Robles, Sunshine S.

GEC103 – The Contemporary world June 4, 2023

ASSIGNMENT:
Watch 3 parts of the “Guns, Germs, and Steel” documentary by Jared Diamond. Write a
reaction paper on an A4 Bond paper about global inequality and global stratification.
GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL
Part 1: A Summary of the Work
The documentary video I watched, by Jared Diamond, focused on his theory about how
the world became divided, which he arrived at after years of research. This theory is also the
subject of his book, 'Guns, Germs, and Steel,' which resulted from his research that began in
1972 when he traveled to Papua New Guinea. During his visit, a local politician named Yali
asked Jared a seemingly simple but profound question: '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?' The question left Jared wondering, as he did not have an answer at the time. This
interaction led Jared on a quest to find the answer. He began by observing the civilization of
the New Guineans, tracing back history, and traveling from place to place, including Europe
and Africa, to conclude his observations.
Jared Diamond's documentary "Guns, Germs, and Steel" explores how the start of
human civilization contributed to global inequality. During his visit to Papua New Guinea,
Diamond observed that the locals relied on hunting and farming for food, but their crops lacked
protein and their hunting was often unsuccessful. Diamond investigated why farming was not
helping the people of Papua New Guinea and discovered that it was due to the types of crops
they grew. He then explored the role of animal domestication and found that the Middle East
had a significant advantage in becoming more advanced due to its geographic advantages,
which included the best crops and domesticable animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
However, not all places shared the same geographic location and situations, which contributed
to the root of inequality.
In his continued quest, Diamond discovered more possible roots of inequality,
including the invention of steel and other technologies. Animal domestication also played a
significant role since it was the start of the spread of infectious diseases from animals to
humans. The creation of steel was also crucial for weaponry such as swords and guns, while
animal domestication contributed to the spread of germs. These then became the factors in how
the Europeans started their triumph in their attempt to conquer the globe and expand their
territories to become more powerful and wealthy. With the use of their guns, and swords,
knowledge in wielding weapons, and their mobilization using horses, and unaware that they
also have germs alongside them which served as one of their deadly invisible weapon that
killed thousands of lives. Even though the native Africans have already established a
civilization that fits the tropical climate of their land, they still lost to the conquistadores. Jared
explained why and still eventually concluded that “it all comes back to Geography,” he found
out along the way that the very first people who domesticated animals were the Africans and it
spread throughout many parts of the world. The Africans at that time were already living in a
relatively advanced civilization in the world of the tropics. But they lost all of it when the
conquistadors came. The Europeans conquered the lands in North America and eventually
reached the tropical world of Africa where they suffered great losses because they knew
nothing about the tropical land and their invisible weapon, the germs, backfired on them and
killed many of the European settlers. The Europeans eventually found a new way to get back
on their feet with their technological advancement. They also started to force the native
Africans to work and build railroads for their mobilization to speed up their conquest pace. The
last symbol of the European triumph in their global conquest was the establishment of the
railroad for steam locomotive trains. It marked the new age for the guns, germs, and steel of
European conquest.
Although Diamond's theory of guns, germs, and steel was commendable, some critics argue
that he was too deterministic in his approach when he began his research. I learned a lot from
the documentary, and I believe that Diamond's theory provides the best explanation for how
the world became divided into haves and have-nots

