Changes in the land: Indians, colonists, and the ecology of New England
Much historical writing is far more concerned with the players than the stage: narratives of kings and cabbage-merchants, although acted out in fields and forests, typically include nature only as a convenient prop to provide the occasional splash of color. In Changes in the Land, Cronon...
show more
Much historical writing is far more concerned with the players than the stage: narratives of kings and cabbage-merchants, although acted out in fields and forests, typically include nature only as a convenient prop to provide the occasional splash of color. In Changes in the Land, Cronon treats the land of New England with the same sensitivity and attention to detail as the lives of the American natives and the colonists--he depicts the effects of changing land-use patterns on the texture of the New England landscape, and gives voice to the changing communities of trees, rock walls, and rivers. The chapter on the effects of changing notions of "property" on the ecology of New England are especially strong. Changes in the Land is almost the equal of Cronon's masterpiece, Nature's Metropolis, a monumental study of the ecological effects of Chicago on the entire central portion of the United States in the 1800s. Highly Recommended to specialists and general readers alike.
show less
Format: hardcover
ISBN:
9780809034055 (0809034050)
Publish date: January 1st 1983
Publisher: Hill and Wang
Pages no: 241
Edition language: English
Category:
Non Fiction,
History,
Academic,
School,
Science,
Environment,
Nature,
Natural History,
Biology,
Ecology,
American History,
Anthropology
A core environmental history text that smashes myths about the pristine wilderness, the empty state of New England when the British colonists arrived, and the relationship between the natives and the colonists. Cronon shows that native American land and resource use was deliberate and organized, an...
Ecological differences between Native Americans of New England and the Colonists who invaded their land. A concise description of land use by both groups with primary source references.
This was required reading in an environmental history class. It was readable and enjoyable. This will supplement any Colonial history you already know about New England. It begins with a description of the New World land and its abundant animals before the Pilgrims came. Within a century the abun...
Log in with Facebook 
