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HIST 470 Midterm Study Guide/Section I NotesEnvironment and Empire 1. 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 2. 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 o 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.

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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 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. 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. 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 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. o

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Sustainable exploitation: the ability to meet present demands on natural resources without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

3. 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 15 th 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. 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.

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Pastoralism was equally fundamental in shaping routes of imperial expansion Britain faced environmental issues of her own which is a main reason for imperial expansion Britain 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. o o

4. 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. 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 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 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. o Native American populations decreased due to disease, slave labor, and conquest through several massacres---Black Slaves were often sent to make up population decreases among indigenous labor workers. o The first European settlers in America also hoped to gain riches off the land (gold, silver, coal, cash crops, and finding a passage through the Americas to the Indies)were often sponsored by common stock companies who understood the economic potential of the new world. Main labor source on plantations and a large portion of the immigrants were indentured servantsAmerican landowners who were in need of laborers, paid for the laborers passage to America in exchange fro several years of their service o In French colonies the focus of economy was the fur trade with nativesfarming was set up primarily to provide subsistence only, although fisheries along the Grand Banks were a major export and source of income for European nations-- After the French and Indian War, the British ceded all French possessions in North America east of the Mississippi River o The lure of cheap land, religious freedom, and the right to improve themselves with their own hand was very attractive to those who wished to escape from persecution and poverty in the old world. The Columbian Exchangethe dramatically widespread exchange of animals, plants, culture, human populations (including slaves), disease, and ideas between the New and Old Worlds. It was one of the most significant events concerning ecology, agriculture, and culture in all of human history. Affected every society on earth. o New foods became staples of human diet and new growing regions opened up for crops After the introduction of the potatoes Irelands poor became so dependent on it for livelihood that during the Great Potato Famine the majority of the poor died from starvation and disease.

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Maize and manioc replaced traditional African crops as the continents most important food source Maize and sweet potato was introduced to Asia as a hillside crop Coffee from Africa and Sugar Cane from Asia became main commodity crops of extensive Latin American plantations Oranges to Florida, Bananas to Ecuador, Rubber trees to Florida, Coffee in the Americas, and spices travelled all over the world New tree species were introduced all over the world Manioc and peanut were introduced to tropical Asia and West Africa where they flourished and supported growth in populations on soils that otherwise would not produce large yields.

Horses exported to the Americas changed the lives of many Native Americans, allowing them to shift to a more mobile lifestyle. Cats, camels, chickens, cows, donkeys, goats, rabbit, pig, and sheep are also some of the animals that went from the old world to the new world Turkey, llama, grey squirrels, raccoons, and alpaca are some animals that went from the new world to the old world. Escaped and feral populations of non-native animals have thrived in both the old and new worlds often displacing native species o Before the Columbian exchange the varieties of domesticated animals and infectious disease in the New World were rare, it all changed with the arrival of Europeans Many migrated west with animals and peopleso diseases from both hemispheres were suffered by all Europeans and Asians who were affected by Eurasian diseases often had some from of immunity in the new world to disease since most all ready had previous contact with Old World diseases But Old World disease had a devastating impact on Native American Populations because they had no natural immunity to the new diseases Smallpox epidemics resulted in large death tolls among Native Americans and American born Europeans, surpassing many wars Europeans brought measles, mumps, chicken pox, and smallpox Environment as a Catastrophe-- that nature could be a self-regulating and stable system as long as no external powers disrupted this balance o Nature is neither full of harmony and stabilityvolcanoes, earth quacks, floods, drought, ice ages, animal extinction, etc. o Society is often influenced by their surrounding environmentlimited by natural resources around them o Climate, soil, vegetation, domestication of animals, disease, and human land use shape society, culture, economy, and politics Canadas cold climate, infertile lands, and harsh environment did not permit for much agriculture so the society developed around fur trade and fisheries. o Environmental factors have generally shaped the human characteristics of human history Some crises have completely changed the society or region as a whole, and some affect human populations for multiple generations. o Disease epidemics and pandemics have caused widespread destruction throughout history. Black Death (Plague) was Europes biggest single environmental crisis20 million people were estimated dead, and although the disease was destructive to humans it allowed wildlife and forests a chance to recover from human exploitation. Smallpox epidemic wrecked havoc through the Americas, resulting in high mortality rates in Indigenous populations and American born Europeans. Smallpox is believed to be the key factor in European conquest of the Americas Irish Potato Faminea period of mass starvation and disease for Irish populations. 1 million people estimated to have died. Irelands poor relied on the potato as a major food source and when a potato disease ravaged crops throughout Europe, the majority of the o

