Guns, Germs, and Steel - Episode 3 Viewing Guide

December 5th, 2019

Guns, Germs, and Steel

Episode 3

1) Due to their geographical location, Europeans had the most productive crops and animals, which allowed them to develop guns, germs, and steel.

2) The temperature and climate in the South African cape are about the same as it is in Europe because both locations have a similar latitude meaning the Europeans could grow the same type of crops and raise the same type of livestock.

3) Europeans brought new diseases to these populations, and when the people of the Americas and the South African cape came into contact with these diseases they died, which allowed the Europeans who were immune to these germs from prior exposure to settle into their lands.

4) The Europeans and their livestock were being infected by germs native to Africa and were dying. 

5) The native Africans had developed immunity to diseases because they had been exposed to these diseases for a long time. They also developed vaccines that could help provide immunity. Over thousands of years, the Africans learned how to avoid diseases like Malaria by living in high, dry areas where infected mosquitoes did not typically live. The Africans also lived in small communities spread out over large areas where they could minimize outbreaks. 

6) As the European colonists forced native Africans into large and crowded communities, diseases like Malaria and Smallpox were easily spread. The native populations lost the immunity they had to these diseases, and the diseases started to mutate. As the diseases mutated, the numbers of people infected skyrocketed, and more people started dying. 

7) The number one public health problem in Zambia is malaria. Children under the age of 5 are primarily affected.

8) Mothers who normally work are instead nursing sick children in hospitals because the disease affects children so often.

9) Malaria has caused a 1% negative growth in Africa each year for the last 50 years.

10) Governments in tropical countries like Malaysia and Singapore planned and executed measures to eliminate diseases like Malaria and were able to develop rich economies as a result.