Changes in the Land” is a book about the study’s done by William and the impacts on the environment and inhabitants of early New England done by the Europeans settling in. In his thesis Cronon claims, “the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes well known to historians in the ways these peoples organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations less well known to historians in the region’s plant and animal communities” (Cronon 15). Cronon uses different evidence that he gathered up to display the conditions following the Europeans coming in contact with the new land. When Europeans first arrived in New England the environment the Europeans first encountered shocked them. It was …show more content…
The most important way that the New England environment differed from that of Europe was that the land was so untamed and there was a lack of domestic animals. Large areas of land and hunting in England was reserved to large landowners and the Crown. European settlers were also taken aback by the absence of domesticated animals, which played a vital role in European agriculture. The Europeans often criticized the Indian way of life. The European settlers and the Indians had different values on life and had differing opinions on how they should use the land around them. According to Cronon, “Many European visitors were struck by what seemed to them the poverty of Indians who lived in the midst of a landscape endowed so astonishingly with abundance” (Cronon 33).European ideas about owning land as private property clashed with natives’ understanding …show more content…
Natives in the North and South of New England were very different. Cronon wrote, “throughout New England, Indians held their demands on the ecosystem to a minimum by moving their settlements from habitat to habitat” (Cronon 53).Northern Native Americans needed to alter even less because they were less prone to agriculture. The indians altered and manipulated the environment to better fit their needs and lifestyle by being nomadic and using the resources they found in the environment they were in at the time.Cronon wrote, “throughout New England, Indians held their demands on the ecosystem to a minimum by moving their settlements from habitat to habitat” (Cronon 53). The Europeans believed that the indians were incoherent for not seeing the many good things they and in front of them that they were capable of using. Cronon wrote was, “how could a land be so rich and its people so poor?” (Cronon 33). To the European settlers the Native Americans were the lowest class, achieving nothing for their lives when the vast potential lay in front of
“Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists and the Ecology of New England” was published in 1983 by historian William Cronon. The book focuses on environmentalism and history of New England. Cronon describes the shift from Indian to European dominance, the European’s view of nature through an economic lens, and the anthropogenic changes to the environment that occured. Throughout the book, Cronon argues that the European colonists used various tactics to assert dominance over the Indians.
After reading Native Americans and the “Middle Ground,” I realized how narratives of historians are quick to shame and blame Native Americans in history. This article begins by revealing how European settlement presented the Indians as obstacles. Recent historians, such as Gary Nash, show the Native Americans as being conquered by the Europeans. Author of The Middle Ground, Richard White, seems to be one of the first to examine the culture of Native Americans and the relationship between colonists. White writes about the “middle ground” of the politics and trade that is eventually established.
In 1742 the chief of Onondaga of the Iroquois Confederacy knew that his land that the people shared would become more valuable than it has ever been. (Doc B)The reason for this was because the “white people” also known as the Americans wanted the land of the chief. The feelings of the Chief result in complaining to the representatives of Pennsylvania, Maryland and Virginia,
Document F illustrates a different point of view of this same idea with the actual native people who were being overtaken by Europeans and Americans
The Chesapeake and New England regions were the first places the English settled when they came across from Europe. American Indian societies had their own way of living before they arrived, but the English brought new ideas with them that transformed and bettered these regions. Although, there were geographical and environmental aspects to the Chesapeake and New England regions that slowed their development during the 17th and 18th centuries, like cold, snowy winters and bugs that ate away at their crops. these regions soon prospered because of the seclusion of their farms from villages, well-watered grounds, and wide range of crops and animals.
In the late 1600’s, many European settlers arrived in North America in hopes of escaping the hardships they faced back home. America initially promised colonists the wealth, religious freedom, and escape from oppression they desired. New England was home to dense forests, and hills which was not optimal for crop growth. Therefore, the colonists directed their attention towards trade and commerce. The people in this region were devoutly religious and believed in the education of children.
Since Columbus’s maiden voyages, European colonizers have maintained the mindset that any land they find they have the right to claim as their own. This was because any society discovered they considered to be subordinate to that of any major colonizer countries, no matter how developed newly discovered societies truly were. Because the colonizers held the most power in the sixteenth century, the colonizer mindset was what created the prominent depiction of the indigenous people of the Americas: unequal. The negative light shone onto the natives is seen through the Cortes and Columbus’s responses to the natives’ societies, technologies and religion. The Library of Congress possessed numerous artifacts and photographs that explain, what the
This ideal way of life clashed with the worldview of Europeans. Early European colonizers believed that because Native Americans were not using the vast amount of land which included forest to maximize their profits, then they were justified for colonizing North American land. This settlement led to the enslavement of people, worldwide distribution of diseases, and transfer of goods that shaped America to what it is today.
The Indians owned what they made with their own hands and they would use these things or give or trade with another person. This can be also considered personal property. The difference in the Indians and the colonists’ views on personal property is that the Indians had no issue giving away what they own for nothing in return. “Goods were owned because they were useful, if they ceased to be so, or were needed by someone else, they could easily be given away” (Cronon, 61). As can be understood here, that the Indians had no reason for accumulation.
Merrell’s article proves the point that the lives of the Native Americans drastically changed just as the Europeans had. In order to survive, the Native Americans and Europeans had to work for the greater good. Throughout the article, these ideas are explained in more detail and uncover that the Indians were put into a new world just as the Europeans were, whether they wanted change or
Though Christopher Columbus was not the first to discover the Incipient World, his landing in the Incipient World in 1492 was consequential: it commenced a period kenned as the Age of Exploration. During this age, European explorers strived to find trade routes and acquire wealth from the Incipient World. Unlike most European countries, England got such a tardy start in the colonization game. As a result, English settlements were concentrated along the East Coast of North America. Among the prosperous English colonies, two categorically paramount English colonies were Jamestown (in modern day Virginia) and Massachusetts Bay Colony.
The New World was home to Native Americans before it was ever home to Europeans. Europeans, mostly the English were who began to shape it to their needs and personal identities. New England, for example was considered to be tight knit and as a result of having families developed schools, and churches to fit their lifestyle. New England and Chesapeake were distinct societies during the colonization era of North America with different settlement patterns, motivations, and economies. Patterns of settlement for New England and Chesapeake differed greatly.
Colonial America by the mid 1700’s consisted of three major regions. However the New England area and the Southern regions were the most important. The New England region included the colonies of Maine, New Hampshire, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and Rhode Island. The Southern Region, also known as the Chesapeake Colonies, included the Maryland, Virginia, North Carolina, South Carolina, and Georgia. Although both the regions consisted of British colonies, each region differed in reasons for settlement, religious views, and economic activity and its connection to the amount of slavery in the region.
Upon the first colonial establishments, the Europeans viewed Native Americans as uncultured, unintelligent, and uncivilized. The first colonizers found themselves ultimately superior to the perceived rudimentary cultural and societal customs that were observed. Native Americans viewed Europeans as a strictly one sided cultural mass enforcement foreign establishment, stopping at nothing to enforce their perceived superiority in all forms of cultural and societal aspects. Differences in land use, gender roles, and societal history added to the wedging and hostility between the Native Americans and European people. Upon the European's first impression of Native American culture, the first notable aspect of their "species" and society was their promising outlook as potential slave laborers.
Compare and Contrast the Native American Culture Introduction The Native Americans were the original owners of the United States of America. However, due to the population increase in Europe, the European migrated to America in seek of land for farming, settlement, and spread their religion (Desai, n.p). The two communities lived together and interacted with each other.