Subsistence And Market: When The Turtle Collapse Summary

When reading Bernard Nietschmann’s, “Subsistence and Market: When the turtle Collapses” explains the effects of long term hunting of the green turtle in the Caribbean waters. He describes in depth the effects on the communities social and mental state as well as showing the effects of the influences of outside fisheries on the Miskito’s. The site of all this takes place in Caribbean waters of the coast of Nicaragua. The coast is a very abundant place for the Miskito. It offered them a way to sustain themselves through the sea as well as various other resources such fruits and other plants. The main way that these people provided a living for themselves was through what the ocean provided them. The were able to survive essentially off of sea creatures such as fish, shell fish, and one of the biggest food supply of them all the green turtle. The reason that the green turtle had such a big impact on their life was due to the fact that it was their primary source of food. Not only was it a source of food but it also provided other materials such as their shell, oil, and gelatinous substance which was used in the production of turtle soup.

In the beginning before being influenced by outsiders the Miskito’s would only kill what was need but, when outsiders came in and showed that the turtles could serve another purpose. They showed that with killing more of the green turtles they could then interns trade them for other goods such as flour, rice, and beans. This then began the excessive killing of the green turtle population. This shows how the Miskito changed their ways from being a subsistence economy to an economy that was looking more at the benefits rather than just focusing on what they