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Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay #4: Bronze v. Steel: Why Spain Trumped the Inca

Why were Spanish weapons so much more advanced than the Inca’s? Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA thinks this is due to geographic luck. Geographic luck is the term coined to describe the phenomenon of the fact that some people are placed on a better geographic latitude than others. Nevertheless, advanced steel swords were developed only in Europe because of geographic luck. First, Incan bronze knifes should be examined. Then, Spanish steel will be inspected thoroughly. Lastly, a side by side comparison between steel and bronze as weapon material will ensue. However, before conclusions can be drawn, Incan bronze must be studied in further detail.

Incan bronze was pitifully primitive. Its soft and malleable consistency makes the weapons made of this metal prone to breaks if heated to too high temperatures and inclined to bend if put under too much pressure. Such a weapon can make it dangerous in a fight; if it breaks or bends, it strands the owner without any defenses. Nonetheless, why did the Inca use such pliant material to make weapons? The answer is simple: they had to. First of all, bronze was the most reliable and most suited to weapon making material that they had. They also had a plethora of the semi-precious metal. In addition, the Inca could not make long burning fires required to make steel. Given that they could not create these fires, it was easy for them to use bronze since it was so easy to mold. However, this came at a price. Using the supple material made it easy to shape, but its effectiveness as a weapon decreased as a result.  If the Inca’s weapons were so hopeless, how did they become such a large empire?  Though the Inca could only make these weapons, the rest of the Americas were stuck with them. Since everyone had the same weapons, they could easily overpower others by sheer numbers or strategy. Having now evaluated the tools of the Americas, steel must likewise be appraised.

Steel was wickedly sharp and advanced. It was strong, but not brittle. It was flexible, but not soft. It was lightweight, but still weighted. It was long and maneuverable. How did it get to be this way? The answer lies in the lines. The geographic lines, that is. Since Spain lies on the same latitude as the Middle East, they got to inherit all of their special tricks. They got the secret of gunpowder. Developed and domesticated farming. Most of all, they got their centuries of metallurgy. Since the people of the Fertile Crescent had already started Europe off, Europeans had an easier time; instead of wasting time trying to find the secret of steel, they could begin right off perfecting it. They got a running start ahead of the rest of the world. In addition to having years of inherited experience, they also had large deposits of iron ore and generous amounts of forests to burn. Now, the Spanish had the experience and the materials that are needed to create steel. For another reason, the Spaniards were constantly at war with their neighbors, creating the element of competition. Spain had the wisdom, the resources, and the drive to make the best steel in the world. Now having examined both materials individually, a side by side comparison is essential.

Spanish steel is better than Incan bronze in many ways. Spain had sharp, hard swords. The perfect balance; neither pliable nor brittle. The Inca had blunt knives, unable to sharpen bronze to a point. In war, the Spanish can use the long reach of their swords to thrust, hack, and slash their way through a battalion of enemies. The Inca can only use their 5-6 inches of range. Spain can use their weapons without much danger of snapping or deforming their weapons. On the contrary, the Inca’s soft weapons bend easily, causing constant worry of warping a weapon. When all is said and done, it can be easily recognized that Spanish steel was a more preferable alternative to Incan bronze.

All things considered, Spanish steel is definitively a more beneficial weapon than Incan bronze. Incan bronze is a soft, pliant metal, unfit for making top grade weapons. Alternatively, Spanish steel is a deadly sharp and flexible metal, the best in the world for making swords. Since steel has so many more advantages, it is a metal more suited to making weapons than bronze. All in all, steel has more desirable characteristics as a weapon making material than bronze. But a person has to give it to them. The Inca can sure make a shiny knife.

Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay #3: Domesticated Animals to World Riches

Ever wondered how Europe became such a successful empire? Part of the reason is because of the livestock they owned. Their blessing of good latitude placement, or geographic luck, allowed them to have livestock, one of the most important factors in the development of a booming civilization. Animal domestication played a large role in the development of rich societies throughout the world. Livestock passed on smallpox, a crucial part in European conquest. Next, material items gave the societies in question a nutritional edge. Finally, domesticated animals performed important services that greatly improved the workings of a certain people. To start, however, an explanation of livestock in the development of smallpox is appropriate.

Smallpox was one of the ways that domesticated animals aided advanced civilizations. How is this possible? Well, among the general populace, it is a little known, although crucial, fact that smallpox was originally a cow’s disease. It was passed on through drinking their milk, eating their meat, and keeping them in close contact. How would this be useful though? Would being sick not be a disagreeable experience? Would a plague that swept over an empire’s population not be a bad thing? Here’s the thing. The answer is both yes and no. While in the short term it would dramatically reduce the inhabitants of the land and contribute to a declining economy, in the long term, a civilization would eventually breed against smallpox. Since only the strongest and most immune survive, the weak and sickly genes eventually die off. A plague is nature’s pruning system; breeding only the best and brightest allows the survivors to become more resilient. Consequently, in the case of the Europeans, they were able to “grow out of it”, so to speak, and use it as a weapon. Everywhere they went to conquer, where smallpox was a foreign disease, the indigenous people were swept off of their feet, bombarded by artillery and the more dangerous ailment of smallpox. On top of smallpox, livestock’s material items gave farmers a significant upper hand.

