Professor Jared Diamond wrote the book Guns, Germs, and Steel. Last Friday all three 6th grade teams: 6A, 6B, and 6C watched a National Geographic Documentary based on that book. At first Professor Diamond had no idea what to say in answer to Yali's question, but after some research in New Guinea, he found an answer.
Professor Diamond thought geography led to America's wealth, as well as Eurasian countries. The New Guineans' didn't have the same resources as Malaysia did to grow into the country we are now, so why is it that Australia and New Zealand became technologically advanced and wealthy when located in the same region as Papua New Guinea?
I think the people who live in different places also play a big role in the development of their countries. If they are willing to work extra hard and use their brains for more than just simple survival, then they can go farther than people who aren't ready to leave their hunting and gathering ways.
Australia and New Zealand probably got better resources from trading, there were more people around to trade with and more groups to be friendly with than in a small country like New Guinea. So Professor Diamond was correct that geography was important in the development of a country. Also, New Guinea didn't have crops that were high in nutrients, like other countries did. They didn't have any docile animals, either, like cows or sheep.
http://www.refugees.org/countryreports.aspx?__VIEWSTATE=dDwtOTMxNDcwOTk7O2w8Q291bnRyeUREOkdvQnV0dG9uOz4%2BUwqzZxIYLI0SfZCZue2XtA0UFEQ%3D&cid=709&subm=&ssm=&map=
http://www.sweetmarias.com/coffee.islands.australia.php
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/YearbookHomeInternal/138891/
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