1

HIST 470 Midterm Study GuideEnvironment and Empire Things to Remember: Europeans expanded power by conquest of weaker nations, and then the exploitation of colonies natural resources for imperial gain and profit, resulting in major environmental consequences Humans are in a sense limited by their environment---natives, settlers, and imperial powers often had to find an export product that was abundant and in demand within their region of exploitation and profit---examples Canada/Fur, Caribbean/Sugar, India/Timber Humans also change/impact the environment and ecology through their actions The introduction of new species changed ecology both positively and negatively Boom/bust exploitation occurred world wideuse resources until near depletion Great civilizations can rise and fall based on resource extraction Scientific/technological/mechanical advancements boosted production levels but also increased environmental degradation and ecological issues Christian view of nature supports exploitation of resources by giving the idea that God created nature to serve mans purpose Superiority theory held by Western Europeans gave white settlers the idea that it was their duty to civilize weaker, primitive populationsused to justify the taking of indigenous lands, discrimination of natives, and exploitation of natural resources---The White Mans burden Views of indigenous populations often negativesavage, weak, primitive, wasteful, and destructive to the environment Remember that ecology is different from environment and that conservation is different then preservation. Environmental History What is environmental History and why is it important? o The study of human interactions with the natural world over time, emphasizing the active role nature plays in influencing human affairs as well as human exploitation of the natural world to include: agriculture, resource extraction and pollution, the history of forests, the effects of hunting, grazing and fire. o Studies how humans both shape their environment and are shaped by it---Thomas H. Huxley asked, what position does man occupy in nature? What are the limits of our power over nature and of natures power over us o The field founded on conservation issues but has expanded in scope to include more general social and scientific history and may deal with cities, population, or sustainable development o Environmental history tends to focus on particular time-scales, geographic regions, or key themes---but a multidisciplinary subject that draws widely on both the humanities (social sciences) and natural sciences o Subject matter can be divided into 3 parts: Nature itself and its change over time, includes the physical impact of humans on Earths land, water, atmosphere, and biosphere. How humans use nature, including the environmental consequences of increasing populations, more effective technology and changing patterns of production and consumption The transition from nomadic hunter-gather societies to settled agriculture in the Neolithic revolution to the effects of colonial expansion and settlements and the environmental and human consequences of the industrial and technological revolutions

2
Study how people think about naturethe way attitudes, beliefs, and values influence interaction with nature, especially in the form of myths, religion, and science. Ecology and relation to the environment: ecology is the study of environmental systems or as it is sometimes called the economy of nature. The study of the relationships between living organisms and their environment, the set of relationships of a particular organism with its environment, and the study of the relationships between human groups and their physical environment. An understanding of how biodiversity affects ecological function is an important focus area in ecological studies. o Ecologists seek to explain: life processes and adaptations, distribution and abundance of organisms, the movement of materials and energy through living communities, the successional development of ecosystems and the abundance and distribution of biodiversity in context of the environment. o Ecology is a human science as wellmany practical applications of ecology exist in conservation biology, wetland management, natural resource management, city planning, community health, economics, and basic/applied science and human social interactions o Ecosystems sustain every life-supporting function on the planet including climate regulations, water filtration, soil formation, food, fibers, medicines, erosion control, and many other natural features of scientific, historical, or spiritual value. o The environment in ecosystems includes both physical parameters and biotic attributes. Natural Environment: encompasses all living and non-living things occurring naturally on earth. It is an environment that encompasses the interaction of all living species o The concept of the natural environment can be distinguished by: Compete ecological units that function as natural systems without massive human intervention, including all vegetation, microorganisms, soil, rocks, atmosphere, and natural phenomena that occurs within their boundaries. Universal natural resources and physical phenomena that lack clear-cut boundaries such as air, water, and climate, as well as energy, radiation, electric charge, and magnetism, not originating from human activity. The natural environment is contrasted with the built environment, which comprises the areas and components that are strongly influenced by humans A geographical area is regarded as a natural environment. Environmental science: the study of the interactions among the physical, chemical, and biological components of the environment. Integrates physical and biological sciences to study the environment and the solution to environmental problems. Work to understand the earths processes. Evaluating alternative energy systems, pollution control and mitigation, natural resource management, and the effects of global climate change. o Environmental issues almost always include an interaction of physical, chemical, and biological processes Ecosystem: is a biological environment consisting of all the organisms living in a particular areas, along with nonliving (abiotic) physical components of the environment with which the organisms interact, such as air, soil, water, and sunlight. Wilderness: is generally defined as a natural environment on Earth that has not been significantly modified by human activity. Conservation: a land management practice that seeks to conserve, protect, and restore, habitat areas for wild animals, fungi, and plants. The science of the protection and management of biodiversity. An ethic of resource use, allocation, and protection, especially of the natural environment. The preservation and careful management of the environment and of natural resources Preservation: policies and procedures aimed at conserving the natural resources, preserving the current state of natural environment and where possible reversing its degradation. Process of o

