Geography assignment # 5

1.

After watching the documentary Germs, Guns and Steel: the fates of human society, I

also believe that Geography plays a main part in defining how much a country, an area or a
region will develop. The theory makes absolute sense when we analyze places like Europe and
Asia, which currently represent the most developed regions in the world and figure out through
history that the middle-east region, known as the fertile crescent, was blessed with the best
location, which gave them a head start in developing crops, plantation and farms (because they
had plants suitable for domestication and also suitable for other parts of the globe) due to
favorable climate and their livestock. These factors led to the development of the first
populations, such as the Egyptian.
2.

The early civilizations in the Middle East region gathered food to survive. Being nomads,

they had to live where food was, therefore they moved whenever there was a change in the
season, so they could plant and also find animals to hunt. However, they were only able to live in
such way because they were in a region where the crops were easy to be domesticated (such as
food grasses) and the climate was less arid, which proves Diamonds theory. They soon began,
with the creation of tools, to dominate the area. People started putting down roots. They began to
storage food, especially grains like wheat and barley, settled in locations near water, and became
farmers, which was a major change in the development of the area. These plantations were
nutritive and grew rapidly, which was enough to feed numerous populations. This region was
also blessed with big and strong animals that were useful for both work and for feeding the
people. By being close to them, the people in this area naturally developed immunity to all the
diseases that affected other areas like the Americas. All these factors support Diamonds theory
that the Fertile Crescent region, as it is known, had a head start because of its geographically
location and aspects.

Geography assignment # 5

3.

The Fertile Crescent area had big, strong, useful animals like cows, pigs, sheep, goat and

horses. They not only were used as aliment, but the early hunters were also able to domesticate
them, which helped with the work they had to perform in the crops, transportation and conquer
of other small areas. The proximity to these animals caused their immunologic system to create
its own defense against the worst diseases. These same types of animals were taken to other
regions, like Egypt and the Americas, because they were big enough to feed large populations.
4.

The Europeans were fortunate because of their Geographical location. Their geographical

position on the globe, their climate, their raw material, their abundance of fine fauna and flora,
their large rivers and oceans, their ability and proximity which facilitated trade of any kind,
especially of technology, all these reasons enable the Europeans to be the first people to conquer
the rest of the planet.