Ecological imperialism is the theory, advanced first by
Alfred Crosby
Alfred W. Crosby Jr. (January 15, 1931 – March 14, 2018) was professor of History, Geography, and American Studies at the University of Texas at Austin, and University of Helsinki. He was the author of books including ''The Columbian Exchange'' ...
, that European settlers were successful in colonization of other regions because of their accidental or deliberate introduction of animals, plants, and disease leading to major shifts in the ecology of the colonized areas and to population collapses in the endemic peoples. The many
pathogen
In biology, a pathogen ( el, πάθος, "suffering", "passion" and , "producer of") in the oldest and broadest sense, is any organism or agent that can produce disease. A pathogen may also be referred to as an infectious agent, or simply a germ ...
s they carried with them adversely affected the
native populations of North America, Australia, and Africa, and were far more destructive than weaponry: it is estimated that disease wiped out up to 90 percent of indigenous people in some locations.
Cortes and the Aztecs
![Retrato de Hernán Cortés](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/06/Retrato_de_Hern%C3%A1n_Cort%C3%A9s.jpg)
In the early 16th century, Spanish conquistador
Hernán Cortés
Hernán Cortés de Monroy y Pizarro Altamirano, 1st Marquess of the Valley of Oaxaca (; ; 1485 – December 2, 1547) was a Spanish ''conquistador'' who led an expedition that caused the fall of the Aztec Empire and brought large portions of w ...
led an expedition to go to the New World, which lead him to what is now Mexico. The interaction between the Old World Spaniards and New World Aztecs resulted in the total destruction of the
Aztec Empire
The Aztec Empire or the Triple Alliance ( nci, Ēxcān Tlahtōlōyān, Help:IPA/Nahuatl, jéːʃkaːn̥ t͡ɬaʔtoːˈlóːjaːn̥ was an alliance of three Nahua peoples, Nahua altepetl, city-states: , , and . These three city-states ruled ...
within just two years (February 1519 – August 1521). In spite of the Europeans' more advanced weaponry, technology and
Horses
The horse (''Equus ferus caballus'') is a domesticated, one-toed, hoofed mammal. It belongs to the taxonomic family Equidae and is one of two extant subspecies of ''Equus ferus''. The horse has evolved over the past 45 to 55 million yea ...
, it is believed that the determining factor in the empire's downfall was the arrival of
smallpox
Smallpox was an infectious disease caused by variola virus (often called smallpox virus) which belongs to the genus Orthopoxvirus. The last naturally occurring case was diagnosed in October 1977, and the World Health Organization (WHO) c ...
in the Americas in 1520, which weakened the resistance the Aztec people were able to mount. Even with the horses, bloodhounds, gunpowder, and steel, Cortés had a tough time fighting with the Aztecs; smallpox, on the other hand, was able to spread to those who have not been in contact with it yet, killing off many people, regardless of economic or social status. This was most likely due to Aztec inexperience with the smallpox virus.
"The New World" Settlers and the Native Americans
In 1607, a group of colonists led by
Captain John Smith
John Smith (baptized 6 January 1580 – 21 June 1631) was an English soldier, explorer, colonial governor, Admiral of New England, and author. He played an important role in the establishment of the colony at Jamestown, Virginia, the first pe ...
arrived in North America and established the
Jamestown colony
The Jamestown settlement in the Colony of Virginia was the first permanent English settlement
''English Settlement'' is the fifth studio album and first double album by the English rock band XTC, released 12 February 1982 on Virgin Reco ...
in Virginia. Though at first it seemed the colonists would not survive the harsh conditions of the
New World
The term ''New World'' is often used to mean the majority of Earth's Western Hemisphere, specifically the Americas."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: Oxford University Press, p. 3 ...
, ultimately it was the natives who could not survive the diseases of the Old World. "The colonizers brought along plants and animals new to the Americas, some by design and others by accident. Determined to farm in a European manner, the colonists introduced their domesticated livestock—honeybees, pigs, horses, mules, sheep, and cattle—and their domesticated plants, including wheat, barley, rye, oats, grasses, and grapevines. But the colonists also inadvertently carried pathogens, weeds, and rats." The introduction of these foreign species upset the balance of native species and severely hurt the way of life of the native population.
The first major smallpox outbreak among natives was between 1616 and 1619 in Massachusetts. Native Americans had never seen a disease like this, and it wiped out entire settlements in nations such as the
Abenaki
The Abenaki (Abenaki: ''Wαpánahki'') are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands of Canada and the United States. They are an Algonquian-speaking people and part of the Wabanaki Confederacy. The Eastern Abenaki language was predom ...