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population was greatly impacted and became a rallying point for various nationalist movements trying to rid themselves of British rule. Fur Trade in Canada o Environmental influences and native responses The area North of the Great Lakes and the Missouri Basin was isolated from colonial intrusion and imperial markets due to cold winters, harsh environments, and the First Nations power Beaver habitat stretched across much of Northern North America crossing political boundariesHarold Innis argued that Canada emerged as a political power largely determined by the fur trade. But beavers were difficult to domesticate because they chewed there way out of enclosures Beavers survive on barks, stems, and twigs which limited there habitat to forests with river beds-- Semi-aquaticneed water to survive, dams often changed environments Due to the harsh environments and weak colonial authority, native knowledge was essential to the fur tradeEuropeans traded iron kettles, currency, beads, knives, hatchets, and guns with First Nations for furs Most settlers relied on indigenous labor for hunting Ritual often revolved around tradeIndians saw trade as essential to their livelihood The introduction of new technologies made hunting and tracking easier resulting in an increase in the fur tradeanimal populations slowly depleted o Fur trade and colonization The frontier developed around fur trapping and trading which grew on local knowledge soil was often eroded by glacial movements, growing seasons were often short so agriculture was discouraged Beavers had a heavy outer layer and fine inner layer which was warm and waterproof. European intrusion drew further inland with the emergence of colonial-native alliances. Some traders lived within Native Societies often learning the language, culture, and even marrying native women Hudson Bay Company became the first fur trade factor in Northern North America, owned and operated by the Britishemployees often came from poor rural Western European communities Fort life: hierarchical, harsh, isolated, freezing in winter, with brief summers full of insectsTraders often minimized costs by living off the land and building forts using local timberthey were also given snowshoes, canoes, moccasins, and edible plants so they could survive the harsh environment o Environmental exhaustion, Indigenous People, & Settlement Competition between trading companies but more pressure on wild animal populations Hunger erupted in forts and native villages as game populations were depleted Companies worried that the introduction of settler towns would disrupt the fur trade Hunts became semi-military operations in which hundred of hunters would go out, and the introduction of steel traps increased fur trapping Native populations supplied fur to French, British, Dutch, and Russian markets As animals diminished, natives began moving into new territories often warring with one another Expansion of trade products and the trade territory helped to spread smallpox A decline in the fur trade and unwanted settlers destabilized native societynatives often were excluded from access to natural resources as settler populations claimed more North American land Introduction new technology increased deforestation by commercial timber companies--national parks emerged to help protect forests and wildlife populations, Hudson Bay environmental expert suggested to monitor native uses of resources since they were to be blamed for environmental depletion

5. Constructing Colonial Society Environmental Aspects of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Caribbean Plantations o African Slavery and European Consumption-- Slavery existed in the Americas before European presenceNatives often captured and held other tribe members as captivesthe Spanish followed with the enslavement of indigenous in the Caribbean but as the native populations declined, imported Africans often replaced them. Large numbers of Africans made Native American slavery less common. With disease devastating the native workforce Europeans turned to Africa for slaves before the 1800s Africa lost at least 12 million people to slavery in the Americas Africans were taken abroad slave ships to the Americas were primarily obtained from their African homelands by coastal tribes who captured them and sold them to European slave traders---Europeans had issues with African diseases so they relied on other African Tribes to bring them slaves from the interior. Rum, guns, and gunpowder were some of the major trade items exchanged for slaves An increase in European consumer demand for relatively few agricultural commodities sugar, tobacco, cotton ginger, coffee. Indigo, nutmeg, and lime drove plantation production and the slave trade Plant transfers lay at the heart of imperial expansion and the Atlantic slave trade Especially demand for sugar, which was seen as a luxury for its sweetness and proved effective as a preserver of fruit Coffee was also significant in the Atlantic economy both as a crop and as a solvent for sugar Chocolate became a luxury crop produced from the Caribbean Tobacco became a major export product of the Atlantic as well Consumption became bound up in social classsocial desires in turn stimulated demand, markets, and technologies---leisure together with wealth expanded social possibilities, innovation sometimes began with luxury goods which then became more generalized. o Environmental factors in the location of plantations Most key plantation crops could not be grown in Europenorthern Europe was unsuitable for the cultivation of sugar, tobacco proved a little more suitable for European climates but did not surpass production rates in the warmers climates, cotton also required warmer climates then Europe could offer so tropical America became perfect spots for these plantation crops Environmental diseases (yellow fever, malaria) stopped plantations from existing in the long term in Africa and resulted in the exploitation of the Americasrecruitment of Europeans was always difficult and rates of death were very high Military expansion in Africa was also rarely possible because the harsh environments and politics of African tribes Slaves acquired for local plantations in Africa could also easily escape African diseases of animals as well as humans greatly constrained the possibilities of European conquest or intrusion Low fertility and rainfall distribution in West Africa discouraged planation productionalthough cotton, coffee, and cocoa succeeded Africans also shared many diseases with European and Middle Eastern populations through trade, migration, and shipping across the Sahara, down the Nile, and around the Indian Oceanthus not as susceptible as Native Americans to newly introduced strains of smallpoxneeded for slaves in America Slaves did exist in Africaoften kidnapped or sold from other tribes to work in local fields and gold mines---gold was a major export product from Africa and in demand by Europeans It was difficult for African Rulers to override strong local rights over land and to set up large-scale intensive production.

