Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe

The world as we know it would not be what it is had it not been for the evolution of trade and globalization in years gone by. Alfred Crosby’s informative novel Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900 focuses on the ecological side of European expansion. Through his work, the author attempts to demonstrate how the European people were successful in gaining possession of the temperate lands mainly due to expansion of plants, animals and even pathogens which they housed. An intriguing and informative record, Ecological Imperialism enriches the reader with numerous arguments which are explored and explained.

To develop his arguments, Crosby “builds on his earlier [book] Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492 and William H. McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples” In doing so, the main argument developed is that of the Europeans’ domination of the temperate zones being successful due mainly in part to biological factors. This argument is appropriately summarized on page 63 of the text, wherein Crosby writes,

Westerners throughout history who have gone to the eastern

Mediterranean to fight wars have believed their chief problems

to be military, logistical, and diplomatic, and possib

. . .

View the whole essay, without interruption

“Crosby is to be congratulated”, concludes Martin in an optimal review of Alfred Crosby’s work. covered in the novel and provides sufficient evidence to render Crosby’s views accurate and worthwhile. The “Neo-Europes” sought to make the New World vastly similar to the Old World. The “Neo-Europes” consist of numerous countries, specifically, the Azores, Madeiras, Canaries, Americas, Australia and New Zealand. Although these are important aspects in Crosby’s work, they serve simply as evidence by which the main argument is developed.

Further development dwells on a vast majority of convincingly accurate information from many years passed.

Woodrow Borah, columnist of the University of California, Berkley describes Crosby’s book as a “brilliant volume [that] sketches a panorama and advances an explanation . In contrast to other reviews, this column places a large emphasis on the spreading of diseases, causes and effects. Once again, the review focuses on Crosby’s distinction and the importance placed on the Neo-Europes. The review identifies the turning point between human history and the biological history of the world. Livestock such as pigs and cattle were able to dominate native biotic niches and European germs swept aside the native people.

A true historian, Crosby dives into extensive detail to prove his thesis, however, he does a remarkable job of maintaining the interest of the reader and ensuring the text is clearly written to indulge even the recreational reader.

Calvin Martin describes Crosby’s main argument most accurately of the five cited reviews as “the need to pay more attention to the biological dimensions of colonization” Similar to William Cronon, he draws upon the fact that Ecological Imperialism is built from the base features of the earlier work, Columbian Exchange: Biological and Cultural Consequences of 1492. Grigg’s notes the book is “well-written and interesting” and that it “provides a helpful long-term view of European settlement overseas…”

The final review to be discussed is written by G. Crosby has restructured a common historical assumption.

Approximate Word count = 1503
Approximate Pages = 6 (250 words per page double spaced)

Simply subscribe to view this paper, and 100,000 others.