Book Review of Cronon’s Changes in the Land
Introduction
William Cronon, in his work Changes in the land presents New England’s ecological history from 16th to 19th century. In the first chapters of the book, Cronon gives a description of changes that occurred in land between 1600 and 1800. The author states his thesis statement clearly at the beginning where he says
the shift from Indian to European dominance in New England entailed important changes – well known to historians – in the ways there people organized their lives, but it also involved fundamental reorganizations – less well-known to historians – in the region’s plant and animal communities” (Cronon 15).
Cronon borrowed some concepts from Thoreau and Edward Johnson who were also historians whose ideas still help in explaining how land in the New England was before the invasion of the Europeans. Cronon focuses on cultural, environmental and ecological changes in land and the individuals living in the land.
The book begins with Cronon having a flashback on The View form Walden, which is Henry Thoreau’s commentary showing how a land that was once plentiful was depleted (Cronon 5) . In the second section, Cronon talks about how New England was ecologically transformed from abundance to depletion of resources. Towards the end of the book, Cronon shows how Europeans commodified the land they settled in North America.
Contentions
Cronon makes it clear that the conflicting between the European and the Indians was not over physical resources but was as a result of differing cultural practices. The other contention that he emphasizes was that the change that occurred in North America was due to the adoption of European mentalities and practices. These contentions show that class and race play a very significant role in environmental. struggle.
Sources the historian used and the method used In organizing these sources
Since the subject discussed in in the book is about ecological history in the New England, he utilizes ecological and historical sources in his work. In the organization of the sources, most authors organize their sources chronologically. However, Cronon deviates from this norm and organizes his method in the order of importance making it easy for the audience to follow ideas. Although the book has its contentions, strengths and weaknesses, it changes the way one thinks about the subject and these aspects are critical in this book review.
Strengths and weaknesses of the book
Strength
From an academic point of view, I can say that I liked the book. The book has s themes raging form change, class and race in environmental struggle, colonization, and others which are very easy to understand. It was easy to understand the changes that took place in New England and the role that Europeans and Indians plays in accelerating these changes. The book also brings out the idea of how human economic activities can lead to environment degradation. The book is also very easy to follow.
The topic that Cronon brought about changes in the land is unexplored one and bringing it in light of the audience helps in understanding American civilization through land changes. The other strength is that at the preface, the book’s thesis statement is clear and the reader can clearly see that the issue to be discussed in the book is about European dominance in a foreign land and how they brought reorganizations in that land. Finally, the book can be utilized in varied disciplines such as literature, history, environmental education, among others.
Weaknesses
In the book, Cronon emphasized that Indians used their land well than the Europeans. This is just an assumption because it lacks evidence. Cronon associated environmental degradation with Europeans and not Indians. This is a biased argument because Cronon did not have sources to support this claim. Further, for any one reading Cronon’s work for the first time, it may be a bit hard to get the message passed across by just reading the first section. One has to read a couple of sections to understand the ideas he was trying to pass across.
How the book changes the way one should think about the subject
Cronon tries to pass the idea that when discussing about land, inhabitants that occupy that land cannot be ignored. Therefore, the title of his book tried to show the relationship between the land and the people living in it. As a result, colonization plays a vital role here. Before coming of Europeans, the Indian man lived a very simple life where his main source of food was wild berries. Furthermore, fishing and hunting sustained his life. Cronon says that this life was changed after the onset of the Europeans who made changes in the land like deforestation, loss of animals, wild berries and humanity. The changes were driven by the colonists’ belief that Indians were blessed with a land full of abundance that was unexplored (Cronon 33). When reading the book, one may just see it from the perspective of changes that occurred in the Indian land after European Invasion. However, the book tries to make the audience understand how people re responsible for their actions.
For example, the natives of the land were accountable for changes that were taking place. If the natives resisted the change, their land would not have been messed up. They just sat down and watched deforestation taking place without taking action.
All through the book, Cronon tries to address theme of change. For example, he presents us with man who is a forest man after several changes; he turns to be a productive farmer. Therefore, Cronon tries to show how change is inevitable. Therefore, although he tries to show how such changes occurred, his main message is not show how the natives contributed to these changes. Therefore, one should look at the subject in different perspectives but not one perspective. The focus should not be how the colonists changed the Indian land but also the role the natives played in change of their land.
Conclusion
In summary, Cronon’s work sheds light on the readers on the Impact of Europeans in changing the Europeans.
He shows how the colonists escaped England and settled in the same type of land just like England because they changed the thinking of the natives to fit within their own. In exploration of the new land, the colonists did not use enforced authority. Therefore, they just explored the coloning as they wished. The book entirely focused on the interactions between the natives and the colonists. However, how these parties treated and used land was different. Upon the arrival of the colonist, numerous changes occurred. For instance, there were a lot of diseases, deforestation, changes in language and religion as well as changes in commerce (Coron 111). Although the book had some weaknesses, it succeeded in communicating message of changes in land during the colonial era.
Work Cited
Cronon, W. (2011). Changes in the land: Indians, colonists, and the ecology of New England. Hill and Wang.