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Triangle of trade in which European goodsfirearms, textiles, iron, and copper bars were taken to Africa and traded for slaves who were shipped to the Americas. Plantation commodities were than loaded for the return to Europe, Maximum economic benefits could be gained from keeping ships fully loaded American depopulations and African immunities Native American resistance to Europeans was ineffectiveIndigenous suffered from white brutality, alcoholism, the killing and driving off of game, and the introduction of reservations and farmlands to decrease Native claims on land Native Americans suffered extremely from European diseases, which limited local labor force Death and sickness undermined subsistence production during epidemics, so that starvation killed some who survived disease. In addition to European diseases, African slaves and shipping from Africa introduced the Americas to tropical diseases such as malaria, hook warm, and yellow fever Africans already having some immunity to Eurasian and African diseases became important labor sources to replenish the decreasing indigenous populations in the Americas. African labor skills were highly valued in American plantations Africans were susceptible to European diseases, European indentured workers were susceptible to African diseases that gradually penetrated into the Caribbean Slaves born in West Africa were generally immune through childhood exposure, some may have carried partial genetic immunity The rise of the sugar plantations in the Caribbean facilitated the spread of yellow fever to the Americas Disease patterns, linked to ecological transformations helped to shape the conquest and peopling of the Americas, but they also constrained British expansion in tropical zones As their power expanded British interests were keen to control further areas for sugar production Constrained by the death rates of soldiers from disease and b/c Spanish control of areas in of the mainland Disease sometimes constrained their capacity to establish a lasting control The spread of yellow fever may not have been a fundamental factor in conquest but it favored a geopolitical stability Environmental consequences of plantations in the Caribbean The establishment of plantations resulted in deforestation and the clearing of landsone consequence of deforestation was a decline in water supply Possibility of severe environmental damage on longer-exploited lands Concerns about the decline in soil fertility Silting and soil wash were worsened by the practice of planting cane in trenches which sometimes followed the slopes downwards Fields were becoming barren, rocky gullies, runaway land, waste land, and all the rest much worn out and not so fertile as it once was Some land was given over to livestock farming---cattle was essential for food supply and for traction to power the sugar mills. Planters responded to declining fertility by altering the system of cultivation Walls and weirs were built to stop soil-washing and soil was carted by slaves back to the fields Intensive manuring was introduced using both animal and plant waste Some slaves were allowed access to small subsistence plots---food was also imported in large quantities reliving some pressure on the land

6. Empire, Enlightenment, and Science Imperial Travellers As exploration took place, literacy enabled explorers and traders to map down and record what they saw and found

