Guns Germs And Steel By Jared Diamond Analysis

In historian Jared Diamond’s book and film Guns, Germs and Steel, he attempts to explain why some parts of the world are more economically sound than others. The facts Diamond delves into extend back thousands of years. Some civilizations had what Diamond referred to as “geographic luck”, meaning that some lands were situated in an environment better suited for agriculture and other resource gathering. Other civilizations were also unable to domesticate animals that would have made farming and living on the land easier. Domesticated animals provided milk, fur, meat, as well as the ability to feed off leftover crop beds and create dung to fertilize future crops. Jared Diamond’s main argument is that indigenous peoples did not lack ingenuity, but did lack the geographic luck of other territories. Journalist Fareed Zakaria did not wholly agree with the concept of “geographic luck”. Zakaria makes his own claims about how the West was able to advance more quickly than Afro-Eurasian nations, starting by explaining the problem’s origins. In the 1430s, the latest rulers

Chinese leaders could not collectively agree on an approach, and Beijing’s new rulers saw very little value in naval affairs. Seafaring expeditions proved to be costly, forcing higher taxes on an already depraved population. They believed that the financial risk was not worth the little return. Trade did flourish when the Chinese made connections with Western explorers, however the exploits of trade did not benefit the country as a whole. Mongolians and other raiders posed a serious threat to China’s frontier. Dealing with these invaders consumed resources that could have otherwise been used to solve the issues with trade. While China turned away from the outside world, Europe was constantly making expeditions to foreign lands. Their naval ventures allowed them to spread their influence and power throughout the