California went through one of the most rapid evolutions in the 1850’s thanks to the California Gold Rush. Around this time is when California began to rise to one of the biggest industrial competitors in the world. With the Gold Rush also came this switch from small independent prospectors, to large industrial businesses. Its land resources were starting to be explored and exploited by early Anglo-Americans for its rich potential. Its here in Mining California: An Ecological History by Andrew Isenberg, do we see just how settlers attempted to control the Californian landscape. Isenberg states how the settlers, “positioned to profit from the exploitation of nature” (p.57)[1] Not only just that Isenberg takes us through the environmental
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Isenberg explores the augmentation of hydraulic mining, the building of big industrial cities, along with its effects on logging, farming, and other cultures such as the Modocs. Hydraulic mining in California was not a new science, nor considered high tech, which is what made it a useful tool for investors to look into. It was beneficial due to its easy simple design and it reduced the high labor costs of mining. It’s here where Isenberg explains in good detail the switch from a country full of independent prospectors, to an industrial place characterized by wage laborers. (p.24), an act of proletarianization. Another benefit of hydraulic mining discussed by Isenberg was how it gave early Anglo-Americans control over the water and land, which we can relate to Common Rights of Man, in which there were also disputes to control the water, and who had rights to the water. One of the strengths of Isenberg is he goes into good detail about the negative impacts of hydraulic mining. One observer explains how the ravines of the Sierra in the mid-1850 had “885 million cubic yards” of debris deposited. (p.43). Another piece of evidence that Isenberg uses, is how …show more content…
And it’s because they rely on the environment, and shape their environment that makes man a part of nature. The discovery of gold had made it possible for urban settlement to have opportunities to live in the interior. This new industry caused a rapid urbanization of California. Sacramento’s government and other municipal governments opted to improve trading opportunities though transportation, both on railroads and streams. With new tech comes more recourse use, and in chapter 3, logging was pursued. Logging became big because of the new technology forced settlers to remove more trees so that the machines could be used. Isenberg demonstrates here a domino effect, with the new gold rush pushed settlements to expand, this expansion caused the urbanization of big cities which meant the use of more resources of the environment (wood). This expansion saw ecological change in more ranches and farms. Chapter 5 talks about how the growth of Euro-Americans and their transformation of California is what caused the Modoc War. Early setters had taken over the big
Isenberg explores the augmentation of hydraulic mining, the building of big industrial cities, along with its effects on logging, farming, and other cultures such as the Modocs. Hydraulic mining in California was not a new science, nor considered high tech, which is what made it a useful tool for investors to look into. It was beneficial due to its easy simple design and it reduced the high labor costs of mining. It’s here where Isenberg explains in good detail the switch from a country full of independent prospectors, to an industrial place characterized by wage laborers. (p.24), an act of proletarianization. Another benefit of hydraulic mining discussed by Isenberg was how it gave early Anglo-Americans control over the water and land, which we can relate to Common Rights of Man, in which there were also disputes to control the water, and who had rights to the water. One of the strengths of Isenberg is he goes into good detail about the negative impacts of hydraulic mining. One observer explains how the ravines of the Sierra in the mid-1850 had “885 million cubic yards” of debris deposited. (p.43). Another piece of evidence that Isenberg uses, is how …show more content…
And it’s because they rely on the environment, and shape their environment that makes man a part of nature. The discovery of gold had made it possible for urban settlement to have opportunities to live in the interior. This new industry caused a rapid urbanization of California. Sacramento’s government and other municipal governments opted to improve trading opportunities though transportation, both on railroads and streams. With new tech comes more recourse use, and in chapter 3, logging was pursued. Logging became big because of the new technology forced settlers to remove more trees so that the machines could be used. Isenberg demonstrates here a domino effect, with the new gold rush pushed settlements to expand, this expansion caused the urbanization of big cities which meant the use of more resources of the environment (wood). This expansion saw ecological change in more ranches and farms. Chapter 5 talks about how the growth of Euro-Americans and their transformation of California is what caused the Modoc War. Early setters had taken over the big