The book Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England by William Cronon tends to generally explain how and why changes took place within the New England communities, affecting plants, animals and the people of its community and, and how these changes seemed to inter affect each other, all due to changes from an Indian to an European style of dominance. This seemed to show overall that the ecological system could be affected by changes the people within it may make. Which tends to bring Cronon’s thesis to light being the shift from Indian to European influence in New England was due to vital changes that constituted the way its people seemed to organize and reorganize their lives within the communities. Although …show more content…
They further saw the Indians as lazy people since they would not settle down at a place and develop the land they inhabited, there by missing out on profit opportunities and life improvement. On the other way round, the setllers cherished the natural resources because of the market value it possessed and not because of it immediate need. This made the settlers depict the Indians as poor and incompetent to maximize the transformation of these natural resources into economic gains and wealth. Cronon continues explain how transforming the community into a capitalist society negatively affaected the ecological environment. Alongside the influx of goods and services came some microparasites to New England. Thse microparasites caused diseases that killed a significant fraction of native Americans, thereby affecting the planting and harvest cycles, planting and harvesting peiods were eing missed and which thereby increased starvation rates, which further justified the settlers opinion that Indians really had no claims to …show more content…
They reproduced in the wild and started becoming a nuisance to both Europeans and the natives as they destroyed agricultural plants and oyster beds. livestocks put more pressure on local pastures allowing way for the growth of tougher eurpean weeds and grasses. This led to a less conducive environment for plants and finally reduced the soils ability to retain water. Before a century went by, the ecosystem of New England had permanently changed and and would never return to normal. The ecological changes mentioned throughout this book although cultural were either economical or environmental: dandelion, the fence, the arrival of pigs etc was just an eye opener to to bring to light the complex process and changes brought about due to the arrival of the Europeans to America. Meanwhile these complex changes and in general the European colonization cannot be well understood except through understanding the effects of New England Indians and Europeans on their ecosystem. The book also goes on to show the genesis of the environmental problems of New England eg erosions, deforestation, and climate changes; which are but of a few factors we still have to deal with till today. This book indeed acomplish the authors thesis. I recommend this book because it seems to really prove how what the present generation does today may affect the our
To many of the English colonists, any land that was granted to them in a charter by the English Crown was theirs’, with no consideration for the natives that had already owned the land. This belittlement of Indians caused great problems for the English later on, for the natives did not care about what the Crown granted the colonists for it was not theirs’ to grant in the first place. The theory of European superiority over the Native Americans caused for any differences in the way the cultures interacted, as well as amazing social unrest between the two cultures.
Modern day Native American are widely known as stewards of the environment who fight for conservation and environmental issues. The position of the many Native American as environmentalists and conservationists is justified based on the perception that before European colonists arrived in the Americas, Native Americans had little to no effect on their environment as they lived in harmony with nature. This idea is challenged by Shepard Krech III in his work, The Ecological Indian. In The Ecological Indian, Krech argues that this image of the noble savage was an invented tradition that began in the early 1970’s, and that attempts to humanize Native Americans by attempting to portray them as they really were. Krech’s arguments are criticized by Darren J Ranco who in his response, claims that Krech fails to analyze the current state of Native American affairs, falls into the ‘trap’ of invented tradition, and accuses Krech of diminishing the power and influence of Native Americans in politics. This essay examines both arguments, but ultimately finds Krech to be more convincing as Krech’s
The characteristics that came to shape the life in New England were the rocky, barren soil, the extreme climate and the rich waters. Although there was farming in New England , colonists looked to other means of survival. They looked to the rich waters for fishing and trade. The coastline of New England was very fertile with sealife. So, fishing became a way of commerce and trade providing a steady economy to New England. Because of the rocky soil and extreme climate, the colonists were forced to plant many different crops on a small pa...
