Notes on Guns, Germs, and Steel

World shaped by conquest, conquest of the world by Europeans. Conquistadors, few hundred men, decimated the native population of the new world (the Americas). Did this by using Guns, Germs, and Steel. In other words, military power, lethal microbes, and advanced technology. How have guns, germs, and steel shaped the history of the world? People living in Papaun New Guinea for atleast 40,000 years; Much longer than of the people on the North and South American Continents. New Guineans much more culturally diverse and adaptable, so why are they much poorer than modern Americans? New Guineans very intelligent and have a lot of ingenuity. So why did they not make metal tools or great cities first or any other trappings of modern civilization? All great civilizations have had some things in common; Advanced technology, large populations, and well organized workforces. Like thousands of years ago, some New Guineans are hunter/gatherers, meaning they hunt for animals for food and clothing and gather plants for food and materials. Problem with PNG is that the main gathered food is sako, which is a difficult to manufacture starch that also doesn't provide a lot of nutritional benefits. But in the Middle East, 13,000 years ago they had cereal crops like barley and wheat, which was much more beneficial than sako. But, global temperatures returned to ice age levels and caused a drought in the Middle East lasting for atleast a thousand years. This got rid of the nutritious plants that were being harvested and killed off the animal herds. This caused the populace to go much farther and look much harder for any source of food, but they somehow survived and even prospered.