Alfred W. Crosby's Ecological Imperialism

The key question of whether or not early European expansion and if it was inevitable is a question still debated to this day. It a tough question but not impossible as demonstrated through Alfred Crosby with “Ecological Imperialism”. Alfred W. Crosby speaks on the origins of European domination over the western world. He focuses on Neo-Europeans as well as North and South America, Australia, and New Zealand. In the prologue, he speaks to how Europeans dominated their environment and other cultures because of their technology, or how they “triumphed because of their superiority in arms, organization, and fanaticism” (Crosby 7.) Crosby ’s push for the idea that Europeans were successful imperialists because wherever they went their agriculture and animals flourished; and the environment they needed to overcome would at times prove difficult to concur but not impossible. Crosby makes a valid argument for the fact that nothing could stand in the way of the Europeans. Crosby starts by talking on Pangaea. Some people refer to this as the super continent of ancient history. Pangaea eventually broke apart into separate piece of land due to plate shifts and geometric functions. He continues up to the end of the Ice Age. Roughly ten thousand years ago humans began to move towards exploring island in the Atlantic such as …show more content…
When invaded by Europeans the Maoris prepared for the worst possible outcome which was basic removal of their society as a whole. European rats took over the Maori rat, an animal that was normally a necessity to most Maori natives. Clovers took over where ferns had been and the Maori waited for their own extinction. More and more of “Europe” took over as time progressed. Somehow, even after the population hit an all-time low in the early 1890s, there was a spontaneous growth and well over 250,000 people established themselves as Maori in the year