Ecological Imperialism
by Alfred W. Crosby · first published 1986
4mentions
1recommended by
2HN commenters
2014–2019first – last mentioned
50% recommend50% critical
Crosby argues that the expansion of European culture and genetic stock was a function of ecology and biology over time rather than a result of quick and painful conquests.
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…History." But the history books that I remember really changing my life include Simon Schama's "The Embarrassment of Riches" (a fantastic history of the rise and fall of the Dutch empire), Alfred Crosby's "Ecological Imperialism" (similar to 1491, but more wide-ranging), and Fernand Braudel's Civilization and Capitalism series (the best history books of the 20th century, in my view). I also remember loving John Brewer's "The…
on “Amazon rainforest was home to millions of people before European arrival” ↗…rather than confronting the reality of conquest. The longer answer involves the above, plus a lot of population demography and source analysis regarding the effects of "virgin soil" epidemics. Crosby's Ecological Imperialism is an excellent guide to that stuff. Even the very earliest European accounts of populations in the interior, like the expedition of de Soto, [1] are describing the aftermath of massive depopulation,…
on “Network of fortified towns indicates Amazon was once heavily populated” ↗…might be a good read but at best its pop science at worst complete bunk (close to the latter). There was a book about this topic written by an actual historian much earlier: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ecological_Imperialism_(book) and where Diamond tried to answer very broad questions and his broad answers break down in detail, Crosby makes similar points but approaches as a historian, limits his arguments and actually practices…
on “Germs and ancient migrations help explain our world of 'haves' and 'have nots'” ↗…and Peru, which indeed did have urbanization on a scale to rival Europe). A personal pet peeve of mine is that Alfred Crosby wrote about this stuff in the 1970s (The Columbian Exchange) and the 1980s (Ecological Imperialism) but Diamond gets all the credit for it because he successfully repackaged it for more popular audiences, without adding much.
on “Life in the Americas Before Columbus (2002)” ↗