Idealisms to Blame
To compare the ecosystems of New England before and after the colonists arrived is to compare two different and ecologically distant places. In the early 1600's New England was a seemingly untouched plethora of animals and plant life. The only inhabitants within this land were several Native American Tribes (Cronon pg. 5). Then the colonists arrived with their European ideals, diseases, and unquenchable thirst for profit. Some historians blame the entire systematic deterioration of the lands ecosystems on the colonists. While other historians dare to speculate that the Native Americans, in fact, contributed to the destruction as well. One thing remains invariable: the New England described in the 1600's is unrecognizable when compared to the one of the 1800's. The colonists defiantly had the largest footprint and gave the metaphoric snowball its push towards a means to an end. The colonists' ideology and capitalist belligerence towards commodification forced the land and the Natives to drastically transform. Based upon passages from the historical monograph, Changes in the Land, William Cronon eludes that the "European invasion was the chief agent of environmental change" (Cronon pg. 161). Cronon
When the colonists crossed the Atlantic they expected a life of relaxation. They thought the fish would hop into their frying pans and the crops would sprout over night. They did not have the Native Americans' natural sense of the seasons. The colonists did not know when to hunt and when to plant. The colonists came and saw everything in terms of possible commodification. They were looking solely for profits (Cronon pg. 75). The bountiful forests were seen as a lucrative lumber industry. The land was seen as saleable plots. The Natives did not believe in ownership of land and did not understand how someone could buy a plot and claim rights to its contents. The Natives were pushed off and put aside so the profit margins for the colonists would increase. Europeans' idealism was that you were to settle in one place, and build large cities and towns. The Natives were nomadic. The colonists were clearing forests for lumber and to make room for crops and towns (Cronon pg. 138). They were fishing and hunting faster than the fish and animals could reproduce. The colonists had hurt the ecosystem beyond repair. The Natives knew a land of trees for millions of acres at a time; the colonists made New England appear as if trees weren't ever indigenous to the area. colonists also made Indian culture appear to have never existed. European Idealism and Capitalist aggressions can be directly linked to the destruction of a once beautiful land (Cronon pg. 75). They came, they, saw, they conquered. colonists cut down 90% of New England's forests in a matter of decades (Lecture 9/26/02). With such narrow environmental foresight such drastic changes occur. The Natives Americans defiantly contrib
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Approximate Word count = 1151
Approximate Pages = 5 (250 words per page double spaced)
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