In Jared Diamond’s video Guns Germs and Steel, he covers the topic of how human’s

evolution and the developments of different societies throughout history. He further goes into
detail about the domestication of plants and animals, the spread of different germs and diseases,
and the advancements and developments of different tools and technologies.

The first area of settlement was the Fertile Crescent that first appeared in the Middle East
region 11,500 years ago. A huge factor why there were so many people there because this was an
area where there was an increase in food production. The Middle East had a good water source,
domesticated crops, and animals, and had advancements in technology. The main type of crops
found in this area include wheat and barley. Along with the domestication of crops came
animals, the two main animals that were domesticated were sheep and goats. However, many
people here faced with the diseases that came with these animals because of what they ate. Many
of the diseases that people caught and had were smallpox, malaria, measles, and the flu.

The first settlement of South Africa was actually the first human-like Australopithecus
Africans or southern apes. They are thought to be three million years old and was discovered on
the sites on the Highveld. Many of these early humans like in the Fertile Crescent in Guns,
Germs, and Steel were hunter-gatherers. Many of these people would gather wild plant foods and
collect shellfish if they lived near the coast. They also would domesticate their first livestock
which was the fat-tailed sheep about 20,000 years ago. This group of people from an early start
had many advancements in the technology they used such as they had stone tools to help them
with basic tasks they needed to do because they became very specialized. Since these first
farmers had knowledge of ironworking because of their stone tools many of the archaeological
sites characterized this per overtime the tools were large and were used for multipurpose things
but then got smaller also known as Iron Age (c.200 CE).
 As new groups of people arrived in South Africa they began strong connections to East
Africa specifically the Bantu-speaking people who today make up the majority of South Africa’s
population today’s day in age. Many of these Bantu- speaking people began migrating into
present-day South Africa around the period of AD 500. As they migrated in they would
continuously bring with them new technologies such as iron smelting and new domesticated
livestock. Many of the times these Bantu Speakers and the Khoikhoi was also known as a
descendant of the middle Paleolithic populations. They would often trade with each other
because the Khoikhoi wanted to get their hands on the Iron which they also used in their tools as
well as dagga or marijuana because it didn’t grow well in the dry Cape.

The first European to come into contact with these different social groups living in South
Africa were the Portuguese. These Portuguese were sailors who were attempting to find routes to
the spice islands of Asia. For many years the Portuguese were pushing further south of Africa’s
western coastal line until in 1487 when a ship captained by Bartholomew Diaz made it round to
the Cape of Good Hope and sailed up the eastern coast of southern Africa to the Algoa Bay.
Over the next 200 years, the Portuguese would begin trading and increasing their numbers every
year because South Africa had an abundance of natural resources and vegetation. Until the Dutch
Portuguese competitor made their way to the east via the Cape of Good Hope. In 1652 Dutch
traders had arrived in South Africa. When they arrived, it was an official stopping point on the
spice route from the Netherlands. After stopping the spice route, they founded the city of Cape
Town, which is located in the southern part of South Africa.

In 1806, the British came and overtook Cape Town and the Cape of Good Hope. The
Dutch did not like this so this so they rebelled against the British and left Cape Town in order to
find new land. When they decided to leave migration to find new land was referred to as “The
Great Trek”. During the migration of the Trek, the Dutch discovered a new disease that was
carried by a mosquito know as Malaria. This disease was also discovered in Jared Diamond’s
video Guns, Germs, and Steel. With this newly discovered disease found it made it hard for men,
women, and even livestock to survive the bite. After surviving hundreds of deaths between
Europeans and Africans from disease and war the population was able to recover. The discovery
of natural resources like diamonds and gold created more wealth and more immigration to spread
all over.
Resources:
Gordon, D. F., & Cobbing, J. R. (2018, January 19). South Africa. Retrieved January 24, 2018,

from https://www.britannica.com/place/South-Africa/History

The World Factbook: SOUTH AFRICA. (2018, January 17). Retrieved January 24, 2018, from

https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/sf.html