<P> Diamond realized the same question seemed to apply elsewhere: "People of Eurasian origin...dominate...the world in wealth and power ." Other peoples, after having thrown off colonial domination, still lag in wealth and power . Still others, he says, "have been decimated, subjugated, and in some cases even exterminated by European colonialists ." (p. 15) </P> <P> The peoples of other continents (sub-Saharan Africans, Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians and New Guineans, and the original inhabitants of tropical Southeast Asia) have been largely conquered, displaced and in some extreme cases--referring to Native Americans, Aboriginal Australians, and South Africa's indigenous Khoisan peoples--largely exterminated by farm - based societies such as Eurasians and Bantu . He believes this is due to these societies' technologic and immunologic advantages, stemming from the early rise of agriculture after the last Ice Age . </P> <P> The book's title is a reference to the means by which farm - based societies conquered populations of other areas and maintained dominance, despite sometimes being vastly outnumbered--superior weapons provided immediate military superiority (guns); Eurasian diseases weakened and reduced local populations, who had no immunity, making it easier to maintain control over them (germs); and durable means of transport (steel) enabled imperialism . </P> <P> Diamond argues geographic, climatic and environmental characteristics which favored early development of stable agricultural societies ultimately led to immunity to diseases endemic in agricultural animals and the development of powerful, organized states capable of dominating others . </P>

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