The document discusses several topics in big history: - Empires rise and fall over time, and sometimes expand to spread religion or ideology, while the Europeans discovered commerce was more profitable than resources in conquering the new world. - Geography played a role in early peoples' food production and sustainability, allowing some to pursue metallurgy which led to the old world developing steel first. - Living closer to animals gave the old world better disease immunity, so when they arrived in the new world diseases killed many native populations. - Slavery predates history and occurred worldwide in many religions, with African slaves doing the most difficult work in the Americas and their portrayal as slaves leading to white racism.

1. Big History
By Randy Hardin

2. Peoples and Empires
 Empires rise and fall.
From the days of
Alexander the Great to
the modern empires,
they will someday fall

3. Peoples and Empires

Empires sometimes
expand as a desire to
spread a religion or
Ideology

4. Peoples and Empires

The Europeans
discovered that the real
money in the conquest
of the new world was in
commerce instead of
natural resources

5. Guns, Germs, and Steel

Geographical location
of early people played
major role in food
production for
sustainability

6. Guns, Germs, and Steel

Larger food production
and population allowed
some to pursue other
specialties, such as:
Metallurgy. This is what
led the people in the old
world to develop steel
first.

7. Guns, Germs, and Steel

Living in closer proximity
to animals meant more
diseases for the old world
and over time that led to
better immunity. When the
Europeans arrived in the
new world they brought
diseases that the natives
weren't prepared for and
killed a massive amount of
the population.

8. The Origins and Nature of New World
Slavery

Slavery is older that
recorded history and
has taken place all over
the world and in many
religions.

9. The Origins and Nature of New World
Slavery

African slaves were the
main source of slave
labor in the Americas,
they were given the
“most arduous and
exhausting work”, and
whites thinking of black
people as slaves is what
has led to white racism.

10. The Origins and Nature of New World
Slavery

African slaves were the
main source of slave
labor in the Americas,
they were given the
“most arduous and
exhausting work”, and
whites thinking of black
people as slaves is what
has led to white racism.