In the 1830's the Plains Indians were sent to the Great American Deserts in the west because the white men did not think they deserved the land. Afterwards, they were able to live peacefully, and to follow their traditions and customs, but when the white men found out the land they were on were still good for agricultural, or even for railroad land they took it back. Thus, the white man movement westward quickly begun. This prospect to expand westward caused the government to become thoroughly involved in the lives of the Plains Indians. These intrusions by the white men had caused spoilage of the Plains Indians buffalo hunting styles, damaged their social and cultural lives, and hurt their overall lives. The lives of the Plains Indians in the second half of the nineteenth century were greatly affected by the technological development and government actions.
How Did The Environment Affect The Native American Indians With Particular Reference To The Woodland Indians?
Although the 160 acres of land per Indian seemed generous, the land was barren and dry. The government did not know, however, that black oil seeped out of the earth, and many Indians became very wealthy because of their “worthless” pieces of land. As a result of the Indians’ wealth, hundreds of white businessmen, fortune-hunters, traders, thieves, and swindlers swarmed to the reservation to make cash.
While both the people of the New England region and of the Chesapeake region descended from the same English origin, by 1700 both regions had traveled in two diverse directions. Since both of these groups were beset with issues that were unique to their regions and due to their exposure to different circumstances, each was forced to rethink and reconstruct their societies. As a result, the differences in the motivation, geography, and government in the New England and Chesapeake regions caused great divergence in the development of each.
Considering historical evidence, the notion: Native –Americans was not the first inhabitant of America is a complete false. For centuries, history kept accurate and vivid accounts of the first set of people who domiciled the western hemisphere. Judging by those records, below are the first set of Native-American people who inhabited America before the arrival of another human race; the Iroquois: The Iroquois of Native Americans was one of the tribes that lived in America before other people came. Based on historical evidence, it is believed that the Native Americans came from Asia way back during the Ice Age through a land bridge of the Bering Strait. When the Europeans first set foot in America, there were about 10 million Native Americans
People in the northern United States during the early nineteenth century wanted to rapidly industrialize and increase the amount of money they were making. The Erie Canal they believed was a great way to reduce the distance and time of shipping goods to the west. They also realized that the canal would probably increase their markets, which would mean a larger profit. The problem with all of this was how people had to destroy parts of nature in order for this to happen. Nathaniel Hawthorne, a prominent writer during the time, described the canal as “too rapid, unthinking advance of progress.” (57) Hawthorne and his supporters were very upset to see how forests and swamps were being destroyed and ruined in order t...
Initially, William Bradford’s colonies were communalistic in nature. In order for the Pilgrims to get the financial support they needed to go to the New World, they joined with a group of “adventurers” who helped finance the voyage. The two groups made a pact to ensure the unity and success of the colony. Because of this pact, communalism was essential to the survival of the colony, and all had to act with the community in mind. There was no room for individual desires or wealth. According to the rules that were established, the colonial government assigned different people specific tasks to which they were best suited; some were fishermen, some farmers, others artisans, all focusing on making the community stronger and more successful. A license was required to fish, and the colony regulated virtually every element of food production and land use. Each person was obligated to donate some of his crop to the community, in order that no one would be rich, and no one would be poor. All profits made off one’s land would be property of the community and used to support the colonial government as well as provide supplies to new settlers who came without the necessary provisions for survival. Preservation of the environment was not the primary goal of these laws, but they did inadvertently put a check on how much land the
Colonial writing, however, offers some indication. One historian in 1818 writes, “Like other wild creatures, [they] ate when they were hungry, and could find anything to satisfy the cravings of nature… They had little food from the earth, except what is spontaneously produced.” The nineteenth-century perception of Indians as wandering erratically in Southern New England are dated and misconstrued, yet support the claim that moves undoubtedly occurred. Today, these moves are understood as seasonal and systematic (Bennet 374). At the time, however, the Indian lifestyle gave the impression to English settlers of being impoverished. They were confused as to why the Indians did not take more advantage of the natural wealth of the landscape, having been “supplied with all manner of needful things, for the maintenance of life and livelihood” (Cronon 55). This criticism was a near-constant element in early colonial writing, revealing how the colonists believed land should be used and tended. Thomas Morton writes, “If our beggars of England should, with so much ease as they, furnish themselves with food at all seasons, there would not be so many starved in the streets” (Cronon). This ignores the fact, of course, that Indians proved quite adept in navigating the landscape and few Indians starved in precolonial times. From the perspective
In his essay, “The Indians’ Old World,” Neal Salisbury examined a recent shift in the telling of Native American history in North America. Until recently, much of American history, as it pertains to Native Americans; either focused on the decimation of their societies or excluded them completely from the discussion (Salisbury 25). Salisbury also contends that American history did not simply begin with the arrival of Europeans. This event was an episode of a long path towards America’s development (Salisbury 25). In pre-colonial America, Native Americans were not primitive savages, rather a developing people that possessed extraordinary skill in agriculture, hunting, and building and exhibited elaborate cultural and religious structures.