3
enclosing an area to be maintained for the protection of wildlife or natural resources for future generations use. Sustainability: is the long-term maintenance of well-being, which has environmental, economic, and social dimensions that encompass the concept of responsible management of resource use. In ecology, sustainability describes how biological systems remain diverse and productive over time, a necessary precondition for human well-being. Long-lived and healthy wetlands and forests are examples of sustainable biological systems. o Healthy ecosystems and environments provide vital goods and services to humans and other organisms. o There are two approaches to managing human impact on ecosystem services: environmental management---based largely on information gained from earth science, environmental science, and conservation biology. The other approach is management of consumption of resources, which is based largely on information gained from economics o Human sustainability interfaces with economics through the social and ecological consequences of economic activity. o Moving towards sustainability is also a social challenge that entails international and national law, urban planning and transport, local and individual lifestyles and ethical consumerism. Ways of living more sustainably can take many forms from reorganizing living conditions, to remodeling work practices, or to developing new technologies that reduce the consumption of resources. Sustainable exploitation: the ability to meet present demands on natural resources without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

Environment and the Empire The environmental origins of European Imperialism o European imperialism from the 15th century on, reshaped the global environment in the early modern world, just as environmental factors molded European expansion itself o The first wave of colonization took place from the early 15th century until the early 19th century and primarily involved the European colonization of the Americas. During this period Europeans were also interested in establishing trading posts in Africa for the Atlantic slave trade. The second wave of European colonization primarily focuses on Africa and Asia and is known as the period of new imperialism. o There are several reasons for European imperialism: They wanted to expand/gain more power and prestigethe more territory they were able to control the more powerful and important they thought they would become. Colonies were rich in natural resources which could be brought to Europe and turning into manufactured goods. Europeans also needed markets for their own manufactured goods, and goods sold in colonies sold for large profits. Some European powers had already used up their resources and needed to expand power to gain access to more raw materials needed for manufacture of consumer goods. Colonies often offered a cheap labor source with the use of indigenous populations. Indigenous people were also pushed off their land so that European settlers could have the land---European populations were constantly growing and there was a demand for land to support the growing population. Sometimes countries took control of a territory to stop another European country from taking it.

