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Guns Germs And Steel Chapter Summary

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1. Yali’s question is about the origins of inequality between societies in the world. He wants to know why people of European descent are rich and powerful while non-white people tend to lack wealth and power. Yali wonders if there is something wrong with non-white people like him, as they are not as technologically or economically advanced as white people. 2. The three main objections to answering Yali’s question are that by answering the question we justify dominance of other societies, glorify the Europeans, and imply that civilization is good and hunter-gatherer societies are bad. 3. A Eurocentric approach glorifies western Europeans. This approach tends to be centered on Europeans and interprets the world in their ways. 4. Diamond’s response …show more content…

Religion also played a critical part in the defeat of the Incas. The Spaniards’ thought of themselves as superior and when Atahualpa threw their “Book” on the ground, the religious Spaniards were deeply offended. They immediately started fighting and quickly overpowered the surprised Indians. 22. Diseases probably played the biggest role in the collapse of the Incan empire. Shortly before the arrival of Pizarro, the smallpox epidemic had just killed the Incan emperor and most of his court. Then, there was a civil war between Atahuallpa and his brother Huascar regarding who should be emperor next. If it had not been for the epidemic the Spaniards would have faced a united empire. 23. Literacy and government organization played a considerable role in the overthrow of the Incas. Atahualpa had very little information about the Spaniards, their military power, or their intent. He could only get information by word of mouth, as they had no form of writing. The envoy that Atahualpa sent saw the Spaniards at their most disorganized. Atahualpa remained ignorant about the Spaniard’s conquest due to being illiterate. Pizarro’s organized government gave him an advantage. Pizarro’s centralized government allowed Spain to upgrade their ships and weapons. Atahualpa was an absolute monarch and his capture led to the immediate annihilation of the Incan

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