Although Diamond's theory of guns, germs, and steel was commendable, some critics argue
that he was too deterministic in his approach when he began his research. I learned a lot from
the documentary, and I believe that Diamond's theory provides the best explanation for how
the world became divided into haves and have-nots. Traces of colonization history can still be
found in many countries that were colonized by the Europeans. Many of them are still suffering
its effects now in the present even though they already have their liberty. I believe that this
applies to our country too because we were once colonized by Spain too. While watching the
video showing the aftermath of the historical events unfolding in the country of Zambia, Africa,
it pained me, to know that people there were dying every day, especially the kids who got
infected with malaria. As I searched about the current situation of malaria in Zambia, I felt a
sense of relief when I found out that their government already addressed this problem and they
are now continuing to make progress in their country. I would definitely recommend this
documentary to other people because aside from the information that it will give to the viewers,
it will also help in opening the minds of the people in the present day about how our world
became what it is today and what are the things that we can possibly do in order to continue
solving the problems that the world is facing.
In conclusion, Jared Diamond's theory of guns, germs, and steel helped in explaining the
roots of global stratification, which refers to the unequal distribution of resources and power
between nations and regions around the world. The European’s success was brought to them
because of geographical luck and their cultivation for that luck became the very key to their
prosperous advantage. According to Diamond, the Europeans were able to dominate other
societies during their global expansion due to their military superiority and technological
advancement, which were made possible by the invention of steel, animal domestication, and
the spread of infectious diseases. These factors helped to create an uneven playing field, which
allowed the Europeans to establish and maintain their dominance over other societies. As a
result, many countries that were colonized by the Europeans are still suffering from the effects
of colonization today, and the legacy of global stratification continues to shape our world.
 GUNS, GERMS, AND STEEL
The documentary video I watched, by Jared Diamond, focused on his theory about how
the world became divided, which he arrived at after years of research. This theory is also the
subject of his book, 'Guns, Germs, and Steel,' which resulted from his research that began in
1972 when he traveled to Papua New Guinea. During his visit, a local politician named Yali
asked Jared a seemingly simple but profound question: '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?' The question left Jared wondering, as he did not have an answer at the time. This
interaction led Jared on a quest to find the answer. He began by observing the civilization of
the New Guineans, tracing back history, and traveling from place to place, including Europe
and Africa, to conclude from his observations.
Jared Diamond's documentary "Guns, Germs, and Steel" explores how the start of
human civilization contributed to global inequality. During his visit to Papua New Guinea,
Diamond observed that the locals relied on hunting and farming for food, but their crops lacked
protein and their hunting was often unsuccessful. Diamond investigated why farming was not
helping the people of Papua New Guinea and discovered that it was due to the types of crops
they grew. He then explored the role of animal domestication and found that the Middle East
had a significant advantage in becoming more advanced due to its geographic advantages,
which included the best crops and domesticable animals such as cows, pigs, sheep, and goats.
However, not all places shared the same geographic location and situations, which contributed
to the root of inequality.
In his quest to explain the roots of inequality, Jared Diamond discovered that the invention
of steel and other technologies played a significant role. Steel was crucial for weaponry such
as swords and guns, which gave Europeans an advantage in warfare. Animal domestication
was also important, as it enabled the spread of infectious diseases from animals to humans.
These factors contributed to the European conquest of the globe, as they used their military
superiority and horse mobilization to conquer North America and eventually reach Africa. The
Europeans used the three great forces of guns, germs, and steel to conquer and dominate other
societies during their global expansion. However, the Europeans were unaware of the presence
of germs in the tropical land, which killed thousands of their lives in Africa. Even though native
Africans had established their civilization suited to the tropical climate, they lost to the
Europeans. Diamond concluded that geography played a significant role in the development of
societies and that the spread of agriculture and animal and plant domestication was key in the
transmission of ideas and technologies across continents. The establishment of the railroad for
steam locomotive trains marked the final symbol of the European conquest, as it symbolized
the new age of guns, germs, and steel.
Although Diamond's theory of guns, germs, and steel is commendable, some critics
argue that his approach was too deterministic when he began his research. However,
personally, I learned a lot from the documentary, and I believe that Diamond's theory provides
the best explanation for how the world became divided into haves and have-nots. Traces of
colonization history can still be found in many countries that were colonized by the Europeans,
and many of them are still suffering from its effects in the present, even though they already
have their liberty. This applies to our country too, as we were also once colonized by Spain.
While watching the video showing the aftermath of the historical events unfolding in Zambia,
Africa, it pained me to see that people were dying every day, especially children who were
infected with malaria. When I searched for the current situation of malaria in Zambia, I felt a
sense of relief knowing that their government has addressed the problem and is continuing to
make progress in their country.
The Philippines is still dealing with the aftermath of colonization, which has led to
issues such as poverty, corruption, and political instability. Despite progress in some areas, the
country still faces significant challenges in achieving sustainable and inclusive development
due to high levels of income inequality and poverty, as well as persistent corruption and
political instability. According to the Philippine Statistics Authority, nearly 17% of the
population lives below the poverty line, and frequent changes in leadership and ongoing
conflicts in some regions of the country contribute to political instability. These challenges can
be traced back to the country's colonial past and continue to affect its development today.
I would highly recommend this documentary to other people because it not only
provides valuable information but also helps to open people's minds about how our world
became what it is today and what we can possibly do to continue solving the problems that the
world is facing.
In conclusion, Jared Diamond's theory of guns, germs, and steel helps explain the roots
of global stratification, which refers to the unequal distribution of resources and power between
nations and regions around the world. The Europeans' success can be attributed to geographical
luck, and their cultivation of that luck became the key to their prosperous advantage. According
to Diamond, the Europeans were able to dominate other societies during their global expansion
due to their military superiority and technological advancement, made possible by the invention
of steel, animal domestication, and the spread of infectious diseases. These factors created an
uneven playing field, allowing the Europeans to establish and maintain their dominance over
other societies. As a result, many countries colonized by the Europeans continue to suffer from
the effects of colonization, and the legacy of global stratification continues to shape our world.
 Today, the Philippines continues to face the legacy of colonization. It is still grappling
with issues such as poverty, corruption, and political instability, which can be traced back to
its colonial past. The country also has a high level of income inequality, with a significant
percentage of the population living in poverty. While the Philippines has made progress in
some areas, such as economic growth and poverty reduction, it still faces significant challenges
in achieving sustainable and inclusive development. The Philippines faces significant
challenges in achieving sustainable and inclusive development, with high levels of income
inequality and poverty, as well as persistent corruption and political instability. According to
data, nearly 17% of the population lives below the poverty line, and corruption remains a major
issue in the country. Political instability is also a concern, with frequent changes in leadership
and ongoing conflicts in some regions of the country. These challenges can be traced back to
the country's colonial past and continue to impact its development today.