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In their mapping and classification of lands and peoples, many travellers helped to commodify and package the resources of empire Descriptions of the riches of overseas territories, made the lands desirable to hunters, settlers, and administrations. The production and publication of texts became a by-product of travel 7. The Industrial Revolution The historical roots of our ecological crisis o As human populations grow so do negative impacts on the environment o Fire-drive method of hunting created grasslands and helped to deplete the large mammals from much of the world proved plausible o All over the world irrigation projects, overgrazing, deforestation, digging of minerals, and war has profoundly damaged the world ecology o Changes in human ways often affect nonhuman nature unintentionallythe introduction of cars resulted in the elimination of large sparrow flocks that followed horses, eating their manure o Little is known about what really happened or what the results werethe history of ecological changethe extinction of large herds could simply have been a case of overenthusiastic hunting o 20th century brought a feverish concern of ecological backlash o Natural science conceived as the effort to understand the nature of things had flourished in several eras and among several people o Western society arranged a marriage between science and technology, a union of theoretical and empirical approaches to our natural environment o Baconian creedscientific knowledge also means technological power over nature o 14th century ecology affected by sending workers into vast wilderness in search of resources to be extractediron, coal, gold, silver, oil, etc. often resulting in deforestation and soil erosion o Hydrogen bombs could transform the genetics of all life on the planet o Burning of soft coal resulted in smog and pollutionpresent day use of fossil fuels threatens more damage, a change in earths atmosphere o With a major population expansion, industrialism, urbanism, sewage, garbage, and pollution humans seem to be the only species to destroy environment in such ways o Many solutions proposed but they seem to be only temporary or impossibleargues that no one really knows what to do and if we arent careful we could worsen the issue instead of fixing it o Sciencearistocratic, speculative, intellectual in intent o Technologylower class, empirical, action-oriented o Ecological crisis a result of emerging democratic culturequestions whether a democratized world can survive its own implications? And then argues that we cannot unless we rethink our universal idea of the environment o Technology and science have absorbed elements from all over the worldpast processes often used and expanded uponwind harnessing in the 12th century and irrigation projects in ancient Egypt and Rome o West rapidly expanded power into the rest of the world conquering and colonizing weaker nationswest rapidly expanded its skills in the development of machines, labor saving devices and automation o Human ecology is deeply conditioned by beliefs about nature and religionChristianity argues that god made man in his image and then created the environment to serve mans purpose justification for exploitation of natural world o Paganism shows that every aspect of nature has a spirit associated with it that man must placate before benefitting from it. By destroying pagan animism, Christianity allowed man to exploit resources w/o negative feeling of doing so o Idea that god was communicating with man so man had to discover how Gods creations worked in order to understand godperiod of enlightenment and scientific revolutions. Newton and other major scientists described motivation in religious terms, not until 18th century did ideas of God become unnecessary to many scientists. Proposes idea that modern western science was cast as a matrix of Christian theologyscientists explaining motivation in religious terms o Relationship between science and technology gave mankind a power that was out of control and resulted in numerous ecological effects o Christianity bears burden of guilt

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Ecological solutions in the authors opinion can not be solved by more science or technology because of their roots in Christianity and the idea that God created nature to serve mans purpose o Men often consider themselves superior to nature and have a willingness to use it at their hearts intent o To a Christian any part of nature can only be a physical factnothing could be scared o What we do with nature depends on our ideas of the man-nature relationship o Science and technology are not going to solve problems unless we find a new religion or rethink the old one o Saint Francis proposes an alternative Christian view of nature and mans relation to itarguing for equality of all creatures including man, for the idea of mans limitless rule of creation but failed because author feels no solution can be rooted in Christianity Sheep, pastures, and demography in Australia o Pastoral economy greater in Australia then any other British colony o To supply meat and diary to urban centers was one priority for livestock farmers o Sheep flooded the southern landsmutton became an important import for New Zealand and South Americawool was probably the major product of these pastoral hinterlands and key focus of production in Australia and South America o Wool made Australia a solvent nation and in the end a free onean important source of political influence and the focus for a large part of government legislation and administrative action Wool became the chief means of successful spread of colonial settlement o Pastoralism resulted in the conquest of indigenous population and the domination of vast areas of rural spacedisease contributed to the conquest of natives Small pox was passed to indigenous populations from contracts w/ Indonesia before British colonizationthis helped to weaken native resistance Measles, tuberculosis, and venereal diseases took a toll also o Warfare and violence was limited up to the 1830s but everyday settler violence and retributive police expeditions as opposed to organized warfare was in the long-term worse on the British colonial frontier British had a monopoly of horses and firearms giving settlers the advantage Native society usually decentralized with little military experience to resist Few other places in the British empire where the indigenous populations were quickly dehumanized and systematically disposed and displaced Conquest of Australia occurred when evangelical, abolitionist, and liberal forces were at their strongest in the British Empire o Industrial manufacture of woolen yarn/textiles allowed for larger quantities of cloth to be produced, creating a rising demand for wool o Growing populations and rising wages resulted in Europeans developing a desire for a wider range of garments---military also demanded large quantities of wool o Wool manufactures were increasingly concentrated in Yorkshire which had the advantages of specialized technology, skilled workers, soft water, cheap coal, and easy access to ports o The majority of sheep farmers and workers were British o Australias poor and old soils had limited capacity to sustain vegetables and animal lifeover half the land was considered arid or semi-arid land with less then 20 inches of annual rainfall o Climate and soil forced unusual adaptions in its plants and animals o Indigenous populations remade Australian landscapefire used to hunt and clear lands of vegetation and in part were responsible for the depletion of large mammals o Resource poor environment shaped its imperial colonizerslow nutrient rich soil helps to explain why settler populations were often small o 1920simmigration promoted Australia unlimited where irrigation efforts would make deserts bloom and open up for rapid settlement o Environmental limits resulted in the need to develop efficient and conservationist resource use o Australia had rich mineral resourcesbut economic growth depended on the introduction of new species of plants and animals o Ecological imperialism is useful in discussing Australian history where disease and the introduction of new species played a major role in displacing indigenous society and sustaining a British settler population o