Download Guns, Germs, Steel (HS World History Questions)

Name: __________________________
World History
Unit Two: Global Inequality
An Overview of Jared Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel
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Why do some nations have so much material wealth while so many
others have so little?
This was the question Jared Diamond posed in his book Guns, Germs, and Steel. After
identifying a point in time when all societies were roughly equal (over 13,000 years
ago), Diamond identified the key variables that allowed some societies to develop highly
complex, material-rich societies, while others developed at much slower rates.
Guns, Germs, and Steel uncovers how Europeans came to dominate every other group
on the planet by virtue of their access to what Diamond terms the “Agents of Conquest”:
Guns, Germs, and Steel.
Jared Diamond’s journey of discovery began on the island of Papua, New Guinea.
There, in 1974, a local named Yali asked Diamond a deceptively simple question:
"Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo (material goods), but we
black people had little cargo (material goods) of our own?"
Diamond realized that Yali's question penetrated the heart of a great mystery of human
history -- the roots of global inequality.
Why were Europeans the ones with all the cargo? Why had they taken over so much of
the world, instead of the native people of New Guinea? How did Europeans end up with
what Diamond terms the Agents of Conquest: Guns, Germs and Steel?
It was these agents of conquest that allowed 168 Spanish conquistadors to defeat an
Imperial Inca army of 80,000 in 1532, and set a pattern of European conquest which
would continue up to the present day.
Diamond knew that the answer had little to do with ingenuity or individual skill. From his
own experience in the jungles of New Guinea, he had observed that native huntergatherers were just as intelligent as people of European descent -- and far more
resourceful. Their lives were tough, and it seemed a terrible paradox of history that
these extraordinary people should be the conquered, and not the conquerors.
To examine the reasons for European success, Diamond realized he had to peel back
the layers of history and begin his search at a time of equality -- a time when all the
peoples of the world lived in exactly the same way.
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Geography is Power:
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An Interview with Jared Diamond
National Geographic News
July 6, 2005
______________________________________________________________________
Why did history unfold differently on different continents? Why has
one culture—namely that of Western Europe—dominated the
3development of the modern world?
In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book Guns, Germs and Steel, Jared Diamond
argues that the answer is geography. The physical locations where different
cultures have taken root, he claims, have directly affected the ability of those
societies to develop key institutions, like agriculture and animal domestication, or
to acquire important traits, like immunity to disease.
National Geographic News spoke with professor Diamond about his research.
Why over the past 10,000 years has the development of different societies
proceeded at such different rates?
I say the answer is location, location, location. It's overwhelmingly due to the
difference in the wild plant and animal species suitable to domestication that the
continents made available. All the interesting stuff like technology, writing, and
empires requires a productive economy that is producing enough food to feed
technological experts, bureaucrats, kings, and scribes. Hunter-gatherer societies
don't produce enough food surpluses to support those extra people.
Agriculture does.
Where did the first farming societies appear?
The first farming, as far as we know, appeared in [the Middle East region known
as] the Fertile Crescent some 11,500 years ago, and shortly thereafter in China.
These places had the greatest variety of wild plants and animals suitable for
domestication. Only a tiny fraction of wild plants and animals were both useful
and possible to domesticate. Those few species were concentrated in a few
areas, of which the two with the greatest variety were the Fertile Crescent and
China.
What were the benefits of the agricultural lifestyle compared to the huntergatherer existence?
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Farming lets you feed far more people than hunting and gathering. In a one-acre
wheat field there's more to eat than in a one-acre forest. In a one-acre sheep
pasture, there are more animals to eat than in a one-acre forest. Farming lets
you settle down in villages next to your wheat fields and pastures, whereas
hunter-gatherers have to move around.
You point out that animals, plants, knowledge and new technology spread
much easier east and west rather than north and south.
The reason is easy to understand if one understands geography. Climate,
temperature, seasons, and habitat all depend strongly on latitude. Above 85
degrees north, you don't have tropical rainforest, you have Arctic ice fields.
