Dbq New England 1600

70,000-100,000 Indians were already settled in the New England area in 1600. By 1700 New England contained only 93,000 Europeans inhabitants. The European and the Indians had different ideals on life and different opinions on how they should use New England’s land. The Europeans lived a life that was very reliant on settled agriculture while the Indians lived off the resources the land provided to them. Europeans were motivated by capitalism. Money and taking care of themselves were their only focuses. On the other hand, the Indians were focused on joint living. They believed everything belonged to everyone. The overall tribe as a whole was their main concern, not themselves. Cronon, “Many European visitors were struck by what seemed to them

To the Indians, people owned what they made with themselves, including living areas, crops, and fishing spots. The Europeans were either given their land by the Queen, or they bought it from the original owners. European settlers wanted more agriculture on the land of New England. The Europeans used domesticated animals, such as cattle, hogs, and sheep to assist in planting and cultivating the crops. Colonists released the animals into the wild so they could grow and reproduce. This bothered Indians and some colonists. The animals, mostly hogs, destroyed fields and served as prey to the increasing wolf population. The cattle and sheep made the pastures flat and hard similar to the pastures in Europe. The livestock also made the soil more compact causing the soil to carry less water, making the land a less inhabitable environment for plants. This resulted in the Native Americans losing their crops. They also eventually had to start raising livestock and doing other European agricultural practices because, “Hunting too became difficult. Adjacent colonial settlements eventually tried to restrict Indian hunting on English land, and such key food sources as deer became hard to obtain.” (Cronon 103). When the Europeans noticed the Native Americans starting to lack the resources that they relied on, they took advantage of it. Cronon explains that the English traded the Indians resources for

But, according to Cronon, there are many causes to the deforestation of New England other than the Europeans. Nature, and Indians before the colonists, definitely had an effect on the change of forests in New England. However, a lot of deforestation would most likely not have happened if the Europeans never showed. Cronon stated, “Even more than furs, whose acquisition required an exchange of trade goods with their Indian hunters, timber was free for the taking” (Cronon 109). The English took whatever they wanted from the Native Americans and the land and made a profit off of it. Cronon explains a lumbering technique called griddling that the Colonists used on the trees, causing faster deforestation. The Europeans demolished large strips of forest for crops and pastures. Eventually the damage lead to more unpredictable weather, and the drying or flooding of rivers. Swamps developed in what were once dry areas, promoting disease in those parts of New England. “The ecological effects of this regional deforestation were profound, extending even to the climate itself” (Cronon