Changes Caused By Native Americans And English Colonists...

There is a famous quote by John Maxwell, where he said â€Å"Change is inevitable. Growth is optional†. Changes occur everywhere around us and it is how we adapt to those changes defines how we grow as a community causing further change to the environment. John Cronon, the author of Changes in the Land, writes about the interactions between the environment and its people. People are not the sole cause of ecological change. Some ecological change is also caused by natural events such as climate changes, floods, forest fires, and even drought. But these events do not drastically change the ecosystem as the changes brought by the interactions of Native Americans and Europeans with the environment. Changes caused by people such as Native Americans and English colonists affects the environment and results in a change in the environment where, now the people have to adapt to change in the environment. The first Europeans who saw the coast of pre-colonial New England thought of it as untapped virgin lands that had infinite resources. Cronon talks about how Henry Thoreau described the woods where Native Americans lived as â€Å"more open and parklike appearance to the first English settlers, without the underbrush and coppice growth so common in nineteenth-century Concord† (Cronon, pg 5). They didn’t realize that there were Native American inhabitants on the land as well. These Indians were already changing the environment by burning parts of forests to grow crops. The interaction ofShow MoreRelatedThe Colonization Of New England964 Words   |  4 Pagesbeginning of English colonist history in North America, you would have to begin with the settlements of New England. The English colonists had to endure the ecological challenges of New England, oppose to the conditions they were accustomed to in England. They also had to coexist with the original inhabitants of the lands the Native American Indians for information on techniques of agriculture for proper sustainability, and for trade pur-poses. English colonists had to obtain knowledge from Native AmericansRead MoreConsequences Of European Colonization1112 Words   |  5 Pagesto their own. In the late 1800’s, the rare Native Americans that were left in the United States were practically extinguished. Many diverse things contributed to their near-extinction, some were considered intentional and some unintentional. Some tribes made the decision to go willingly, and some decided to fight to their death but in the end, it was confirmed that Native Americans and settlers could not live together in amity, and the Native Americans were the ones at harm. The integration of EuropeanRead MoreHow the Columbian Exchange Changed Our World Forever810 Words   |  3 Pagesimportant event after the death of the dinosaurs. Firstly, the Columbian exchange dramatically transformed the American ecological environment. Charles C. Man (2007) explained that, due to the success of Rolfe’s tobacco plantation in Jamestown, English earthworms had been transported from the Old World to the New World. As the worms were extinct on the American mainland, these invertebrates caused a lot of damage to the ecosystem when they ate the foliage beneath the trees. When it rained, all the nutrientsRead MoreCauses Of The American Revolution1344 Words   |  6 PagesAmerican Revolution The causes of the American Revolution go back to the beginning of salutary neglect and the French and Indian War, as well as changes in the thinking of society. The effects of these events and other factors led to pressure within the colonies, ultimately resulting in rebellion. There were five factors to the nature of the American Revolution: The Environment, The Enlightenment, Self-Government, Economic Independence and Colonial Unity. 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Europeans referred to themselves as â€Å"civilized† and looked at Native Americans as â€Å"savages.† In spite of that, Benjamin Franklin corresponded in, Remarks concerning the savages of North America, â€Å"Savages we call them, because their manners differ from ours, which we think the perfection of civility; theyRead MoreDifferent Cultures Of The Colonial South968 Words   |  4 Pagesdistinct cultures For hundreds of years the colonial South was a mixture of different types of people and cultures. Three distinct cultures influenced and shaped the environment in North America. The three cultures that intermingled had long term effects on one another. The Europeans looking for a better land, they clashed with the Native Americas and they enslaved Africans. In the late sixteenth century England was in a social crisis. 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When searching for first hand detailed information regarding the Indian slave trade, many authors attempt to include their own analysis of the circumstances these people lived and acted upon. In The Indian Slave Trade: The Rise of the English Empire in the American South, 1670-1717Read More British Influence Turned the Indians From Civilized to Savage-Like1732 Words   |  7 Pagesa trophy or captured their enemies for later torture. Leach states in his argument that Obviously, the New England Indians were a primitive people, occupying a much lower level of civilization than that of the English settlers(Leach 6). Leaches narrow-minded attitude towards the natives, however, is the perfect example of the generic view of Indians as savages. Leachs view of the Indians as savage comes from his examination of their warfare. Here, the basis for a civilized society is the type