In the first place is evident that Eastman not only describes his childhood and youth but also validated how he treated Indians the same way white people would. With this in mind Charles Eastman went back to the woods in the summer of 1910 with the intent of search out and purchase rare curios and ethnological specimens. Given this intention he without hesitation used his influences as being a true Indian to access Indians living on reservations and to induce for them to give object of historic. In other words, Eastman displayed actions of a colonizer by identifying regions where American Indians still hold civilization. He knew of Indians who still sustaining themselves by the old fashion way (hunting and fishing) and obtain annuity money
The author John Smith, a pilgrim who arrived to the Americas, wrote a description of the new land in his book “ A Description of New England ”. In this book Smith shows a wonderful world of vast food and pleasure. Also, William Bradford another pilgrim who arrived to Plymouth on the coast of Massachusetts, wrote a book called “ Of Plymouth Plantation ” in which he describes what really happened, how the pilgrims actually lived. The purpose of this essay is to compare and contrast both authors and their books. John Smith wrote about the wonderful place the New World was, on the other hand, William Bradford wrote about the realities and difficulties of the New World.
The Native Americans or American Indians, once occupied all of the entire region of the United States. They were composed of many different groups, who speaked hundreds of languages and dialects. The Indians from the Southwest used to live in large built terraced communities and their way of sustain was from the agriculture where they planted squash, pumpkins, beans and corn crops. Trades between neighboring tribes were common, this brought in additional goods and also some raw materials such as gems, cooper. seashells and soapstone.To this day, movies and television continue the stereotype of Indians wearing feathered headdresses killing innocent white settlers. As they encountered the Europeans, automatically their material world was changed. The American Indians were amazed by the physical looks of the white settlers, their way of dressing and also by their language. The first Indian-White encounter was very peaceful and trade was their principal interaction. Tension and disputes were sometimes resolved by force but more often by negotiation or treaties. On the other hand, the Natives were described as strong and very innocent creatures awaiting for the first opportunity to be christianized. The Indians were called the “Noble Savages” by the settlers because they were cooperative people but sometimes, after having a few conflicts with them, they seem to behaved like animals. We should apprehend that the encounter with the settlers really amazed the natives, they were only used to interact with people from their own race and surroundings and all of this was like a new discovery for them as well as for the white immigrants. The relations between the English and the Virginian Indians was somewhat strong in a few ways. They were having marriages among them. For example, when Pocahontas married John Rolfe, many said it has a political implication to unite more settlers with the Indians to have a better relation between both groups. As for the Indians, their attitude was always friendly and full of curiosity when they saw the strange and light-skinned creatures from beyond the ocean. The colonists only survived with the help of the Indians when they first settler in Jamestown and Plymouth. In this areas, the Indians showed the colonists how to cultivate crops and gather seafood.The Indians changed their attitude from welcome to hostility when the strangers increased and encroached more and more on hunting and planting in the Natives’ grounds.