Guns, Germs and Steel Part 7 of 18

Episode Two : Conquest (Part 1 of 6)

On November 15th 1532, 168 Spanish conquistadors arrive in the holy city of Cajamarca, at the heart of the Inca Empire, in Peru.

They are exhausted, outnumbered and terrified -- ahead of them are camped 80,000 Inca troops and the entourage of the Emperor himself.

Yet, within just 24 hours, more than 7,000 Inca warriors lie slaughtered; the Emperor languishes in chains; and the victorious Europeans begin a reign of colonial terror which will sweep through the entire American continent.

Why was the balance of power so unequal between the Old World, and the New?

Can Jared Diamond explain how America fell to guns, germs and steel?

Category:

Education

Tags:

• guns
• germs
• steel
• jared
• diamond
• pulitzer
• prize
• conquest

[mickeypopa]

Francisco Pizarro a great warrior? He was nothing but a mere butcher.

Why didn't he conquer Ottoman Empire if he was such a great warrior, but Indians of South America armed with nothing more than spears, wooden swords, stone axes and slingshots? Why didn't he defend Europe from Ottoman attacks and conquests? Why didn't he defend Spain's conquests in North Africa (Tunis and Algeria) from Ottomans?

Because he was a fucking pussy, that's why. Don't make me laugh with this "great warrior" shit.

[Beef1188]

Pizzaro was not a hero, he was greedy scum!

[dragonflyxj]

@osallent they did!

[balistik94]

@supersmash43 These animals cannot domesticated for a number of reasons that are explained in the book.

[balistik94]

@xxTeutonicKnightxx Watch Part 5 here : /watch?v=0edh5Itvhy8

Africa doesn't have the most resources on earth when it comes to farming. Only a small percentage of Africa has fertile soil and there's never been a crop as sustainable and nutritious as the ones found in the middle east. Add to that the fact that there is too little precipitation and difficult access to water.

[tamaduni]

stupid book----

[xxTeutonicKnightxx]

@osallent Thank you! You know what I am talking about...

Well they may have been there first or not, but they would have had some sort of colonizetion some were...

[osallent]

@xxTeutonicKnightxx That's true. Culture also plays a big role. The ancient Chinese had a great and powerful civilization, but their political instability and infighting prevented the Chinese fleets from conquering many parts of the world. Had their cultural problems not hindered them, perhaps the Chinese would have been the first to colonize parts of North America.

[evilblades]

@mickeypopa an European army armed with only swords, or even knives could have easily dealt with 200 arquebusiers in a flat fight if there were 7000 europeans...

Pizzaro had less soldiers than Custer at big horn, and defeated an enemy numbering more than 40 times as many. Pizzaros conquest is one of the most improbable in history.

Pizzaro also fought rival Europeans at times, expertly so, just look at the Battle of Las Salinas where he fought another conqistador flawlessly.