Guns, Germs, and Steel is a movie that follows Jared Diamonds theory of why some

nations are more powerful than others. At the basis of power are guns, germs, and steel. Guns
allow for more efficient conquests, germs allow for a better immune system, and steel is the basis
for all major industries and tools. In order to develop guns, steel, and a stronger immune system
all comes down to farming. This means that farming is the key to a successful colony. Farming
originally started in the Fertile Crescent, an area in the Middle East; this area was one of the
most fertile in the world, and the first people to ever settle came here instead of hunting and
gathering. As time went on, crops from the Fertile Crescent spread throughout Europe and into
Eurasia. One of the areas that crops would have spread to was Germany. The reason why crops
would have spread to a place of the same latitude is due to the fact that they would have had
similar climates, soil, and sunlight exposure. So, according to Diamonds theory of farming,
Germany should be one of the most developed and powerful countries throughout history.
Germany was settled due to its natural resources. The first settlements in Germany were
along its coasts and rivers, no doubt a key in irrigating food for a population. Many wheat crops
are found naturally in Germany, such as rye, wheat, and barley. As well as wheat products
Germany is supposedly home to turnips, potatoes, and beans. All of these crops are full of
nutrition and would be able to support a group of people for an extended period of time.
Similarly, crops such as wheat were also found in the Fertile Crescent, proof that Diamonds
theory on the spread of farming is true. Important natural resources are also key to Germanys
founding and continuing success. Resources that are found in Germany are coal and salt,
resources that continue to be mined today. During the Roman Empire, the resource they used to
build their city was primarily brick, providing stability in their second Rome.

The first settlers came to Germany about 40,000 years ago. The very first humans
traveled from Africa and moved around the world traveling in the Middle East, Russia, India, and
Asia; humans arrived in Europe somewhere between 500,000 and 700,000 years ago. In fact, the
Fertile Crescent wasnt even settled until 40,000 years ago, and that was the first place to have
people build homes and stay in one area. Germany, actually, holds the oldest hunting tool
artifacts found to date, showing us that Neanderthals lived there until about 30,000 years prior to
today. Human settlements occurred in Germany between 30,000 and 40,000 years ago and is
said to have spread from the Fertile Crescent. The borders have changed in German history
significantly over time making it difficult to decipher when exactly the first people came to the
land since there are no natural landmarks on the Eastern side of Germany to distinguish it from
the rest of Europe.
People would have come to Germany due to its location, east of the Fertile Crescent that
also would have made the climate ideal for farming. The very first recorded German settlement
is modern day Trier. Around the year 2,000 B.C. the Assyrians established a colony here. This
site was settled by the Celtic-Germanic tribes and came under Roman control in 16 B.C.. They
referred to the city as Augusta Terverorum until Augustus Ceaser renamed the city Trier. Trier is
located on the Moselle River in West Germany and became a key trading city for the Romans
due to its location. The Roman city was founded around the first century A.D. and became
known as Second Rome because of its large size. The popularity of this city is mostly due to
the Roman Emperor Constantine establishing the first church here.
For most of Germanys history it was extremely split due to the variety of people, tribes,
or groups living there. The Romans tried and failed to unite what is now Germany into one state.
Around 500 B.C. to 100 B.C. Germany became colonized with the German tribes, a group of

people from the Baltic coast. Germany was then split between the Rhine River into the three
main German tribes and the Roman Empire. Since then, Germany has been very divided in
history and wasnt united into a country until the Franco-Prussian war when Otto von Bismark
united the nation.

Bibliography
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HISTORY OF GERMANY. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from

http://www.historyworld.net/wrldhis/PlainTextHistories.asp?historyid=ac62

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http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/History/Germany-history.htm

Roman Monuments, Cathedral of St Peter and Church of Our Lady in Trier. (n.d.). Retrieved
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Trier Germanys Oldest City. (n.d.). Retrieved February 2, 2015, from

http://www.mygermancity.com/trier