Domesticated animals supplied many material items that assisted considerably in the creation of great civilizations. It might be thought that materials may not give one much of an advantage, but in reality, the opposite is true. Meat and milk from livestock enabled societies that owned livestock to gain a sizable advantage over other empires. It gave them important sustenance food; a nutritious counterpart to other protein sources. Additionally, without milk, finding calcium would be difficult. Good nutrition is one of the most important things you can keep track of. Why do they teach about it in schools today? Livestock provided the extra head start for civilizations that owned them.  Domesticated animals provided tools. Their bones became weapons. Their hides became shelters. These primitive tools gave Europeans and other civilizations with domesticated animals a wide advantage. In addition to providing material items, livestock also executed services crucial to a society’s development.

Domesticated animals carried out key services for people in advanced civilization. In war, they rode horses into battle, giving them the ability to trample and scare their enemies. When Spain was battling the Inca, they scared off them with their giant horses, causing the Incan infantry to collapse in panic. This allowed Spain to capture and hold their leader hostage. That’s not all. In farming, oxen and donkeys plowed the land in a shorter time than it would take to do by hand. As a result, farming became a more efficient and, therefore, beneficial process. They were also able to move trade and ideas throughout their continent faster, making it more worthwhile to make a long journey. After analyzing the many services given from livestock, it can be concluded that domesticating animals was one of the prime reasons why certain civilizations became successful while others failed.

Through domesticating animals, civilizations were able to glean off of their benefits and, therefore, became rich and successful. Smallpox, which came from cows, made conquest easier for the occupiers in question. Material items procured by livestock allowed for good nutrition and tools. Services provided by domesticated animals gave advanced civilizations the edge in trading and battle.  To sum up, domesticated animals aided critically in the creation of advanced societies.

Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay #2: The Inca’s Fall to Europe

Even though the Inca had a mighty force of 80,000 men and Spain only 168, the Europeans easily defeated them. Why did this happen? Europe conquered the Inca without difficulty, despite their large numbers, because they were more advanced than them. They had many weapons on their side. One of their most deadly being the silent killer: smallpox. They had one of the smartest strategies, proven to work from previous battles.  And finally, they had top-notch swords and guns while the Inca had none. To look at this issue further, one needs to look at how European smallpox was one of the most potent weapons in history.

Smallpox played a key role in the Inca’s collapse to Europe. Smallpox was a deadly European disease that killed almost everyone who contracted it. According to Professor Jared Diamond of UCLA, 95% of indigenous Americans were wiped out completely by smallpox. So why didn’t the Spaniards suffer from the same fate? Well, turns out, they did. Smallpox was a disease that came from domestic cows. The Inca had no cows, only llamas. The Spaniards had, over time, built up immunity from smallpox. Over the generations, when smallpox was an epidemic in Europe, only the strongest of people survived to regenerate. So after many centuries, the Europeans had become almost a super-breed; practically immune to smallpox, they could fight wars without danger of a large breakout. However, the Inca had no helpful animal friends to develop any sort of resistance. Their vegetation did not serve as proper feeding grounds for cows. Moreover, they did not allow their llamas into their homes, nor did they milk them. Therefore, since the Inca had no cows, smallpox was a foreign disease. During the war, the Americans were either sick, nursing, or dead. However, while it is important to recognize that smallpox was a vital aspect concerning the Inca’s downfall, it is equally essential to realize that the Spaniard's strategy also played of utmost importance.

The strategy employed by the Spanish was one of the reasons they won over the Americans. What the Spaniards lacked in quantity was redeemed in brains. However, their brilliant strategy would never have come to be had the gift of writing not occurred.  According to Professor Diamond, the expedition’s leader had taken a page out of a war strategy from a few years ago. A former conquistador, Hernando Cortez, had written a book containing the surprise attack tactic. The Inca had no writing because of the continent they were placed on. Since the Maya had writing, it should have passed on to the Inca. But since they did not lie on the same latitude, it did not pass on. During the battle, they employed the scheme beautifully. When they fought, their priest showed the Inca’s leader, Atahualpa, their bible in attempt at peaceful conversion. But since Atahualpa had never seen books, he scoffed at the Spaniards and called for his massive army to attack. They obeyed, but foolishly fell apart into a mass panic when the Spanish brought out their guns. They thought the Spaniards were gods, sitting majestically on giant horses with lethally sharp steel swords, compared to their own blunt bronze ones. Now that the army was in a panicked frenzy, the Spanish promptly capture Atahualpa and force him to command his people to obey Spain and give the Spanish 20 tons of gold and silver. After they gather their riches, they kill Atahualpa, realizing that he was of no use to them. The Inca have now been cleverly reformed by Spain. Having examined this brilliant line of attack, it is imperative to note that none of the stratagems utilized here would have worked without Europe’s weapons.

