StudentShare
Contact Us
Sign In / Sign Up for FREE
Search
Go to advanced search...
Free

The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Lands - Research Paper Example

Cite this document
Summary
This paper shows a picture of how Europeans have overtaken the world through its ecological existence. The people, plants and animals have been populating all throughout the world and it shows that they have managed to survive alongside other nations, within other nations…
Download full paper File format: .doc, available for editing
GRAB THE BEST PAPER94.7% of users find it useful
The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Lands
Read Text Preview

Extract of sample "The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Lands"

Crosby gives a picture of how Europeans have overtaken the world through its ecological existence. The people, plants and animals have been populating all throughout the world and it shows that they have managed to survive alongside other nations, within other nations. This is the European ecological imperialism by which the Europeans manage to dominate and take over most of the ecological systems of the world through the perpetuation of the European life forms. The ancestry of the Europeans has contributed to a large population of the human population. They have managed to perpetuate its kind within other nations and cultures, and this is not limited to the human population, but also in the flora and fauna of the world. A large contributor of trade, it has also brought its products, mostly food, into all parts of the world. The agricultural productivity of the Neo-Europes, lands which are thousand of kilometers apart from Europe and each other, has much to do with the capability of the Europeans to migrate and expand throughout the globe. Though another perspective that explains the perpetuation of the European flora and fauna is the breakup of the Pangaea. These Neo-Europes are scattered around the globe but one common characteristic that they share is the attraction to the temperate zones, zones which ranges from warm to cool climates with an annual precipitation of 50 to 150 centimeters (p.6). Their flora and fauna bear different characteristics from that of the other countries but is the same as of the main European worlds. This is attributed to the similarity in the climates of the Neo-Europe to Europe itself. With this, the imperialism of the European nations does not lie solely on its superiority in arms and organization but also in its biological competitiveness wherein its flora and fauna are able to thrive in the locations where Europeans migrate. The Old World Neolithic Revolution moved steadily and in a fast pace compared to the New World Neolithic Revolution (p.20). This began when humans began developing improvements for agriculture, war and learning. These developments have benefited the European colonists as they adapted these advancements and used them in spreading their own. Also, with the fast-paced developed of the Old World, they learned and they used it to improve their own for the purposes of their expansion. The separations of the Old and New World defined the differences in the lifestyle and developments of the Hemispheres. It also paved way for more improvements on both sides, using the developments of each other. This is the basis for McNeill’s law, in which it describes the process of conquest and invasion through the microbiological aspect. One example of this is the spread of the diseases. Since the different worlds have different diseases, expansion of one nation contributes to the expansion of the disease because it is carried out from one place to another. Aside from the plants that the Europeans brought with them in their conquest, they have also brought weeds. Weeds are not always a bane of the fields, it can also be helpful. Since there are different species of weeds covering the world, the weeds and grass that the Europeans brought with them for the purpose of their agricultural development of Neo-Europe. The flora that these conquistadors brought with them allowed an expansion of the flora of the Europeans and so conquering the new land they have migrated into. Pigs, cows and horses have been a great help in the ecological imperialism of the Europeans (p.173). These animals are able to replicate their efficiencies in different locations. The pig served as a food-producing efficient way of feeding humans. Since they are able to adapt well in different environments, they served a great purpose in producing for human consumption. This is the same with cows. The horses served a different purpose by which it became a means of transportation. Without these animals, the Europeans would have found a hard time adapting to the environment they have chosen to migrate in since the food-producing animals may have been different, or foreign for their taste and there are no means for transportation for them to go about from one place to another. With that, these animals helped them survive and that is the role of these animals in the ecological conquest of the Europeans. These animals, too, are able to conquer other environments and reproduce and replicate their genes adapting to the environment and developing themselves through the native animals. Looking at illness, it also played a great role in the expansion of the Europeans. The Europeans, carrying different kinds of diseases and pathogens that the natives of their conquest lands have not encountered before proved to be damaging for the natives. The pathogens that the Europeans carried with them caused death to the natives, though not to them since they have been exposed to the pathogens of such illness. They might have been immune to it already or they have developed within their immune systems genes that actually guarded or shielded them from these illnesses. And since the natives of the land encountered these pathogens for the first time, they became susceptible to the diseases. Not being able to adapt fast enough to the illness, they died when they contracted the diseases. This proves to be advantageous for the European conquest since the natives feared them and avoided them. On the other side, the Europeans have also came face to face with native illnesses, however, most have managed to develop immunity with them at a fast rate. And with them carrying both the pathogens of their world and the conquest land’s, they prove to be deadly. For Crosby, portmanteau biota is a collective name for the Europeans and all the organisms they have brought with them (p.270). This includes the flora, fauna and the pathogens. Since the new world has been cut-off from the rest of the world because of the way how the Pangaea split, it was able to isolate itself from the rest of the world’s living organisms. Most of the similarities in the flora, fauna and pathogens existed within similar areas in the world, with similar climates, neighboring each other because in this manner it shows how people are able to travel by foot and carry with them very few new organisms. With the conquest of the Europeans, they brought in several species of flora, fauna and pathogens to a world where these animals, plants and diseases never existed. This formed the biological part of the conquest of the Europeans. They sought to establish lands as their own, similar to their homelands. Aside from using the plants and animals for their own survival, as food, shelter and means for transportation, they sought to establish these organisms into the native chain and environment of the new world. Through this, they are able to gain foothold of the land because they made it as familiar and similar to their homeland as possible. Crosby explains that the success of the portmanteau biota and the European conquest was attributed to the cooperation and competition that existed between the organisms that they brought with them in their migration to the new world and the native organisms that settle in the new lands. With this, it can be concluded that the European conquest managed to be successful because it established not only the development and advancement of the human conquest but also of the ecological and biological conquest of the Europeans. Without the establishment of the strength of the ecology and biology that the Europeans brought with them, the quantity of the natives living in the new lands will pose as a problem and as a threat to the Europeans. Even if they brought their advanced armories and weapons, with the strength in numbers, they wont be able to conquer a large part of the new lands as easier as when they have established their environment in the new lands. This shows that ecological imperialism has been a very effective way of conquering new lands. Because of this the conqueror is able to maintain its superiority over the natives of the land. But without the suitable ecology for their own adaptation to a foreign land, they will fail. Read More
Cite this document
  • APA
  • MLA
  • CHICAGO
(The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Research Paper, n.d.)
The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1730324-ecological-imperialism
(The Ecological Imperialism As a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Research Paper)
The Ecological Imperialism As a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Research Paper. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1730324-ecological-imperialism.
“The Ecological Imperialism As a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Research Paper”. https://studentshare.org/environmental-studies/1730324-ecological-imperialism.
  • Cited: 0 times

