Guns, Germs, and Steel

After the end of the last Ice Age, in around 11,000 BCE, societies began to develop along different lines, dividing into advanced, literate societies that used metal tools, non-literate farming societies, and hunter-fathers who used stone tools. Now that the first type of society has conquered/exterminated the others, Diamond addresses why human fates have differed throughout the course of history.

Diamond recalls an incident 25 years ago, while he was studying bird evolution in New Guinea, when he spoke to a local politician named Yali. They got on well but were aware of the tension between their respective societies, with New Guinea being subject to colonial rule. The colonists brought with them a variety of ‘cargo,’ including metal weapons, medicines, and clothing. Yali consequently asked Diamond, “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?” (14). This may seem a simple question, but Diamond found it difficult to answer.

This issue goes beyond New Guinea, as people of Eurasian origin dominate the world’s wealth and power. This cannot be attributed solely to colonization, as continents already differed greatly prior to this period.