Question

Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England focuses on re-creating the environment of New England at the time of the Europeans’ arrival and critiquing the colonists’ interaction with the ecosystem. The author argues that the early stages of capitalism are evident in this interaction, and he seeks to set the record straight about the Europeans arriving to encounter a virgin land that "had existed for eons uninfluenced by human hands." Moreover, he seeks to discredit the myth of the Native American as the "original environmentalist." What is the basis for the author’s arguments? Is he successful in proving his points? In responding to your peers, examine what long-term fears the author believes his thesis holds for the future. Be certain to make specific references to the text to prove your point.

Answer 1

Brilliant thorough post. I concur with you on practically all tallies. The main thing I don't concede to is Cronon making a persuading contention. His proposition was that the Native Americans were not the first naturalists and in spite of the fact that they might not have intentionally ensured their condition their activities unquestionably safeguarded it better that the European techniques. You make a great point that New England was not an immaculate, undisturbed wild when the European showed up. The Native Americans had been improving the land in their own unobtrusive manner. Europeans didn't see the upgrades that the Native Americans made and this made them accept that the Natives reserved no privileges to the land. Europeans accepted that improving the land implied clearing backwoods, setting up changeless homes and homesteads, and building wall. One of the most obliterating and dependable impacts that the Europeans had was deforestation. As a result of the fuel lack and requirement for ships timber was one New England's soonest wares that could be utilized to take care of the pioneers' obligations. The pioneers additionally required timber to manufacture their homes for haven and flames for cooking and warmth. Maine and New Hampshire were the greatest casualties of this interest in light of the fact that the created the tallest and straightest trees ideal for building transport poles. In pretty much every town there is a street named King's Road and this is the essential street that the timber for the King's boats went down. In addition to the fact that this wantoned utilization of New England's apparently interminable stock of timber lessen certain types of tree to approach termination it likewise changed the dynamic of the woodlands also. At the point when old species were chopped down new species that hadn't flourished before now prospered. Devastation of specific types of tree wasn't the main symptom of this deforestation. Without the trees to establish the dirt set up the once prolific soil disintegrated and without the leaves to get the precipitation floods turned into a steady issue.