CHECK THESE SAMPLES OF The Ecological Imperialism as a Very Effective Way of Conquering New Lands

How could one use Bagehot's writings to defend European Imperialism in the late 19th Century

The view that being the strongest in war is one of the best things for society may be considered a very “cold” and inhumane view, and one that could justify many atrocities against weaker groups by a dominant group who may feel that they are more superior to those they are conquering.... He believes that this new dominance shows that Britain was actually more powerful than ancient races (45).... hellip; For instance, Bagehot relates that groups of people conquering other groups of people is merely the principle of “survival of the fittest” and that the dominant group's gains in war benefit all of society in the big picture....
2 Pages (500 words) Essay

Misapplication of the Myth of Hercules to the Injustices of Imperialism

hellip; The misapplication of the myth of Hercules to the injustices of imperialism – based on illustrations by John Smith and Richard Frethorne.... This essay will flesh out the thesis that, ‘based on first-hand accounts of John Smith and Richard Frethorne, the analogy between the heroic labors of Hercules and the enterprise of imperialism is misleading at best and malicious at worst'.... 10) Hence, it is becoming clear that the imperialists have employed the rhetoric of the Herculean myth to express their difficulties in containing a form of economic globalization instituted by imperialism....
5 Pages (1250 words) Essay

U.S. Imperialism

Manifest Destiny had developed major issues for the Native Americans as most of their lands were purchased which limited their land requirements.... imperialism?... American imperialism signifies the economic as well as culture along with military influences of the United States (US) which were prevailing over other countries.... Thesis Statement The discussion emphasizes on the aspect of US imperialism and the relationship among American democracy and ideals of liberty....
3 Pages (750 words) Essay

The Change of Polynesian Islands

Moreover, the best way of surviving was through a proper utilization of the available resources.... This was because Polynesians never believed of evading their traditions, as they were a guideline to their way of living.... Adopting modern culture meant that they accepted the western way of ruling.... By acquiring more land, westerners turn the inhabitants into slaves working on their lands.... Living by strictly observing the cultural norms was very crucial especially in various distinct places within the Polynesian islands, as it helped them be strong....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Summarizing the Book in Eco-Imperialism

However, through out his time in Washington he has slowly realised that the process of support for the environment has slowly ground to a halt, or has become so blinkered by its own ideologies that it has stopped accepting fresh new ideas and evidence that would help saves the lives of billions (Driessen, 2003).... Sadly when DDT was halted the deaths rose to a staggeringly 62,000 a year and again fell when DDT was reintroduced (Driessen, 2003)Furthermore, the book illustrates the change in economies and demands for new doctrines for Corporate Social Responsibility, in this the demands are placed upon these groups instead of their own goals and profits, sadly once these ideals are defined then the policies that look at human suffering and misery become less important in favour of profit (Driessen, 2003)....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Jesus as an Imperialist

imperialism was never offended by Jesus Christ and his doctrines.... In this essay the views of Jesus Christ on imperialism is being analyzed in two different aspects of which the first is of the imperialism involved in his principles as a king and lord of the world.... He was looked for as king to be born in the dynasty of David who would free the Jews from the imperialism of the foreign governance and would establish the reign of God....
4 Pages (1000 words) Essay

Go Down, Moses and Star Wars on Imperialism and Colonialism

Colonialism is said to be the expansion of power by conquering new lands and gaining control over them.... new York: DWJ Books, 2010.... Imperialism gains control of another country by a formal way through creation of empires or less formal by using economic and military threats to dominate another country (D'Anieri 35).... This paper considers the death of the Bear Old Ben and what it meant for the three characters hunting him as well as semblance for the death of imperialism/colonialism in Faulkner's "Go Down, Moses" and the fall of the Empire in the Star Wars saga....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay

British imperialism and Kipling

new York: Barse & Hopkins, 1890.... In a similar way, the ambitions and fantasy of the British was similar to that of Peachy and Danny.... The very attribute and structure of his work explores the coinciding binary that exist between reality and fantasy.... For instance, when British imperialism and Kipling Among the stories of Kipling "The Man Who Would Be King" offers an important incite and comparison into ambitions if individuals in the British Empire thus considered an imperial allegory....
1 Pages (250 words) Essay
sponsored ads
We use cookies to create the best experience for you. Keep on browsing if you are OK with that, or find out how to manage cookies.
Contact Us