, the
Pawtucket, and the
Wampanoag
The Wampanoag , also rendered Wôpanâak, are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands based in southeastern Massachusetts and historically parts of eastern Rhode Island,Salwen, "Indians of Southern New England and Long Island," p. 17 ...
. "By wiping out the Indians, smallpox helped the colonists help themselves to land and resources formerly controlled by unfriendly native people. The Europeans could and did colonize virtually unchallenged in some areas." In 1633 there was another devastating epidemic. William Bradford, governor of the Plymouth Colony, observed that: "They lye on their hard matts, ye pox breaking and muttering, and running one into another, their skin cleaving (by reason thereof) to the matts they lye on; when they turn them, a whole side with flea off at once...and they will be all of a gore blood, most fearful to behold. Then being very sore, what with cold and other distempers, they dye like rotten sheep." Syphilis was a New World disease, which was brought back to Europe after settlers came back from the New World; it was extremely devastating, and ran rampant when brought back to the Old World as Syphilis was not as common back in Europe.
Fur trade in North America
![Principal posts of the Hudson Bay company map006a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Principal_posts_of_the_Hudson_Bay_company_map006a.png)
During this time of
colonialism
Colonialism is a practice or policy of control by one people or power over other people or areas, often by establishing colonies and generally with the aim of economic dominance. In the process of colonisation, colonisers may impose their relig ...
, Europe had seen a great increase in the demand for luxury fur, mainly by Western Europeans. Serbia at the time was the main source of luxury fur, but was unable to supply enough, thus leading to an increase in the value of fur, which in turn expanded the fur trade in North America. The fur trade was as detrimental to the survival of native people as it was imperative to the success of settlers due to high European demand. Trappers employed natives because of their knowledge of the terrain and wildlife, putting native populations with no immunity to European diseases into close contact with them. Europeans introduced the native population to their worse enemy, diseases that were carried and brought over from their home land.
The fur trade also upset the ecological balance of North America. "Restraint wasn't a hallmark of the fur trade. In 1822, in the north western regions of the country alone, the Hudson's Bay Company stockpiled 1,500 fox skins, a paltry number compared with the 106,000 beaver skins, but too many none the less. The fur traders had miscalculated. As predators, they had failed to adapt to their prey, and their prey, in turn, retaliated with denial. Of course, the red fox didn't render himself extinct. His numbers merely shrank.". The fur trade not only miscalculated the predator-prey ratio, it allowed for the increase spread of smallpox in the Northern regions of the Americas; Thus creating a geographic commercial route for smallpox to travel from urban populated cities to the rural, open, woodland northern country.
''Ecological Imperialism: The Expansion of Europe 900-1900'', by Alfred Crosby
Historian and professor Alfred Crosby wrote ''
Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900'' in 1986. He uses the term "Neo-Europes" to describe the places colonized and conquered by Europeans.
See also
*
Colonisation (biology)
Colonisation or colonization is the process in biology by which a species spreads to new areas. Colonisation often refers to ''successful'' immigration where a population becomes integrated into an ecological community, having resisted initial ...
*
Environmental racism
Environmental racism or ecological apartheid is a form of institutional racism leading to landfills, incinerators, and hazardous waste disposal being disproportionally placed in communities of colour. Internationally, it is also associated with ...
*
Genocide of indigenous peoples
The genocide of indigenous peoples, colonial genocide, or settler genocide is elimination of entire communities of indigenous peoples as part of colonialism. Genocide of the native population is especially likely in cases of settler colonialis ...
*
Locally unwanted land use
In land-use planning, a locally unwanted land use (LULU) is a land use that creates externality costs on those living in close proximity. These costs include potential health hazards, poor aesthetics, or reduction in home values. LULUs often gra ...
*
Richard Grove
Richard Hugh Grove (21 July 1955 – 25 June 2020) was a British historian, environmental activist, and one of the contemporary founders of environmental history as an academic field. His prizewinning book, ''Green Imperialism: Colonial Expansi ...
, author of ''Green Imperialism'' (1995)
References
Further reading
* Alfred Crosby, ''Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900''. Cambridge University Press: 1993, 2nd edition 2004. .
* Jared Diamond, ''Guns, Germs, and Steel''. W.W. Norton & Company: 2005. .
* Sharon Kirsch, ''What Species of Creatures: Animal Relations From the New World''. New Star Books: 2008. .
* Mark Elvin, ''The Retreat of the Elephants: An Environmental History of China''. Yale University Press, 2006. .
* Alan Taylor, ''American Colonies'' (Penguin Books: 2002), 280-300
* Stephanie True Peters, ''Epidemic! Smallpox in the New World''. Benchmark Books, 2005. {{ISBN, 978-0761416371.
European colonization of the Americas
Environmental social science concepts
History of globalization
Imperialism