Final answer:
Hamilton Disston significantly changed Florida's landscape through his land purchases and drainage projects in the 1880s, transforming swampland into arable land, facilitating agriculture and settlement, and altering the region's environmental trajectory.
Step-by-step explanation:
Hamilton Disston was able to change Florida's landscape through large-scale land purchases and subsequent development projects. Disston bought over 4 million acres of land in Florida at a very low price with the intention to drain and develop it. This massive land deal, made in the 1880s, was one of the largest private land transactions in the history of the United States. His goal was to drain and reclaim the swampland so that it could be put to agricultural use, and he achieved this by creating a series of canals and ditches that facilitated water run-off from the land.
Disston's drainage projects led to the drying out of large parts of the Florida Everglades and other wetland areas, creating new arable land. This resulted in a significant transformation of Florida's geographic and economic landscape, promoting further settlement, agriculture, and the growth of towns. Disston's actions also set a precedent for future efforts to manipulate Florida's environment and expand its usable land area, despite later ecological concerns and the long-term consequences to the region's natural ecosystems.