Re:Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021
by tptacek on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @10:50PM
(#28939659)
If it's just guns, you have to account for the number of failed attempts, and the century-long military effort it took to hold territory. Cortés got his ass handed to him repeatedly in military conflicts.
Re:Evidence for European presence in the Americas in AD 1021
by jcranmer on Wednesday October 20, 2021 @10:58PM
(#28939703)
> century-long military effort it took to hold territory
Centuries, actually. Indigenous peoples in the Americas were able to hold out against European, and later successor state, attempts to acquire their territory until around 1900.
They do negate some of the spurious theories, but the central theory (IMO) is that there's a whole lot of luck involved in global domination, and that luck is not evenly spread.
The one about germs being less of a killer is definitely very interesting though. That's totally central, though -- if not germs doing the killing -- it'd just fall back onto guns. If you happen to dig up the link, I'd love to read through it.