William Cronon's Changes In The Land: Indians, Colonists

Native Americans believed God or what they called the Great Spirit gave the land to everyone for all to use. Native Indians would generally claim an area for their use, but the unclaimed land was free for anyone to use. They could not understand how one family or individual could own the land forever. Also Indians were not accustomed to accumulate wealth or material goods. This would make it especially hard to move around for those Nomadic & semi-nomadic tribes. Europeans on the other hand viewed owning property as a way to obtain personal independence and a form of

Although the Chesapeake and New England colonies were the earliest English colonies to flourish in the New World, they were both extremely different in the ways that they developed. Similarities between the colonies can be found, but the colonies were mostly different. The colonies differed most in religion, society, culture, economy, and their relationships with the American Indians of the region. The reasons for such differences can be understood by realizing that the colonies were settled by incredibly different people who possessed different cultures, religious beliefs, and motivations for settling in their respective colonies in the first place. The Chesapeake and New England colonies had similarities and differences in their development, including how each colony affected nearby American Indians. Their differences and similarities can be understood by analyzing each colony’s geography, economy, religions, and cultures.

Human interactions with the environment in the early settlements were somewhat disastrous as the settlers believed that the climates of Europe would parlay to the New World. This was most evidenced in the Jamestown settlement. Many settlers, unaware of the unhealthy James River estuary during summer months, fell ill and/or died as a result of disease normally associated with drinking from a polluted water source. The settlers believed in settled farming, basically clearing the land and farming (planting crops and raising animals). Along with the problem estuary of the James this had a profound impact on the land they inhabited, some good and some bad. Animals such as the horse, sheep, cattle and pigs, to name a few, were introduced to the new world which impacted the environment. Most were grazing animals, meaning that they would feed on the plant life (mostly grasses and weeds). These animals would clear lands forcing herders to move to more fertile ground constantly. The good of this was that the animals would introduce accidentally new plant life (grasses typically) that sometimes would kill, or even move,

     The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans

The Europeans and the Indians had very contrasting ideas of personal wealth and ownership. The Europeans believed that only the rich should own land, and

The Europeans changed the land of the home of the Indians, which they renamed New England. In Changes in the Land, Cronon explains all the different aspects in how the Europeans changed the land. Changing by the culture and organization of the Indians lives, the land itself, including the region’s plants and animals. Cronon states, “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, xv). New England went through human development, environmental and ecological change from the Europeans.

Native Americans had inherited the land now called America and eventually their lives were destroyed due to European Colonization. When the Europeans arrived and settled, they changed the Native American way of life for the worst. These changes were caused by a number of factors including disease, loss of land, attempts to export religion, and laws, which violated Native American culture.

During the years between 1607 and 1611, many colonists died due to the following: Enviromental issues, settlers skills, and the Relationships with the Indians. In those years many colonists were traveling and seeking me lives but little did they know, their skill level was very low. As a result, many of the colonists ended up dead. Most of the colonists that traveled were gentlemen. However, these are not the nice men you're thinking of. These gentlemen are men that are usually to used to be useful or doing any work at all. Other than mainly gentlemen, the only colonists they brought were barrel makers, druggists, and people with jobs other than FARMING! Now let's dig deeper into why so many colonists died between the years of 1607 and 1611.

Additionally, Royal gives clarification for Native Americans’ positive stereotypes. He explains, “ But this is far from modern concepts of ecology. Native Americans in fact overhunted deer and beaver even before the arrival of the white man, and did not seriously try to preserve the resources in the vicinity of their villages. As a result, the typical woodland village, having exhausted local soil and game, had to move on average every eight to 10 years” (Royal 47). Although the Native Americans did not destroy the environment like Europeans on such a large scale, they are not trying to protect the environment either. This opposes the stereotypes that Native Americans are model ecologists. Royal also examines the inhumane sides of Native American tribes. Royal reveals, “The

Native Americans controlled their environments by burning forested areas inhabited by elk, deer, and turkey to facilitate hunting. Also, Native Americans burned fields to remove their old stock in order to cultivate the land more smoothly.

- In the geological aspect, the Native Americans that tended to the land did not aggressively control the land leaving rich soil for the incoming Europeans to later on control. But they also burnt down many trees to create living spaces for the tribes. Geographically it was good for the Europeans because it was by the water and all the rocks underneath the top layer of soil were rich for farming.

There were two world altering centers of invention: the Middle East and central Mexico. All the inventions in the Middle East traveled all over Africa and Eurasia but the Americas had to do everything on their own. The America’s excelled mostly in agriculture and nearly half the grown today were developed in America. The Indians were very good at exploiting the land. Instead of just taking the land how it was they would shape it to what the needed primarily by burning it. When the Indians were gone all the areas they had made into savannahs became forest. A growing number of researchers believe that Indians had a large impact on the environment around them especially the jungle. Many people believe that the Amazon rainforest is an area totally untouched by man when in fact it is believed to have been either directly or indirectly created by human. Indians were also the keystone species of their environment and when they were gone it caused a huge shift in the ecological system. The population of many animals exploded,

Native Americans and Europeans, specifically from England, had totally different social systems. These social systems were greatly affected by gender and the political economy. The Native Americans heavily emphasized reciprocity and the value of friendships, thus binding people together and creating lasting relationships. Europeans on the other hand were more focused on acts of trade and the free market economy. Since Europeans relied on a free market economy, owning land was a great way to contribute and show this. Land was very scarce and it showed others the amount of wealth and prestige one had. Since land in Europe was nowhere in sight, many people immigrated to North America in hopes to acquire land thus making them rich and move up in status. The class system was very much alive and defined in Europe. Men had all the power in the world because patriarchy prevailed during this time. However, the Native Americans had a completely different philosophy. Owning property or land never existed within this social system. The Natives did not value wealth or riches but rather friendships and respect. The biggest difference between the two groups was the focal points of the family. European families, towns, and governments revolved around men. Men dominated the household by controlling every aspect of the home and his wife. They represented their family and confined their wives at home. Native Americans had no social system but they greatly respected their female elders. It was

Another area in which the Indians thrived was that of agriculture and their understanding of the earth. Europeans had little knowledge of agriculture, or chose not to use what they did have. Europe was in a state of agricultural depression. Most of the soil was completely exhausted due to overuse and general mistreatment of the land. Both activities which continued in America.

Many pilgrims decided to immigrate to America in the 1600’s in hopes of establishing a new life. Since the Americas were only beginning to be colonized during this epoch, the wild was still prospering. Surviving was a constant challenge for the first settlers due to harsh weather, unfamiliar terrain, and crop failure. Even after settlements were thriving, the American wilderness remained unforgiving, “But the proprietor appeared already to have relinquished, as hopeless, the effort to perpetuate on this side of the Atlantic, in a hard soil and amid the close struggle for subsistence, the native English taste for ornamental gardening” (Hawthorne 97). The governor gave up “ornamental gardening,” which presents the decor and beauty of plants in Old England.