Big HistoryDavid Robarge

HIST 140

Theme: Humans are curiousJourney of Man

The Way We AreThe World and Trade

In The Way We Are, Burke points out that humans are what they know. Their desire for knowledge is human’s distinguishing characteristic. Knowledge has become a valuable resource because it defines who we are. Lose this information and we are someone else.

In The Journey of Man, Wells shows that human life started in Africa, and because of their curiosity, some groups ventured out of Africa to better land.

In The Way We Are, Burke points out that the ancient Greeks are a good example of early desire to find explanations behind the world’s mysteries.

In The World of Trade, it was the question of whether there was another route to trade with China was what brought Columbus to discover America.

Geography is ImportantThe World and Trade

Guns, Germs, and Steel

In Guns, Germs and Steel, Diamond explains how the location of the fertile crescent in the Middle East allowed European and Asian powers to become so advanced. The fertility of the crescent gave birth to crops and farm animals which allowed for large amounts of food production and prosperity.

In The World and Trade, the geographical nature of the Middle Eastern and Chinese trade route made it difficult for Europeans to achieve the profits of the Muslims. The Muslims had a dominant control over trade with China. The Europeans had no way around the Muslim dominated route to China.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, it is shown that the similar day lengths and climate from West and East of the fertile crescent allowed a spread of knowledge, whereas the different climates from North to South in the Americas made information spread cumbersome.

Climate Affects HistoryCatastrophe!

Journey of Man

In Catastrophe, Keys finds that a volcanic eruption blocked out the sun and caused colder conditions across the globe. Such an event is detailed by many civilization, indicating it the resulting cold weather damaged crops and created harsh conditions.

In The Journey of Man, about 50,000 to 70,000 years ago the world was under an ice age. Fertile land became desert and food for humans was hard to find. Because of this climactic event, some humans in Africa made a quantum leap of thinking and decided to leave Africa and colonize the rest of the world.

When Two Worlds Meet, Both Are Changed The World and Trade

Guns, Germs and Steel

In The World and Trade, Columbus’ discovery changed the New World and the Old World. The discovery of the potato gave Europe a crop that could resist cold weather. Europeans also discovered vast amount of wealth in South American gold, and new commodities like cacao beans. The New World changed in ethnic background, work animals were introduced from Europe, the land was industrialized, and a new society of Spanish and Italian settlers made the country a new trading post.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, it is shown that the diseases Spaniards brought to the new world were devastating, and as many as 95% of the population of South America was wiped out. In this case, though, Natives had no deadly diseases to pass back to Europeans.

Disease Can Change HistoryCatastrophe!

Guns, Germs and Steel

In Catastrophe, the presence of the cold brought about in 6th century allowed for the Bubonic Plague to spread rapidly, killing millions in the Roman Empire. The result was economically and militarily devastating, and crippled the Roman Empire.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, the presence of smallpox carried over by Spaniards to South America made the conquest of the continent much easier than before.

The Bubonic Plague changed the political shape of Britain. The Celtic Britains in the West had their population drop dramatically because they traded with Romans and caught the plague. This allowed for the Angles and the Saxons in the East to conquer the Celts and create a unified British country.

Civilizations Differ in Speeds of Advancement

The World and Trade Guns, Germs and Steel

In Germs, Guns, and Steel, certain civilizations developed more slowly for varieties of reasons. Some spent much of their time acquiring food, such as New Guineans, and so did not have the food surplus to feed people specializing in metalworking and other advanced fields. People of Eurasia, for example, developed quickly to due large surpluses in food and could concentrate on advancing the way of life.

In The World and Trade, China in the Middle Ages was the richest and most powerful empire in the world. The climate, as well as the work animals which spread from the Fertile Crescent, allowed the Chinese to become agriculturally productive and invest energy in research. The inventions of China helped it advance beyond other nations.

In the World and Trade, it is noted that some civilizations advance farther in certain areas due to their needs. The Incans had sophisticated farming techniques to cultivate their potato crops, and the Sumerians had the first system of writing with which to record food transactions.

Institutions of ChangeThe Way We Are

Guns, Germs, and SteelThe World And Trade

In The Way We Are, Burke explains that change comes from humans desire to lean everything there is to know about nature. Some civilizations believed in gods and myths and already have explanations for the world around them. People like the Greeks had practical questions about how things worked. For these people, change was a a way to more productive life.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, radical change came at a price of life. The Spaniards conquered the Incas because the Spanish has an institution for change. They invested resources in men and leadership to discover the new world.

In The World and Trade, Columbus discovered the New World because Europeans had a desire to change the trade situation with China. Muslim traders had no need for such change because they had a virtual monopoly over the China trade route.

People Are Always Looking For A Better Deal

The Way We Are, Guns, Germs and Steel, The World And Trade

In The Way We Are, the Ionians left Greece to settle elsewhere in search for a better way of life.

In The World and Trade, European merchants were anxious to find a way around the relatively high costs of trading with Muslims. They wanted to find a way to increase their profits.

In Guns, Germs, and Steel, Conquistadors left Spain for a chance at riches.

In The World and Trade, the Spanish discovery of the potato was eventually capitalized upon by Europeans for its nutritious properties and strength against harsh conditions.

The World Is Always ChangingThe Journey of Man

The Way We AreCatastrophe

In The Journey of Man, Wells finds evidence that humans have gone through a constant process of change, in terms of how they look, where they live, and what they do. Humans started as one group in Africa, and have stemmed into many unique cultures.

In The Way We Are, Burke points out that to Western culture, the only constant is change. We emphasize the pursuit of change, and grab onto whatever effects we desire. Sometimes we cannot see the effects of an innovation, and the final effects are felt far in the future.

In Catastrophe, it is to be noted that the climate is ever changing, and the result of this is adaptations by humans to deal with the results of harsh conditions, like those following the Krakatoa explosion in the sixth century.

The Unity FactorGuns, Germs and SteelThe World and Trade

In Guns, Germs and Steel, Diamond points out that China’s early unification led to its early advances because innovations could easily spread through the empire. Non-unification in other early cultures such as those in Europe and the America’s led to less spread of knowledge. Later, the non-unification of Europe would allow it to continue innovation .

In The World and Trade, the splitting of several large empires in South America with the Aztecs, Incas and Mayans gave the Spanish an easier time in conquering the continent.