

   http://www.enotes.com/guns-germs-steel/summary

   http://www.scifidimensions.com/gunsgermssteel

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   Posted by pmiranda2857 on Monday June 2, 2008 at 6:14 PM
   
   

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