#6 Diamond - Guns, Germs and Steel

'Why were Europeans, rather than Africans or Native Americans, the ones to end up with guns, the nastiest germs, and steel?'

 

Yet another blurry picture of a book. They don't look blurry when I take them. Ergo, Blogger hates me.

 

Warning: although fascinating, this book is very scientifically heavy.

 

When asked to consider why Europeans, rather than any other given race, so dominate the world, despite the obvious racial discriminations of the thought, the idea that Europeans must naturally be somehow better throws itself forward as a solution. How else could they have achieved the colonization of Australia, the Americas and parts of Africa? Jared Diamond convincingly and thoroughly dispels such an illusion in his novel, condensing 13,000 years of history into 400 pages to highlight that 'Geography and Biogeography, not race, moulded the contrasting fates of Europeans, Asians, Native Americans, Sub-Saharan Africans, and aboriginal Australians'.  

 

In my first AS Geography lesson last September, the class was asked to compile a list on a scrap of paper: name, subjects taken, what you'd like to study at university and whether you preferred human or physical Geography. I began to construct my list - Chloe; English Lit/Geography/Maths with Mechanics/Physics; English/Geography... - but then I reached the final question. Obviously human and physical Geography were separate, and obviously you had to pick one. Everyone else had; everyone preferred human Geography. I wasn't so sure they existed as such separate spheres, nor was I adamant that one held preference over another. Nevertheless, I obliged the influence of the class and scribbled down my answer before any hesitation became too apparent: Human Geography (I think, I like both pretty equally though. Perhaps a ratio of 60/40.).

 

Your subconscience: great. And what is the moral to this story?

 

I narrate such a story because it reflects the underlying theme echoed throughout Diamond's novel; human and physical Geography aren't all that separate. Their relationship is rather more diverse than widely considered, and dependent upon one another. For me, it highlighted the importance of learning both areas of Geography, at least initially to provide a foundation for further study. Continuing the allusion of two separate spheres, perhaps their spheres are depicted more accurately by a Venn diagram (where A = human, and B = physical Geography):

 

 

Back to the original question raised by Diamond's book: the disparity of dominance across the world. His feat of summarising 13,000 years into 400 pages grows ever more impressive as I try to summarise the ideas expressed/inspired by those pages! I'll start by borrowing his own words.

 

'In short, Europe's colonization of Africa had nothing to do with differences between European and African peoples themselves, as white racists assume. Rather, it was due to accidents of geography and biogeography - in particular, to the continents' different areas, axes and suites of wild animal and plant species. That is, the different historical trajectories of Africa and Europe stem ultimately from differences in real estate.' - page 401

 

'Guns, Germs and Steel' opens initially (following the preface and prologue) with a chapter depicting the development of humans, homo sapiens, originating in Africa prior to their migration around the globe to inhabit different continents and henceforth diverge in characteristics. Diamond then begins to answer the question, as first proposed to him by his friend Yali, a New Guinean, in the 1970's - "Why is it that you white people developed so much cargo and brought it to New Guinea, but we black people had little cargo of our own?"

 

Fundamentally, Diamond points to a chain of environmental factors:

1. Domesticable plants available - linked to climate, the relative superiority of farming to the hunter-gatherer lifestyle
2. Domesticable large mammals - used to further develop farming, linked to extinction and nature of animals (do they exist in herds? do they kill humans? etc.)
3. The axes/alignment of the continents - SO INTERESTING. I'll expand upon this later.
4. The climate and geographic features of the continent - i.e. location, desert areas, mountainous obstacles etc.
5. The population size and density - linked to farming and hence the suite of domesticable wild animal and plant species

Initially, the world population was made up of hunter-gatherers existing in small groups and always on the move. Then, some areas began to domesticate plant species and introduced farming as a way of life; the first 'food package' of domesticated crops is thought to have arisen in the Fertile Crescent and then spread from there. Farming meant that people stayed in one place to tend to their crops, and therefore a larger community could develop into a big tribe, or chiefdom. The availability of large mammals suitable for domestication further enhanced the farming lifestyle, by providing more food and more efficient techniques for farming, amongst other things. Eurasia happened to have the largest abundance of domesticable plants and large mammals, including the horse, pig and chicken. This farming lifestyle (entailing both animals and crops), in contrast with that of a hunter-gatherer, meant that the community was able to develop better Guns, Germs and Steel; greater sustainable food meant that parts of the community could specialise in things such as pottery, tattooing, or developing writing, hence leading to greater rates of development. The domesticated plants and animals enabled such societies to build up immunity to diseases sourced from them, as well as from living in large, dense populations. Larger populations meant more competition for development and inventions, therefore yielding a greater rate of development - including the introduction of guns and steel. Where communities entailed a hierarchal set-up and a common religion, there was greater incentive to fight wars - Are you willing to die for King and Country?

 

The spread of such developments then relied upon the geographical composition of the continents; where the axes alignment, like Eurasia, is East-West (horizontal), the spread of things such as food packages, domesticated animals and writing is accelerated. This is due to the climate being more similar across the continent hence the food/animals are environmentally suited to growing (right rainy season, immunity to the same diseases etc.) given the location around the hemisphere, and there being fewer geographical barriers that are insurmountable (mountainous ranges, deserts, a sea). Where the alignment conversely is North-South, like the Americas and Africa, the spread is decelerated given wider regional environmental disparities in climate/diseases/barriers. Additionally, the location of the continent plays a role in its share in developments like guns; for example, Australia, located across a large stretch of sea bar a few Indonesian islands around it, is largely isolated. Thus, its aboriginal population developed independently and wasn't immune to the same diseases as the European invaders, lacked the weaponry of germs and steel, and remained hunter-gatherers.   

 

I hope my jumbled summative paragraphs actually made sense; they look rather daunting to check through. If not - READ THE BOOK! It's much clearer! Anyway, thus overall, Diamond points to environmental geographic and biogeographic characteristics being the source for the different levels/rates of development internationally, and the eventual dominance of one people over another.  

 

'Third, don't words such as "civilization", and phrases such as "rise of civilization", convey the false impression that civilization is good, tribal hunter-gatherers are miserable, and history for the past 13,000 years has involved progress toward greater human happiness? In fact, I do not assume that industrialized states are "better" than hunter-gatherer tribes, or that the abandonment of the hunter-gatherer lifestyle for iron-based statehood represents "progress", or that is has led to an increase in human happiness. My own impression, from having divided my life between US cities and New Guinea villages, is that the so-called blessings of civilization are mixed. For example, compared with hunter-gatherers, citizens of the modern industrialized states enjoy better medical care, lower risk of death by homicide, and a longer life span, but receive much less social support from friendships and extended families.' - page 18

 

I wonder how different the world would be if Europeans had remained confined to Europe. It's a very interesting investigation into how history unfolded and why, enthusing for Historians, Scientists, Geographers... everyone.

 

C

 

Venn diagram image sourced from http://infoproc.blogspot.co.uk/2008/11/venn-diagram-for-economics.html