In the novel Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, William Cronon discusses and analyzes the history of New England’s plant and animal communities. He focuses on the sudden shift that occurs after an increasing amount of Europeans colonize the area. Cronon begins the novel with Henry David Thoreau, a well-known naturalist, who sought to identify the differences between the William Wood’s experiences in Massachusetts and his own. Thoreau starts off his observations with the wild meadow grasses, stating that there used to be an abundance of them. If his observations were accurate, it is implied that strawberries, gooseberries, raspberries, and currants were also plentiful before there was too much cultivation.
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The European settlers didn’t understand some of their lifestyle choices, such as the northern Indians starving during the winter. They believed that only the Indian women did legitimate work; activities that the men did, like hunting and fishing, seemed like a waste of time. The differing behaviors between the settlers and the Indians resulted in conflict on the landscape they share. Thomas Morton retorted against colonists who were critical towards Indians, but they believed that the Indians lived lowly and their land was free to take. The only exception to this was if the Europeans saw that the land was occupied with crops planted by the Indians, but this was only to an extent. The conception of property all of the Indians shared was that they didn’t necessarily own the land, but the things on the land throughout season cycles. Names for ecological labels, such as the location of various plants and animals, were made to outline the uses of land and create a mapping system. These names were also made to keep out any strangers within a village’s boundaries. Strangers included Indians from other villages and the …show more content…
After he quotes Thoreau’s reflection over the modified land, Cronon states that “a changed landscape meant a loss of wildness and virility that was ultimately spiritual in its import, a sign of declension in both nature and humanity.” (Kindle Locations 172-173) He believes that changing landscape will also alter attitudes and cultures along with it. As the Europeans arrived, they focused on how they could use the land’s resources for exports. Cronon claims that the “record of precolonial New England ecosystems was inevitably incomplete” (Kindle Locations 430-431) due to the colonists’ culture altering the way they view their new settlement. The abundance of natural resources excited them and resulted in excessive use in an effort to gain wealth. William Wood observed that the settlers “killed a hundred geese in a week, fifty ducks at a shot, forty teals at another,” (Kindle Location 448) and “that the woods grow so thick that there is no more clear ground than is hewed out by labor of man”. (Kindle Locations 498-499) In contrast, the Native Americans showed
The European settlers didn’t understand some of their lifestyle choices, such as the northern Indians starving during the winter. They believed that only the Indian women did legitimate work; activities that the men did, like hunting and fishing, seemed like a waste of time. The differing behaviors between the settlers and the Indians resulted in conflict on the landscape they share. Thomas Morton retorted against colonists who were critical towards Indians, but they believed that the Indians lived lowly and their land was free to take. The only exception to this was if the Europeans saw that the land was occupied with crops planted by the Indians, but this was only to an extent. The conception of property all of the Indians shared was that they didn’t necessarily own the land, but the things on the land throughout season cycles. Names for ecological labels, such as the location of various plants and animals, were made to outline the uses of land and create a mapping system. These names were also made to keep out any strangers within a village’s boundaries. Strangers included Indians from other villages and the …show more content…
After he quotes Thoreau’s reflection over the modified land, Cronon states that “a changed landscape meant a loss of wildness and virility that was ultimately spiritual in its import, a sign of declension in both nature and humanity.” (Kindle Locations 172-173) He believes that changing landscape will also alter attitudes and cultures along with it. As the Europeans arrived, they focused on how they could use the land’s resources for exports. Cronon claims that the “record of precolonial New England ecosystems was inevitably incomplete” (Kindle Locations 430-431) due to the colonists’ culture altering the way they view their new settlement. The abundance of natural resources excited them and resulted in excessive use in an effort to gain wealth. William Wood observed that the settlers “killed a hundred geese in a week, fifty ducks at a shot, forty teals at another,” (Kindle Location 448) and “that the woods grow so thick that there is no more clear ground than is hewed out by labor of man”. (Kindle Locations 498-499) In contrast, the Native Americans showed