Changes in the Land Analysis
In “Changes in the Land”, William Cronon discusses the impact on the land, and the contradicting conceptions of ownership held by Indians' and English Colonists. Cronon also explains why the shift in dominance was important. Ecosystems are supposed to change and be able to adapt. In a way, the ecology of the area in discussion was prepared for the ambush of newcomers.
When Europeans first arrived to New England in 1633, the land was abundant with wild animals, forests, fruits, and vegetables. New England was near salt water and the Colonists only visited in the spring and summer. This gave the Europeans a false sense of what the agricultural wealth of New England was. Once the Colonists lived in New England during …show more content…
The Colonists could not comprehend why the Indians would deliberately go hungry in the winter. They could simply store more food during the summer. Colonists proclaimed that the Indians lived in poverty and rummaged for their food. “More importantly, English colonists could use Indian hunting and gathering as a justification for expropriating Indian land.” (Cronon 56). The Europeans knew the Indians were technologically less advanced and used this weakness to their advantage. Cronon also discusses how the Europeans affected the decrease of the Natives population. “Mortality rates in initial onslaughts were rarely less than 80 or 90 percent, and it was not unheard of for an entire village to be wiped out” (Cronon 86). With the Indians' population deprecating, it was that much easier for the Europeans to takeover the Indians' land. The Indians were later introduced to trading goods of higher value by the Europeans. One of the main victims of the fur trade was the beaver. The beaver became severely endangered by the 1670’s. “Pynchons son John managed between 1652 and 1658 to procure from Indians nearly 9000 beaver pelts, in addition to hundreds of moose, otter, muskrat, fox, raccoon, mink, marten, and lynx skins.” (Cronon 99). The Indians had fallen into another one of the Europeans traps, which only worsened the impact of the Europeans on New England. By the 1800’s, the Indians had limited amounts of …show more content…
Cronon was a History professor at the University of Wisconsin. Cronon wrote “Changes in the land” because he wanted to analyze how the environment was changed in New England throughout history by the Europeans. I do agree with Cronon’s conclusion that the Europeans created important changes in New England's environment and the way the Natives lived, because Cronon thoroughly substantiates his thesis with evidence that has shown up during the course of history. I believe that “Changes in the land” could have improved if it included maps. Visuals would help the reader retain the information easier. “Experience History volume 1: to 1877” supported “Changes in the land” when it talked about the Europeans seeing Indians as poor. “According to Montaigne, Indians had “no kind of traffic [trade], no knowledge of letter, no intelligence of numbers, no name of magistrate, nor of politics, no use of service [servants], of riches, of poverty, no contracts, no successions, no partitions, no occupation, no idle, no apparel but natural…” (Davidson 36), compares to “Indian poverty was the result of Indian waste: underused land, underused natural abundance, underused human labor” (Cronon 56). Both books support each other, which allows the reader to assume that Cronon did not use bias when writing “Changes in the land”. Although both are equally good, I do believe that “Experience History
In “Changes in the Land”, William Cronon discusses the impact on the land, and the contradicting conceptions of ownership held by Indians' and English Colonists. Cronon also explains why the shift in dominance was important. Ecosystems are supposed to change and be able to adapt. In a way, the ecology of the area in discussion was prepared for the ambush of newcomers.
When Europeans first arrived to New England in 1633, the land was abundant with wild animals, forests, fruits, and vegetables. New England was near salt water and the Colonists only visited in the spring and summer. This gave the Europeans a false sense of what the agricultural wealth of New England was. Once the Colonists lived in New England during …show more content…
The Colonists could not comprehend why the Indians would deliberately go hungry in the winter. They could simply store more food during the summer. Colonists proclaimed that the Indians lived in poverty and rummaged for their food. “More importantly, English colonists could use Indian hunting and gathering as a justification for expropriating Indian land.” (Cronon 56). The Europeans knew the Indians were technologically less advanced and used this weakness to their advantage. Cronon also discusses how the Europeans affected the decrease of the Natives population. “Mortality rates in initial onslaughts were rarely less than 80 or 90 percent, and it was not unheard of for an entire village to be wiped out” (Cronon 86). With the Indians' population deprecating, it was that much easier for the Europeans to takeover the Indians' land. The Indians were later introduced to trading goods of higher value by the Europeans. One of the main victims of the fur trade was the beaver. The beaver became severely endangered by the 1670’s. “Pynchons son John managed between 1652 and 1658 to procure from Indians nearly 9000 beaver pelts, in addition to hundreds of moose, otter, muskrat, fox, raccoon, mink, marten, and lynx skins.” (Cronon 99). The Indians had fallen into another one of the Europeans traps, which only worsened the impact of the Europeans on New England. By the 1800’s, the Indians had limited amounts of …show more content…
Cronon was a History professor at the University of Wisconsin. Cronon wrote “Changes in the land” because he wanted to analyze how the environment was changed in New England throughout history by the Europeans. I do agree with Cronon’s conclusion that the Europeans created important changes in New England's environment and the way the Natives lived, because Cronon thoroughly substantiates his thesis with evidence that has shown up during the course of history. I believe that “Changes in the land” could have improved if it included maps. Visuals would help the reader retain the information easier. “Experience History volume 1: to 1877” supported “Changes in the land” when it talked about the Europeans seeing Indians as poor. “According to Montaigne, Indians had “no kind of traffic [trade], no knowledge of letter, no intelligence of numbers, no name of magistrate, nor of politics, no use of service [servants], of riches, of poverty, no contracts, no successions, no partitions, no occupation, no idle, no apparel but natural…” (Davidson 36), compares to “Indian poverty was the result of Indian waste: underused land, underused natural abundance, underused human labor” (Cronon 56). Both books support each other, which allows the reader to assume that Cronon did not use bias when writing “Changes in the land”. Although both are equally good, I do believe that “Experience History