William Cronon Changes In The Land Summary
William Cronon, Changes in the Land, Critical Review
William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983; New York: Hill and Wang, 2003)
William Cronon, Changes in the Land, is an ecological history of colonial New England in which he analyzes the ecological consequences of the European invasion. Cronon took an interdisciplinary approach to his research on the region, utilizing a vast array of sources, which enabled him to construct a detailed analysis on how the ongoing reciprocal relationship between the environment, Indians, and European settlers brought about drastic ecological changes and how these changes in turn limited the choices available to the people. Cronan argues that much of the change to the ecosystem of colonial New England resulted from the Colonists ' contrasting view of property and essentially, their involvement in a capitalist economy. The following review contains a small survey of the books contents, including the evidence Cronon uses to support his argument, my evaluation of both, along with some questions that were raised upon reading Brian Donahue 's, “Environmental Stewardship and Decline in Old New …show more content…
He then goes on to analyze the Indians ' involvement in the capitalist economy, then the efforts of Europeans in capitalist expansion, and describes the complicated processes of ecological change that resulted from both. In my opinion, Cronon 's argument that, “capitalism and environmental degradation were hand and hand” (Cronan, 161), is strong and supported well throughout the book. Also, he presents everything coherently and without bias, which makes for an analysis that is compelling, thought provoking, and easy for most to
William Cronon, Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England (1983; New York: Hill and Wang, 2003)
William Cronon, Changes in the Land, is an ecological history of colonial New England in which he analyzes the ecological consequences of the European invasion. Cronon took an interdisciplinary approach to his research on the region, utilizing a vast array of sources, which enabled him to construct a detailed analysis on how the ongoing reciprocal relationship between the environment, Indians, and European settlers brought about drastic ecological changes and how these changes in turn limited the choices available to the people. Cronan argues that much of the change to the ecosystem of colonial New England resulted from the Colonists ' contrasting view of property and essentially, their involvement in a capitalist economy. The following review contains a small survey of the books contents, including the evidence Cronon uses to support his argument, my evaluation of both, along with some questions that were raised upon reading Brian Donahue 's, “Environmental Stewardship and Decline in Old New …show more content…
He then goes on to analyze the Indians ' involvement in the capitalist economy, then the efforts of Europeans in capitalist expansion, and describes the complicated processes of ecological change that resulted from both. In my opinion, Cronon 's argument that, “capitalism and environmental degradation were hand and hand” (Cronan, 161), is strong and supported well throughout the book. Also, he presents everything coherently and without bias, which makes for an analysis that is compelling, thought provoking, and easy for most to