Certainly plants and animals tend to adapt to particular habitats and climates.
The same is also true of people. The practices of the farming societies in the
Fertile Crescent are easily transferred west [to Europe].
What is the link between agriculture and war?
Farming makes possible the development of technology, including military
technology. Wars are not something new invented by those nasty Europeans.
Everyone about whom we have enough knowledge has been involved with wars.
Groups of people are competing with neighbor groups, and any group that
develops some advantage is likely to be able to fight off, conquer, drive out, or
exterminate their rivals. Throughout human history there's been this reward for
developing more potent technology, including military technology.
The Spaniards certainly used weapons technology to their advantage in
defeating the Incas.
In the battle of Cajamarca [in 1532, in what is now Peru], 169 Spaniards faced an
army of 80,000 Inca soldiers. In the first ten minutes, there were 7,000 Incas
dead. When the dust settled, not a single Spaniard was dead. That's because the
Spaniards have the steel sword and the Incas have wooden clubs. It really
showed the power of military technology.
In a way, the Spaniards also unwittingly deployed powerful biological
weapons, including smallpox.
It is estimated that 95 percent of Native American casualties throughout North
and South America were due to disease rather than military conquest. Smallpox
killed about 50 percent of the Incas in the first epidemic.
Why did the Spaniards pass this disease on to the Incas and not the other
way around?
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It turns out that most of the nasty, infectious diseases of human history came to
us from domestic animals. Thirteen of the fourteen herd domestic animals were
Eurasian species. And Eurasian people in general got exposed to these diseases
at childhood and therefore developed an immune system. In the New World,
smallpox arrives and nobody is exposed to it, so it's hitting everybody, including
adults.
When the European settlers arrived in southern Africa, it was the same
story at first. But as the settlers went north, they soon began to encounter
problems.
People of the north were farmers themselves, and it's possible that they had
been exposed to smallpox. What we're sure of is that Africans had tropical
diseases [such as malaria] to which they had some resistance. But Europeans
did not have resistance. In tropical Africa, the disease advantages were
reversed. Instead of Europeans carrying diseases that wipe out the locals, the
locals carry diseases that wipe out the Europeans. That's why the Europeans
never settled in large numbers in Africa outside of the temperate zone of
southern Africa and the highlands of Kenya.
Africans developed complex farming societies, and they were able to stave
off the European intruders. Yet ultimately the Europeans conquered Africa
through colonialism. Is that why much of modern Africa is mired in
poverty?
Africa today is the poorest continent. It is a paradox because this is where
humans evolved, so humans had a huge head start in Africa. Tropical diseases
kept the Europeans out at first, but those tropical diseases pose a big public
health and economic burden on Africa today.
That is linked with colonialism. Europeans could not settle in large numbers, but
what they still could do was to extract wealth from Africans, initially slaves, then
rubber, diamonds, and copper. Basically that means robbing Africans and setting
up legalized institutions for corruption.
Do you worry that audiences may sense an inevitability in your argument—
as if we're destined to be either poor or wealthy depending on where we are
born, and that there is not much we can do about it?
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If you make a complex argument, there will be people out there who will simplify
and misuse it. I recognize that there are people who will say geography deals out
these certain cards and there's nothing we can do about it. But one can show the
evidence and say there is something we can do about it.
Look at Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan. They recognized that their biggest
disadvantage was public health. They didn't say, “We got these tropical
diseases—it's inevitable.” Instead they said, “We have these tropical diseases
and they are curable and all it takes is money so let's invest in curing the
diseases.”
Today they are rich, virtually First World countries. That shows that poverty is
something you can do something about.
People have a misunderstanding that poor countries are doomed to be poor and
they should just shut up and lie down and play dead.
But in fact, knowledge is power. Once you know what it is that's making you poor,
you can use that knowledge to make you rich.
