Was European expansion between 1450 and 1700 aided more by guns or by germs?
As the 16th century was fast approaching the general opinion in Europe was one of a new age, an age of exploration and expansion. This opinion was motivated by an appeal to new trade, the opportunity of new wealth and the option to spread Christianity which was so prominent in Europe, to other parts of the world. In order to assess how this was achieved two factors need to be considered: guns and germs.
Where germs are mentioned it is referring to the lethal diseases which the European travellers bought over with them such as smallpox, measles and typhus. These diseases, led to a great depopulation of the new world, a world which previous ‘there was then no sickness,
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The epidemics which engrossed countless towns and cities led to a lack of food due to the lack of hands, leading to great starvation, meaning many were too weak to fight or were dead. As well as this the psychological impact of these diseases led to something which ‘marks its victim for the rest of their lives’ .The weakness allowed for ‘respite to reorganize and prepare a counterattack’. In these cases, without the disease effecting the opposing populations, the Europeans may have been successfully fought against and been pushed out of where they were. These germs allowed an army which at times was weak to proceed and colonise. Therefore, the germs aided the guns in their succession to European …show more content…
Although some did try to replicate this level of weaponry and military organisation it was never completely achieved. The Ottoman army ‘appears to have adopted and mastered western military technology’.They tried to replicate the field guns and the advanced siege techniques. However, ‘they never succeeded beyond the initial stage’ exposing just how superior the European armies were. This superiority led to them triumphing rapidly in particular places such as the south where empires collapsed such as one under Francisco Pizarro to a ‘smaller group of 168 Europeans’ the small size of this group shows just how advance their techniques were. The superiority allowed them to advance as the opposition was far inferior. This superiority was what had gained them many of their new colonies however, as mentioned earlier not everywhere was so quick to back down such as the Ottoman empire and without the germs many of these empires may not have backed
Let’s not forget about the roman catholic church which expanded into eastern Europe and the Islamic Spain. Leading to how did borrowing from the abroad shaped European Civilization after 1000. It was said that it was played a crucial role in establishing a significant tradition in the technological innovations. With this idea in mind it allowed Europe to catch up Asia by the 1500. Borrowing from Asia allowed them the equipment needed to plow the heavy soils of northern Europe.
Europeans brought diseases such as cholera, malaria, measles, mumps, smallpox, typhoid, and yellow fever to name a few. The only known disease that the Natives probably had was syphilis. Although the Europeans inadvertently shared their diseases they did share other
A virus that spread easily and could be deadly when not treated. In the Age of Exploration time period they didn’t have the technology like we have today to cure such a disease. In documents 2a-b the first part is a statement talking about how the Natives and Africans rarely got sick, its says “ There was no sickness; they had no aching bones; they had then no high fever; they had then no smallpox.” This is showing how before the Europeans all of the diseases and the sicknesses that came with them never occurred in the Natives life. In the document the second portion that follows says, “ There was great havoc.
The frequent battle to protect the homeland lasted centuries, but as economies faltered and forces dwindled the capability to defend was slowly lost. Immediately, when the time was just right, barbarians gained the upper hand killing all defensive forces and leaving no survivors. On the contrary, not only were their foreign wars, civil wars, and revolts in each empire, there were also natural disasters to blame for their disappearance. For many years, waves of one or more diseases, the first epidemics of smallpox and measles, swept through the Empires, ultimately killing about half the population. Due to the lack of medical advances there was little to no knowledge of how to treat to different sicknesses.
Europe was a vastly populated continent, and had been for centuries. Diseases such as smallpox, measles, whooping cough, chicken pox, bubonic plague, typhus, and malaria (Denevan) were brought into the new world. The new world was not as densely populated as the old, and when the Europeans arrived Natives of the Americas were immune to the diseases and began to
On the other hand, Europeans didn’t have the same effect when they came in contact with these diseases. Exposed to the diseases at an early age, Europeans were mostly to fully immune. With the devastating effects of disease, native culture was starting to change. Persuaded that their native gods have abandoned them, many natives converted to Christianity. Forced by disease, natives usually married relatives that survived the diseases since appropriate partners were scarce.
History of American West changed forever when James Marshall found gold at Coloma on the American River in California on January 24th, 1848. It started Westward expansion. People from all over the world start coming to the west. Mexico was still dominating the western area. Mexican- American war ended their reign and they forced to surrender.
Although the Columbian Exchange supplied Spain with limitless wealth in the silver industry, the presences of both the Europeans and the Africans caused a wide-spread outbreak of diseases across the Atlantic World. Because the Native Americans had no immunities to deadly diseases such as small pox, these epidemics spread at an alarming rate. Entire towns perished without anyone left to bury the deceased.
The rising and falling of regions of the world is a commonly observed pattern in history, and the changes which ran their course over Europe between 1450 and 1700 formed an important shift in the continent. “In the fifteenth century, European society was still centered on the Mediterranean region, but by the end of the seventeenth century, the focus of Europe had shifted north.” After the fall of the Middle Ages, the Renaissance had sprung up in Florence, Italy and brought forth the cultured art and ideas which characterized the High Renaissance. However, drastic developments began to take place as the Renaissance migrated north, northern countries unified, and a new Atlantic trade began. Between the fifteenth and seventeenth centuries, the
The European conquerors had built up an immunity to certain diseases that were common in Europe. Some of the diseases that decimated the Indian population included the following: smallpox, measles, influenza, typhus, and the bubonic plague. Centuries of living near livestock had basically inoculated the European settlers against these diseases. However the Indians were not used to such diseases, resulting in a dramatic decline in the Native American population. According to Diamond, smallpox was a major role in the domination of the Americas by the Europeans.
There have been debates over the years as to which aspect had the greatest impact on the Native peoples from the European explorers. Is it guns, germs, or steel? Over the years, a lot of the credit for European explorers being successful in the New World had been attributed to the advantages that they had, such as better weapons, being able to read, think critically and even the fact that they had horses. Let us first explore the effects that guns and steel had on the Native peoples. Guns and steel, when mentioned, symbolize Europeans’ technological competencies.
The Black Death, the most notorious epidemic of the plague, wiped out around thirty to fifty percent of Europe’s population between around 1346-1353. Despite the massive loss of life, it is important to consider that dire situations can reap surprising benefits and are often necessary to give society a nudge forward to greater prospects. As traumatic and horrific as the Black Death was, it offered a variety of opportunities that assisted in propelling Europe to a brighter future. 1. Advancements in Anatomy
The consequential catastrophic genocide was a result of the natives’ complete lack of immunity to foreign bacteria. As D'Souza’s analysis of the transfer is called “The Crimes of Christopher Columbus”, he likely believes that the Old World wreaked such destructive havoc
Almost every single person from the New World, whether a slave or not, was seriously impacted by the spread of diseases. Furthermore,
As the Europeans found native along the coasts of the New World, they found them easily malleable and able to be used, so they enslaved them and those who fought back were wiped out. Europeans, as well as the Africans, had built up a resistance to many diseases such as smallpox and were therefore not really affected as much by the diseases if they became sick. However, the Native Americans had not had contact with the disease and it quickly spread rapidly and slowly helped the Spanish rid themselves of the natives so they could take control of the land. Geoffrey Cowley offers insight on just how profound the effect of smallpox was when he writes, “ ...When the newcomers arrived carrying mumps, measles, whooping cough, smallpox, cholera, gonorrhea and yellow fever, the Indians were immunologically