William Cronon Book Report
When William Cronon, a renowned environmental historian, penned Changes in the Land: Indians, Colonists, and the Ecology of New England, he wanted to bring awareness to the ecological effects of the European’s arrival to New England. Many history books focus exclusively on the people, towns, governments, religions, and so on in pre-Colonial New England; however, the thesis of Cronon’s book, which was originally published in 1983, was to show that we can analyze what changes happened to the plants and animals of New England as the settlers gained power and supremacy over the area once occupied by none other than the Native Americans. As stated in the beginning of the book, “the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes—well known to historians—in the ways these …show more content…
Cronon was careful to cite sources from scientific data, historical records, explorer’s descriptions, and more. Although a portion of the data collected from these sources is tainted, whether by bias, exaggeration, ignorance, etc., Cronon made sure to alert his readers to these flaws. Perhaps, the only criticism of this book is that, in addition to drawing from and quoting European sources, Cronon could have included more Indian sources. Although he presents both cultures in an unbiased approach, he could have used more Native American sources to support his information about the natives and the land. Only twice in the entire book was there any citation of Indian sources—one was a receipt of land and the other was a sachem’s speech. In all, I think this book was an excellent use of my time. This book brings the reader into an uncommon awareness of the changes in the environment and ecosystem along the timeline of pre-Colonial and Colonial history usually learned in school. Mr. Cronon brilliantly linked Helms
Westward Expansion In Daniel Richter's Facing East From Indian Country
250 Words | 1 PagesSimilarly to what Brown does for our understanding of gender and power in colonial Virginia, Daniel Richter attempts to do by calling for a new perspective of Native American history with regards to westward expansion. In Facing East from Indian Country, he acknowledges how the difficulties presented by a lack of historical sources and distances of time make it impossible to see the world through the eyes of Native Americans. The best historians can do is to “capture something of how the past might have looked if we could observe it from Indian country.” Richter calls for researchers to break with tradition and examine colonization looking from the west to the east. In doing so, the author forces Native Americans to the front, and views Europeans
Tony Horwitz's A Voyage Long And Strange
1577 Words | 7 PagesAs the goal of the writer was to educate, the book achieved success in both ways as the reader is left much more informed about early America than when they began reading the novel. The book covers the its main topics in three sections, Discovery, Conquest and Settlement. Each section includes information from various geographical regions in America with information pertaining to one of the specific sections above. Each section gave a comprehensive look at the main topic in a way that was easy to understand as well as
A Comparison Of The Lewis And Clark Expedition
1887 Words | 8 PagesThe migration of Americans to the west was a good thing for innovation and building up the United States as a country, but the Native Americans who lived in these lands were changed forever. Any Native Americans found in lands where United States citizens wanted land was immediately excavated from their land and brought to an Indian reservation of some kind. Overtime though, these Indian reservations began to limit due to the rising population in Americans during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. “They [Lewis and Clark] provided valuable information about the topography, the biological sciences, the ecology, and ethnic and linguistic studies of the American Indian. The mysteries of
The Comanche Empire Summary
966 Words | 4 PagesScholarly reviews provide a reader with an analytical insight to an author’s analysis on a monograph. In The Comanche Empire, Pekka Hamalainen creates a thesis, which claims the Comanche Native Americans created a powerful empire in the Southwest. Assessing Hamalainen’s thesis, reviewers Joel Minor, Dan Flores, Gerald Betty, and Joaqin Rivaya Martinez present a variety of views on the monograph. Providing the strengths and weakness of Hamalainen’s text, each reviewer agrees and disagrees on several of the monograph’s points. The scholarly reviews provide a structured assessment, which offers the reader with an individual perspective of the monograph under review.
Compare And Contrast Native American And Francisco Marin
1767 Words | 8 PagesHistory is a powerful weapon usually written from the perspective of the victors and reflected in their image. The losers are rarely given the opportunity to state their side of events, but historians work to change this disparity of information and bring balance. Historians like Inga Clendinnen and Robert Ricard attempt to make sense of Native Americans’ lifestyles base on information provided by European explorers and scholars a well as remnants’ of Indigenous people. While Inga Clendinnen discusses colonial life in the Americas between 1517 to 1570, Robert Ricard focuses on describing Native American life and interactions with Spaniards from 1523 to 1572. Both Clendinnen and Ricard work to describe Native Americans in Latin Americans and
How Did Christopher Columbus Wrong The Americans
1225 Words | 5 PagesBefore the creation of Americas, there was numerous tribes flourishing on this vast great continent. Tribes held dearly to the beliefs of the land; every animal, stream and mountain holds a powerful meaning and connection to their ancestors. Raised fierce warriors to conquer neighboring towns that lasted for generations that used their knowledge of mathematics, astronomy and science to grow crops in the harsh environment, navigate through their territory and communicate with other tribes miles away. Sadly, when Europeans sent settlers to North America, the natives were viewed different in every way and eventually considered savages. I will be discussing three different tribes to prove how wrong the Europeans were.