Spain’s development in weaponry was superior to that of their adversary’s. First of all, Europe's guns were top of the line in the world at the time. They were developed because of gunpowder brought from China. The Inca never got to make them because China was an entire ocean away. Steel was also one of Spain’s fineries. They had the best in the planet, while the Inca had no steel at all! Incans did not have the proper climate to have long burning fires required to make steel while Europe had centuries to perfect it. They had inherited all of the Fertile Crescent’s metallurgy. Now that all of these have been examined, it can be concluded that Europe was more advanced than the Inca.

As can be seen, Spain was infinitely more sophisticated than the Inca, which is why they were able to defeat the enormous Incan army relatively effortlessly. Smallpox went on a rampage, making the Spaniard's job simpler by incapacitating most of the Americans. Then, their outstanding strategy involved staging a surprise attack, then capturing Atahualpa. Of course, the strategy depended on Europe’s fine weapons. Finally, on the whole, the reason why Europe’s exiguous cavalry overpowered the Inca’s extensive infantry was because of Europe’s degree of experience and good fortune was vastly superior to that of the Inca’s.

Guns, Germs, and Steel Essay #1: Geographic Luck in the European Domination of the World

Have you ever thought about how Europe became such a large empire? Jared Diamond, a UCLA professor, explains on the TV program Guns, Germs, and Steel, that it is due to geographic luck. Geographic luck is the term used to describe the phenomenon of the fact that people in some areas are just luckier than others. For instance, the Fertile Crescent got nutritious wheat and barley while Papua New Guinea got sago palm. However, Professor Diamond has the right idea. Geographic luck shaped the path to European dominance. Firstly, farming, which played a huge role in Europe, came through their good fortune. Second, key roles in Europe’s conquering spree came through their well-placed civilization.  Finally, Europe’s weapons, the finest in the world, came through their good geographic placement. In order to understand geography’s role in Europe’s superiority, farming and agriculture are essential subjects to look at.

Farming was a vital character in Europe’s progressive march towards global dictatorship. According to Jared Diamond, Europe’s domestic animals provided crucial items, such as shelter made from skins, bones for tools, meat, and milk. Using these, they were able to develop more as a society compared to other places without livestock. Domesticated animals helped Europe evolve against smallpox since smallpox was originally a cow’s disease. Over the generations, after the fittest and strongest had been put into the gene pool, the Europeans had become almost completely immune to smallpox. Europe’s livestock were also used for war and to plow land for nutritious foods that Europe’s geographic luck had pulled through for. While the Inca got bad land and the New Guineans got sago, the Europeans got arable land with nourishing wheat and barley to grow in it. As a result, Europeans became a more stable culture than hunter-gatherer nomads. In understanding farming’s benefit to Europe, it is also important to recognize how the Europeans were more developed than the empires they conquered.

Europe was superior to the civilizations they conquered in every way, except in numbers. Disease came to Europeans early, so they could suffer in an unimportant time when they were not fighting. The Inca and the Khoi San were not so lucky. According to Guns, Germs, and Steel, they were mostly killed by smallpox during the heat of war against Europe. Because it was a foreign disease to them, they had no resistance like the Europeans. Europe also had incredible weapons. Soft Incan bronze was no match for European steel. While Europeans frolicked about, defeating empires right and left, their victims had to fight against the most innovative weapons at the time, all while ailing through one of the most deadly diseases in the world. The final area to be examined is Europe’s authority in weaponry.

Weapons, along with Europe’s war power, came to existence only because of Europe’s environment. Europe inherited decades to centuries of metallurgy from the Fertile Crescent and had even longer to perfect it. The level of steel Europe had existed only because their climate was dry enough to create long burning fires required to heat the iron ore. While Europe had strong steel, the Inca were still using soft bronze weapons. In addition to top-notch swords, the Europeans also had guns. Gunpowder came from China. If the two empires were not on the same latitude, gunpowder would not have arrived at Europe for them to perfect the gun. Examining all of these factors, it can be confirmed that Europe was clearly influenced by geographic luck.

As can be seen, geographic luck helped Europe conquer the rest of the world. Farming allowed Europeans to form villages and develop advanced societies. It assisted them to evolve against diseases like smallpox. Farming also let them develop transportation and labor through livestock. Europe’s advancements in society were all due to their geographic location. It was the reason why they conquered other disease-ridden, primitive empires so easily. Plus, weapons and metallurgy were only developed through the good fortune of the European’s placement and climate. As a result, it is obvious that geographic luck paved the way to the Western-dominant present.

Round Moon (Haiku)

15th of 8th month,
the moon shines bright; the moon festival.
Eat mooncakes.

Brush and Floss! (Tanka)

Sweets rot teeth, you know.
I beg you; cease your feasting!
Bring not this shamed fate
upon you. Of repulsive
features, decayed molars win!

Beware (Diamente)

Ghosts
Spooky, Creepy
Floating, Gliding, Scaring
Bedsheets, Eyeholes...Wings, Wands
Flying, Granting, Casting
Sparkly, Magical
Fairies

Late (Tanka)

School starts on the first
of September at seven.
Wake late for the bus,
running down the muddy street.
Then stop to take in sunrise.