NAME: ____________________
DUE DATE: ____________________
World History
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“Geography is Power: An Interview with Jared Diamond” Worksheet
Directions: Read “Geography is Power: An Interview with Jared Diamond” found on
Pages 3-6 of this packet and answer the questions below based on your reading.
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1. What is the main question Jared Diamond is trying to answer in his book, Guns,
Germs, and Steel?
2. According to Diamond, what caused societies to advance at different rates of
development?
3. According to the article, what similarities existed between the Fertile Crescent
(today’s Middle East) and China 11,500 years ago?
4. Why is a farming society more beneficial than a hunter-gatherer society?
5. Why is it easier to spread animals, plants, ideas, and technology east and west rather
than north and south?
6. How did the Spaniard conquest of the Incas in 1532 demonstrate the power of
advanced European military weapons?
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7. It is estimated that 95 percent of Native American casualties throughout North and
South America were not a result of military conquest but as a result of...
8. How are domesticated animals related to humans gaining immunity to diseases?
9. Why didn’t Europeans ever settle in large numbers in other parts of Africa (besides
southern Africa and the highlands of Kenya?)
10.
How do the examples of Malaysia, Singapore, and Taiwan show that Jared
Diamond’s theory isn’t simply, Geography deals you a certain card and you can never
change your luck.
NAME: ________________________
DUE DATE: ____________________
World History
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Guns, Germs, and Steel
Episode 1: “Out of Eden”
Overview of Episode1: “Out of Eden” proposes that a society’s potential for advanced
development was not determined by race or creed, or by time and experience, but by
access to domesticated animals and cultivated plants. The theory of “Geographic Luck”
is explained and how the location, natural resources, and the native species and climate
provided in certain geographic regions led these civilizations to become more profitable,
stronger, and more powerful than others around them. Put simply, Diamond’s idea is
that geography helps to determine the wealth of a civilization.
______________________________________________________________________
Directions: Before viewing the film, read each question below so you know what
information and ideas you should be looking for as you watch Episode 1. Then answer
the questions below. Be prepared to discuss your answers in class following the film.
1. According to Diamond, what are the three major elements that separate the world’s
“haves” from the “have nots?”
2. Diamond refers to the people of New Guinea as “...among the world’s most culturally
diverse and adaptable people in the world...” yet they have much less than modern
Americans. Diamond has developed a theory about what has caused these huge
discrepancies among different countries, and he says it boils down to geographic
luck. Give examples from the film to support the theory of “Geographic Luck.”
3. For thousands of years, people have been cultivating crops. Describe the process
used to domesticate crops and create plants that yielded bigger, tastier harvests.
4. According to Diamond, livestock also plays a significant role in a civilization’s ability to
become rich and powerful. How did the domestication of animals help people?
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5. The animals pictured below can be domesticated. Under each picture write down
where the domesticated animal can be found.
______________________________________________________________________
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6. Looking at the domesticated animals and their locations from Question 5, explain how
Diamond’s theory of geographic luck applies.
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7. How did the movement of early civilizations of the Fertile Crescent (Middle East)
further support Diamond’s idea the geography played a key role in the success of a
civilization?
8. Do you agree with Diamond when he says of a civilization’s ability to gain power,
wealth, and strength, “...what’s far more important is the hand that people have been
dealt, the raw materials they’ve had at their disposal.” Why or Why not?
NAME: ________________________
DUE DATE: ____________________
World History
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Episode 2: Conquest”
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Overview of Episode 2: “Conquest” explores the impact of weapons and disease in
shaping the New World. The development of steel for use in weaponry provided certain
civilizations with a distinct advantage over those they set out to conquer. This episode
chronicles the success of the Spanish Conquistadors and how their use of steel
weapons gave them the advantage they needed to overthrow a much larger Inca army.
______________________________________________________________________
Directions: Before viewing the film, read each question below so you know what
information and ideas you should be looking for as you watch Episode 2. Then answer
the questions below. Be prepared to discuss your answers in class following the film.