Christopher Columbus Pros And Cons
600 Words | 3 PagesGabby Ryals SPAN 322 Prof. Ebacher Mini-essay 1 Columbus We must acknowledge that indigenous peoples inhabited the land for thousands of years before Christopher Columbus "discovered" it. Acknowledgement is the necessary step to construct a more equitable and just society. We must accept the consequences of colonialism, including indigenous peoples' displacement. We must acknowledge this truth in order to move forward and ensure the preservation of the land's and its people's history. We must take action to improve societal equity and justice.
World History Dbq
835 Words | 4 PagesIt is believed that the Indians modified the environment because of abundance of game (Bison and carrier pigeons) in America after their disappearance. It is believed that the Indians were keystone species who controlled the number of game based on their hunting habits. (Pg. 53) When the later settlers came into America they noticed that there were multitudes of bison and pigeons to hunt. While early settlers claimed that these multitudes did not exist while the Indian population was thriving in the New World.
Cynthia Van Zandt Analysis
682 Words | 3 PagesThroughout the seventeenth century, conflict between Europeans and Native Americans was rampant and constant. As more and more Europeans migrated to America, violence became increasingly consistent. This seemingly institutionalized pattern of conflict begs a question: Was conflict between Europeans and Native Americans inevitable? Kevin Kenny and Cynthia J. Van Zandt take opposing sides on the issue. Kevin Kenny asserts that William Penn’s vision for cordial relations with local Native Americans was destined for failure due to European colonists’ demands for privately owned land.
Imprints On Native Lands Argumentative
281 Words | 2 PagesThe ability to avoid wordiness, and not overcomplicate the argument allow for the reader to easily come to the same conclusion about the settlement landscape of the Miskito people. This book has tremendous value to geography. This
Analysis Of The Trouble With Wilderness By William Cronon
90 Words | 1 PagesIn his 1995 essay “The Trouble with Wilderness,” William Cronon declares that “the time has come to rethink wilderness” (69). From the practice of agriculture to masculine frontier fantasies, Cronon argues that Americans have historically defined wilderness as an “island,” separate from their polluted urban industrial homes (69). He traces the idea of wilderness throughout American history, asserting that the idea of untouched, pristine wilderness is a harmful fantasy. By idealizing wilderness from a distance, he argues that people justify the destruction of less sublime landscapes and aggravate environmental conflict.
The Indian New World James Merrell Analysis
696 Words | 3 PagesMerrell’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
The Importance Of Discourse Communities
1554 Words | 7 Pages2nd ed. Boston: Bedford/St. Martin’s, 2011. 395-406. Print. Swales, John.
Analysis: Coming Of Age In The Dawnland
975 Words | 4 PagesScience journalist, Charles C. Mann, had successfully achieved his argumentative purpose about the “Coming of Age in the Dawnland.” Mann’s overall purpose of writing this argumentative was to show readers that there’s more to than just being called or being stereotyped as a savage- a cynical being. These beings are stereotyped into being called Indians, or Native Americans (as they are shorthand names), but they would rather be identified by their own tribe name. Charles Mann had talked about only one person in general but others as well without naming them. Mann had talked about an Indian named Tisquantum, but he, himself, does not want to be recognized as one; to be more recognized as the “first and foremost as a citizen of Patuxet,”(Mann 24).
Analysis Of Columbus The Indians And Human Progress
251 Words | 2 Pages“Columbus, the Indians, and Human Progress”, chapter one of “A People’s History of the United States”, written by professor and historian Howard Zinn, concentrates on a different perspective of major events in American history. It begins with the native Bahamian tribe of Arawaks welcoming the Spanish to their shores with gifts and kindness, only then for the reader to be disturbed by a log from Columbus himself – “They willingly traded everything they owned… They would make fine servants… With fifty men we could subjugate them all and make them do whatever we want.” (Zinn pg.1) In the work, Zinn continues explaining the unnecessary evils Columbus and his men committed unto the unsuspecting natives.
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