Graham's+Final

Yali's question is much more broad than it may seem at first. He is not talking about specific individuals but about the distribution of wealth between countries. To answer this question, we must look at the development of countries and what allowed them to gain these valuable resources and become financially successful.

=Domesticable Animals=

Not every animal is capable of being domesticated. In fact, only a select few are capable of being truly domesticated. And they were not distributed evenly throughout the world. There are few animals capable of domestication that would be useful to our ancestors. They have to meet these criteria:
 * Size: For a work animal, they have to be big enough to do a substantial amount of work.
 * Behavior: An animal with bad temperament is far too dangerous to be raised and would not be safe to use in the fields.
 * Growth Rates: If it takes too long for an animal to grow to its size, it's not worth raising it for that long.
 * Diet: Animals that eat meat are far too costly to raise because you would have to raise other animals just to feed them.

(source: [|http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/cattle.html)]

With all these categories there are very few animals that fit. In fact, there are really only five major animals in the world that meet this criteria: cattle, goats, sheep, pigs, llamas, and horses. These animals are not distributed throughout the world evenly.

Goats are from the Middle East but were quickly transported to Europe and Asia. Horses were domesticated in the Ukraine. Llamas were domesticated in South America. Leaving vast amounts of land without any workforce animals. Meaning areas without these animals had to do all their farming by hand.

(source: About the Ancient 14)

Another advantage often overlooked is "germs". People indigenous to areas with germs would be immune to them. However, when outsiders came in to invade, they would catch them and often die from them.

The Europeans are notorious for unintentional uses of diseases in warfare. They would be carrying many diseases, such as smallpox, from their homeland. When they would invade other countries, they would bring their smallpox with them, and the people of that country (not being accustomed to smallpox) would catch it quickly and die.

The Europeans were unaffected by smallpox because they had been raising cattle. Cattle often carry a less deadly version of smallpox. After the Europeans have gotten this, their bodies will be immune to smallpox but still carry it.

=Suitable Crops=

Also the distribution of food in vegetation is not evenly distributed. Almost all of the cereal grains are from the Middle East. Leaving only less nutritious food for other countries. Meaning people with less nutritious food would have to grow far more of it to feed the same amount of people.

So some civilizations were given great advantages through food and agriculture. With the best crops and animals available to them, they did not need to spend as much time on farming and therefore were able to develop specialty crafts. Blacksmithing, architecture, weaponry, and much more allowed their civilizations to grow to even larger sizes.

=Location & Climate=

Another factor is climate. In tropical areas, weather does not change drastically throughout the seasons which allow crops to be grown year round; whereas in temperate zones, weather drastically changes during the seasons, especially in the winter, which allow crops to be grown only during certain seasons.

Another major factor often overlooked is the shape of the continents themselves. Some places have direct contact with other places because of the shape of their continents, allowing ideas and technology to quickly spread between them. Whereas places in other more isolated continents are at a severe disadvantage because they cannot get information or technology from other continents easily.

(source http://www.pbs.org/gunsgermssteel/variables/continents.html)

So to answer Yali’s question, the reason countries like his have very little wealth are many. However, what it boils down to is luck and which continents got the proper setup for efficient agriculture and technology.