Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Canto)
by Alfred W. Crosby
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Book Summary Information
Author: Alfred W. CrosbyEdition: Paperback
Audio: English (Original Language); English (Unknown); English (Published)
Published: 1993-06-25
ISBN: 0521456908
Number of pages: 384
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Book Reviews of Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Canto)
Book Review: Interesting Theory
Summary: 5 Stars
"Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion Of Europe, 900-1900"
by Alfred W. Crosby. Cambridge University Press, 1986.
The implication of this book's theory is that the Europeans succeeded in the "New" World due to the imperialistic strength of European flora and fauna. European cattle and European horses conquered the plains of both North America and Argentina, making them "neo-Europes". When Columbus introduced the pig, (either inadvertently or consciously), he knew that that the porcine animal species would "conquer" their local environment. The author's excellent writing follows this theme throughout his book, but, in my opinion, he spends too much time on New Zealand ... pages 217 to 268.
Yet, if the author's thesis is correct, the book becomes a disparaging comment on human efforts. For example, compare the Pilgrims' landing in 1620 with the landing of Hernando De Cortez (1485-1547) at Vera Cruz in 1519. The Pilgrims snuck ashore, onto that Rock in Plymouth, on a cold winter's day. There was no one to meet them, as the locals (or "indigenes" as Crosby likes to call them) had all been killed off by strange and new diseases. The diseases were probably brought over by Englishmen; otherwise where did Squanto, the Indian chief, learn his rudimentary English? (Just as my aside, if the Scots, who first settled in Ulster, Ireland and then came to North America, are known as Scots-Irish, why weren't the Pilgrims known as "Anglo-Dutch"?)
In February 1519, more than a century before the Pilgrims, Hernando De Cortez landed at the Rich Villa of the Holy Cross, Vera Cruz, with some 500-600 men, to face not thousands, but hundreds of thousands. To instill courage in his men, Cortez burnt his boats. The Spanish had to go forward and they conquered an empire. On the other hand the Pilgrims occupied a dead village. In both cases, European diseases were the deciding factor, but the achievement of either group was entirely different. Crosby's book treats them as if they were equal.
I believe that Alfred W. Crosby has hit on something that bears further investigation. In the late summer of 2004, I attended a wedding in Slovenia. As we drove through Germany, I noticed goldenrod by the sides of the corn fields. I asked and I was told that goldenrod was introduced as a flowering plant but was not doing so well in Europe. I wonder if Crosby's thesis was borne out by the lack of success of goldenrod ...and other American plants? Don't get me wrong: since I am allergic to goldenrod, I am happy it was NOT successful in German farm fields, but why?
Summary of Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 (Canto)
People of European descent form the bulk of the population in most of the temperate zones of the world - North America, Australia and New Zealand. The military successes of European imperialism are easy to explain; in many cases they were a matter of firearms against spears. But as Alfred Crosby explains in his highly original and fascinating book, the Europeans' displacement and replacement of the native peoples in the temperate zones was more a matter of biology than of military conquest.New Zealand Books
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