Contrast Horses
Horses have been an important and influential part of North Americanand European history. In his book, Ecological Imperialism: The BiologicalExpansion of Europe, Alfred W. Crosby argues that horses helped to bringabout European's successful colonization of a number of temperate regionssuch as North America, Australia, New Zealand, and some parts of SouthAmerica. He argues that the profound success of horses in these regionsresulted from the filling of an empty biological niche, and that thearrival of horses on the plains in North America resulted in profoundchanges in the lives of North American Indians. In his article, The Riseand Fall of Plains Indian Horse Cultures, Pekka HA孑A子A夕nen argues that thecommon view that horses brought success to Native Americans isfundamentally oversimplified. He suggests that the common focus on onlythe successful incorporation of horses by the Lakota people has distortedmodern understanding of plains history, and obscures the damaging impact ofthe arrival of horses on native American culture and ecology. In Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, Crosbyargues biology played a large part in the fact that Europeans displaced the
ative people of many temperate zones in the world (including NorthAmerica, New Zealand, temperate South America and Australia). Writes Crosby, "Horses thrived so famously in Australia that theNeo-Europeans forgot what a miracle it was to have mounts for next tonothing, and cursed the excess of their own good fortune. European diseases like smallpox decimatednative populations, and European weeds and agriculture brought large scalereductions in native flora[1]. Thus, the horseculture among the plains Indians is seen as ecological imperialism that wasturned to the Indians' advantage. "[3] Notes HA孑A子A夕nen, "The horse era began for most Plains Indians withhigh expectations but soon collapsed into a series of unsolvable economic,social, political, and ecological contradictions. While thesuccess of European imperialism is commonly thought to stem from militarymight, and advanced technologies, it can be better explained by otherfactors, notes Crosby. Gender relations were dramatically affected as formerly agriculturalsocieties like the Lakota's adopted horses into their cultures, and began ahunting and gathering experience. They allowedimprovements in transportation, hunting, warfare and trade. However, the reality of the relationship between plains Indians andhorses was much more complex, and less successful as a whole, arguesHA孑A子A夕nen. " Horses, along with cattle,rabbits and sheep escaped and soon established themselves in the abundantgrasslands of their new homes. " The impact of horses on North American native populations wasprofound, notes Pekka HA孑A子A夕nen in his book, The Rise and Fall of PlainsIndian Horse Cultures. " Crosby notes that the native populations of the Americas were forcedto adjust their way of life as Europeans took over their land. By the late 1700s, horses had dispersed across the entire plains, andmodern academic trends "set the splendor and prosperity of the mountedPlains Indians against the dark backdrop of death, disease, and despairthat defines Europe's biological expansion to the Americas" (HA孑A子A夕nen). Overall, the animals, weeds, and diseases that Europeans brought tothe New World allowed them to dominate the native peoples of these lands. [2] Writes HA孑A子A夕nen, "In today's scholarship, the Plains Indian horseculture represents the ultimate anomaly-ecological imperialism working toIndians' advantage.
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Acceptance Essays
