In 1942 Christopher Columbus led an expedition to the Americas. His voyage was what started the colonization of the Americas by Europeans for generations to come. These foreigners stripped native Americans of their land, conquered ancient empires, and started settlements in the continents of North and South America. Some may ask, “Why did the Europeans conquer so much of the world and not someone else?” This is a question that has been confusing minds for centuries. Jared Diamond, the author of Guns, Germs, and Steel says the answer lies in the geography of the world. Europeans conquered so much of the globe not because their race was better or smarter than the rest of the world, but because of three main advantages; geography, germs, and technology.
Geography played a very significant role in the Europeans’ quest for world domination. The Europeans had access to many animals, one of the most useful being horses. With these creatures they were able to fight from a couple feet off the ground. Another point is Eurasia, which spreads out East to West rather than North to South, was an easy place for ideas and technology to spread. The Europeans were able to easily attain ideas from neighboring continents and therefore developed into a more advanced society. One of the other perks of living in Eurasia was that the Europeans were constantly in battle with nearby countries. This forced them to be regularly updating their technology. In the end, If not for geography, the Europeans would not have been such a force to reckoned with in the New World. While the Europeans were in battle, they relied on their state of the art weapons to pull through and win. …show more content…
When the Spanish invaded the Incas, the steel swords of the conquistadors easily overtook the enemy’s bronze armor and stone weapons. Guns were another important aspect. Firearms were a technology none of the natives had ever seen before. This also helped the Europeans during battle, because the natives were so caught off guard by what they saw, they were easy to defeat quickly. The Europeans also had writing. This helped them a lot because they were able to record their war tactics and strategies for the next generation of warriors. The Native Americans had never even seen characters written down so when Atahualpa of Incas was presented with the bible he had no idea what to do with it. The technology of Europe was some of the finest in the world at that time, and it was a very important element of European success. Although Europeans had state of the art weapons and other advantages, their highest asset was one you cannot see. This advantage was germs. Thanks to European diseases, 20 million indigenous people may have died in the years following the European invasion of the Americas. Smallpox is a virus that was brought over by the Europeans, but not until after most of the European population had built up an immunity to it. This happened because Europe had experienced some different smallpox epidemics over the years, and every time a few more people survived. These choice victims developed antibodies and immunities which were passed on to the next generation. Because of this, smallpox no longer affected some Europeans. Unfortunately for the native peoples, they were
Geography played a very significant role in the Europeans’ quest for world domination. The Europeans had access to many animals, one of the most useful being horses. With these creatures they were able to fight from a couple feet off the ground. Another point is Eurasia, which spreads out East to West rather than North to South, was an easy place for ideas and technology to spread. The Europeans were able to easily attain ideas from neighboring continents and therefore developed into a more advanced society. One of the other perks of living in Eurasia was that the Europeans were constantly in battle with nearby countries. This forced them to be regularly updating their technology. In the end, If not for geography, the Europeans would not have been such a force to reckoned with in the New World. While the Europeans were in battle, they relied on their state of the art weapons to pull through and win. …show more content…
When the Spanish invaded the Incas, the steel swords of the conquistadors easily overtook the enemy’s bronze armor and stone weapons. Guns were another important aspect. Firearms were a technology none of the natives had ever seen before. This also helped the Europeans during battle, because the natives were so caught off guard by what they saw, they were easy to defeat quickly. The Europeans also had writing. This helped them a lot because they were able to record their war tactics and strategies for the next generation of warriors. The Native Americans had never even seen characters written down so when Atahualpa of Incas was presented with the bible he had no idea what to do with it. The technology of Europe was some of the finest in the world at that time, and it was a very important element of European success. Although Europeans had state of the art weapons and other advantages, their highest asset was one you cannot see. This advantage was germs. Thanks to European diseases, 20 million indigenous people may have died in the years following the European invasion of the Americas. Smallpox is a virus that was brought over by the Europeans, but not until after most of the European population had built up an immunity to it. This happened because Europe had experienced some different smallpox epidemics over the years, and every time a few more people survived. These choice victims developed antibodies and immunities which were passed on to the next generation. Because of this, smallpox no longer affected some Europeans. Unfortunately for the native peoples, they were