4
Advancing technology and transportation also allowed for further trade, colonization, and communication. Military conquest became easier with development of new weapons and new medicines. Technology held power of the natural world and over people---countries that had technology wield power. o Social Darwinism/the white mans burden used to justify imperial expansionidea that whites were superior to non-whitesthe White Mans Burden stated that the white man was responsible for bring the knowledge of their superior civilization to the savage/primitive populations of the non-European world. It was the white Europeans duty to bring civilization, religion, technology, and laws to primitive cultures, for their own well-being. Survival of the fittest or in this case the most civilized society would dominant. Environmental causationit is increasingly difficult to understand imperialism without reference to environmental factors: climate, disease, water, natural resources, or the transfer of plants and animals. o The susceptibility of isolated population to disease, along with European immunity to old world diseases helped the Europeans in the struggle for power and landindigenous populations suffered large mortality rates due to disease and for the most part could not adequately defend themselves against European intrusion. o Environmental factors also contributed to shape commodity frontiers and patterns of emigration in fundamental ways Many social and economic processes such as advances in transportation, the adaption of indigenous technologies, increasing amounts of imperial capital, and the appliance of science, mediated the location of colonial extraction and production. But environmental factors influenced where natural products were found, the routes by which they could be extracted, the location of indigenous populations whose labor, skills, or knowledge were required for extraction, and the distance of European intrusion. o In the early era of imperialism products that could not be manufactured in Britain were of high demand. (Tea, spices, cotton, sugar, and tobacco)---Imperial powers had to find suitable environments to grow products or trade with Asia for products o Transferring domesticated animals was easier then transferring plants, the animals had higher chance of survival. o Pastoralism was equally fundamental in shaping routes of imperial expansion o Britain faced environmental issues of her own which is a main reason for imperial expansionBritain had timber shortages resulting from long-term deforestation, creating a large demand for timber used for construction and as a power source o Fossil fuels expanded transportation farther allowing for powers to reach distant lands by sea o By the late 19th century new sources of capital, new technologies, and the mobility of workers helped to expand factories and plantations. In some cases workers were freed from environmental constraints. However raw material extraction remained site specific or subject to environmental opportunities. Environmental impactsEuropean or industrial settler society depleted the world of resources with limited concern for their renewability, or installed productive systems that degrade environments, diminished biodiversity, and polluted the atmosphere.

5
Resource Frontiers and the Columbian Exchange European conquest of the Americastypically dated to 1492 when a Spanish expedition headed by Christopher Columbus sailed to the Americas and introduce the New World to the Western World. After this European conquest, exploration, and colonization soon followed and expanded. o The Spanish were the first to colonize the New World during Imperial conquest, taking territory in Central and South America and the Caribbean. But eventually the entire western Hemisphere would come under control of European powers leading to profound changes to its landscape, population, and plant/animal life. o The Spanish conquered indigenous tribes in South America resulting in Spanish control over much of western South America. Portugal colonized much of eastern South America at the same time England and France were next in establishing permanent colonies. ---The Spanish settled in South America and in Southern United States, The British along the east coast and Caribbean, and the French and Dutch in Canada o As more territories became interested in colonization of the Americas competition for territory became increasingly fierce---colonists often faced the threat of attacks from neighboring colonies and from indigenous tribes who did not like European intrusion on their land o The first phase of European activity in the Americas began with the Atlantic Ocean crossing of Columbus who was attempting to find a new route to India Other explorers who were sponsored by Britain, France, Spain, and Portugal followed him. o Balboa claimed the Pacific Ocean and all adjoining lands to be property of Spanish Crown o The Spaniards after just expelling Muslim rule from Spain were the first to colonize the Americas applying previous models of colonization to territories in the New World. Hierarchy was established in which European settlers benefitted from indigenous labor and taxation. Indigenous populations turned over to European landlords, religious affairs where handled by a local administration who was bent on converting indigenous to Catholism. Spanish conquest of indigenous populations resulted from indigenous depopulation from disease and an alliance with other indigenous tribes who thought that by helping the Spanish they would be spared the same fate. o a The Colombian Exchange Environment as a Catastrophe Fur Trade in Canada o Environmental influences and native responses o Fur trade and colonization o Environmental exhaustion, Indigenous People, & Settlement Constructing Colonial Society The Colonial Balance Sheet Great Balls of Fire Environmental Aspects of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Caribbean Plantations o African Slavery and European Consumption o Environmental factors in the location of plantations o American depopulations and African immunities o Environmental consequences of plantations in the Caribbean

6
Empire, Enlightenment, and Science Environmental perceptions and Empire Enlightenment, science, and Nature Imperial Travellers o The taxonomy of travelogues o Wallace in Malaysia o Marianne North, A Painters Eden o An African explorer The Industrial Revolution The Industrial Revolution in Britain and around the world The historical roots of our ecological crisis Sheep, pastures, and demography in Australia Industry, Environment, and Empire Environmental authority Forests and forestry in India Water, Irrigation, & Agrarian society in India and Egypt