1. At the time that the Spanish conquistador’s invaded the Inca Empire, they were
armed with state of the art weaponry. Describe their weaponry.
2. What is Diamond’s explanation for why the Spanish had advanced to steel swords
while the Incas were still making tools and weapons from bronze?
3. How did the battle tactics used by the Spanish conquistadors help the small army
defeat the Inca army that outnumbered them by the thousands?
4. According to Diamond, what made the Europeans “accidental conquerors?”
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5. How did the development of steel help civilizations gain power?
6. One of the most important technological advances, according to Diamond, was steel.
Another was writing. What role did writing have in the Spanish conquest over the Inca
empire? (Think especially about how the battle tactics of Hernan Cortes. How were
they passed on and used by the Spanish to defeat the Incas?)
NAME: ________________________
DUE DATE: ____________________
World History
Guns, Germs, and Steel
Episode 3 “Into the Tropics”
Overview of Episode 3: “Into the Tropics” examines the development and colonization of
Africa by South Africans and Europeans, and explains why geography is still a factor in
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forming the divide between those with money and resources and those without. This
episode explains the significant impact germs have had on the world’s civilizations.
______________________________________________________________________
Directions: Before viewing the film, read each question below so you know what
information and ideas you should be looking for as you watch Episode 3. Then answer
the questions below. Be prepared to discuss your answers in class following the film.
1. According to Diamond, what is the one factor that allowed Europeans to develop the
forces necessary to conquer vast portions of the world?
2. Why were the Europeans who settled the South African cape so successful?
Describe two reasons.
3. How did diseases allow the Europeans to conquer the native populations in the
Americas and in the African cape?
4. While the Europeans who were attempting to overtake/settle the tropical areas of the
African continent were responsible for introducing killer germs to the native
populations, they also suffered from the effects of the germs native to this part of the
world. Describe how these germs worked against the European settlers.
5. How did the native Africans protect themselves from the germs that caused diseases
such as smallpox and malaria? Give specific examples from Episode 3.
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6. How has the colonization of Africa created countries riddled with disease?
7. How has disease contributed to the poverty in many African countries such as
Zambia?
8. Describe how other tropical countries such as Malaysia and Singapore have
developed rich economies despite having many of the same geographical and health
problems faced by African nations.
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Episode 1:
Backgrounder for Teachers:
Jared Diamond’s basic theory is that some countries developed more rapidly than
others and were able to expand and conquer much of the world because of geographic
luck. The natural resources available to them coupled with the native species and
climate provided by their geography led them to become more agricultural and less
reliant on hunting and gathering for sustenance. This agrarian lifestyle, in turn, allowed
for the development of “specialists” within the civilization who could work on developing
and perfecting the technologies necessary to make these civilizations more profitable,
stronger, and more powerful than others around them. Diamond asserts that those living
in temperate climates with indigenous animals that could be domesticated were more
likely to develop advanced civilizations.
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Assumed Student Prior Knowledge
Students will need to have a basic understanding of latitude and longitude and the
location and size of the world’s continents. In addition, students will need to understand
the words “cultivate” and “domesticate.”
Teaching Strategy:
Part 1: Geographic Luck
The land of riches and opportunity is how most people worldwide would describe
America. We are, undisputedly, the richest nation on Earth. Yet when we examine
America’s history, we learn that our riches do not date back thousands of years like
China or the areas of the Middle East once referred to as the “Fertile Crescent”. Rather,
America has gained its riches over a relatively short period of time.
Next, introduce students to the The World feature from the Guns, Germs and Steel
website available at www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/world/index.html
The theory of Geographic Luck explains why most of the wealth in the world is found in
areas north of the Tropic of Cancer (23.5 degrees North Latitude).
Do you agree or disagree with Jared Diamond’s theory about geography being the main
determining factor in which countries became rich and powerful through the
development of technology and conquest and which countries remain impoverished and
underdeveloped in relation to the rest of the world. Explain your reasons why using
specific reasons, facts, and examples.
EPISODE 2:
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Backgrounder for Teachers:
This episode explores, in more depth, the idea that geographic luck enabled some
cultures to become more agricultural, thus allowing them to establish larger settlements
with people specializing in many aspects of technological development. One of these
was the development of steel for use in weaponry. Diamond chronicles the success of
the Spanish Conquistadors and how the use of written language gave them an
advantage over the Incas, along with their advanced weapons including guns and state
of the art steel swords. These two things combined allowed the Spanish to overthrow a
much larger Inca army, thus taking control of their empire and its riches.
Assumed Student Prior Knowledge
Students will need a basic understanding of Jared Diamond’s theory that certain
civilizations gained great power and wealth and were able to conquer much of the world
because of simple, geographic luck. They had access to the best resources because of
where they lived. In addition, students should have some understanding of who the
Spanish Conquistadors were and where and when the Inca Empire was in power.
1.
Review Jared Diamond's theory that the reason the Europeans were able to
conquer the majority of the world was because they had a geographic
advantage. Explain that Diamond's theory suggests that the Europeans were
able to grow the most nutritious crops and raise the most domesticated animals.
This, in turn, allowed them to prosper and create societies where people could
specialize in a given area, thus producing technological advances that allowed
them to conquer other civilizations.
2.
Next, explain to students that they will be viewing Guns, Germs and Steel:
Episode Two to learn more about how the Europeans managed to take control
of the vast Inca Empire and overthrow the native South Americans with virtually
no loss of European lives.
EPISODE 3:
Backgrounder for Teachers:
Teachers will need to look at the role that germs played in the historic conquests of the
world as well as how the spread of these same diseases today is keeping many of the
world’s poorest countries from developing. The economic, social, and technological
impact of the spread of germs and disease and how this part of Diamond’s theory
remains true even today will be explored in this lesson.
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Assumed Student Prior Knowledge
For this lesson, students need to understand Diamond’s theories related to geographic
luck and how this luck allows some countries to growth and conquer while others
develop at a much slower pace. Students will need to understand the words epidemic
and endemic.
Teaching Strategy:
Part 1: The Power of Germs
1.
Create student interest by asking students to answers the following questions
(Multiple Choice on the Board):
◦
Most deaths in children under age 5 are due to:
a. infectious diseases and malnutrition
b. premature birth/birth defects
c. accidents
Answer: A (More than 5 million each year die from diseases such as pneumonia and
diarrhea combined with malnutrition-mostly in developing countries)
◦
True or False: At least 40% of the deaths in children under age 5 that
occur worldwide each year could be prevented by administering existing
vaccines to young children.
Answer: True Of the 5 million + children under five who die each year, 2 million deaths
could be prevented by administering existing vaccines and most of the rest would be
preventable by other means (i.e. good nutrition, hygiene, clean water, etc.)
◦
List what you believe are the 5 most deadly infectious diseases worldwide.
Answer: Acute Lower Respiratory Infections/Pneumonia (3.7 million), Tuberculosis (2.9
million), Diarrhea (2.5 million), HIV/AIDS (2.3 million), and Malaria (1.5-2.7 million)
Source: World Health Organization, “50 Facts: Global Health Situation and Trends
1955-2025”
3.
Once students have answered each question, facilitate a class discussion and
provide students with the correct answers to each question. In the discussion,
pose questions such as:
◦
Were you surprised by the answers to any of the questions? If so, which
ones, and why?
◦
As a person living in the U.S., would you expect to suffer from the
infectious diseases that are the top killers worldwide? Why?
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◦
In an age where so much medical technology is available, particularly in
the form of medications and vaccines, why do you think so many people
are still dying from preventable diseases?
◦
How does it make you feel when you think about people in developing
countries dying from these types of diseases at alarmingly high rates?
◦
Who should be responsible for helping to eradicate these diseases? Why?
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