America Found And Lost By Charles Mann
A New Old World The discovery of the North America is viewed as one of the major turning points throughout the history of man. This seemingly separate, and new world opened the minds of many, and provided endless possibilities for the bold. However, although the newly discovered North America was brand new to the European explorers, North America had been there and thrived for thousands of years while isolated from the Easter Hemisphere. Similar to every region, North America’s regions had distinct and developed ecosystems that could be, and were disrupted by the European invaders. The article “America, Found and Lost.” by Charles Mann persuasively shows how the English colonists who landed in Jamestown could significantly, and negatively
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The colonists began to take advantage of the land, and bend it to their will. Simply because they could not adapt to the land, “they transformed it into a play they could understand. In doing so they unleashed what would become a multilevel ecological assault on North America” (Mann 4). This assault described persuasively displays the reasons behind the ecological degradation. It is human nature to shape the land to our needs, and thus the foreign colonists simply reacted, unaware of the consequences. In addition, many of the colonists were born in parts of England where Malaria was a common occurrence. When these particular colonists arrived to North America they brought their resistance to Malaria with them. Although this was a good thing for those colonists, it turned out fatal to the rest of the continent. Once bitten, the Malaria could be transferred to the mosquito from the human, “it would only take one such carrier to arrive at Jamestown and get bitten by one of the mosquito species that inhabit the East Coast to establish malaria in the entire continent” (Mann 6). By stating this, Mann persuasively states how detrimental one Englishman can become to an entire continent of people, and ecosystems. Overall, the English colonists who arrived at Jamestown 400 years ago truly took advantage of the ecosystems and changed the future of the continent
The colonists began to take advantage of the land, and bend it to their will. Simply because they could not adapt to the land, “they transformed it into a play they could understand. In doing so they unleashed what would become a multilevel ecological assault on North America” (Mann 4). This assault described persuasively displays the reasons behind the ecological degradation. It is human nature to shape the land to our needs, and thus the foreign colonists simply reacted, unaware of the consequences. In addition, many of the colonists were born in parts of England where Malaria was a common occurrence. When these particular colonists arrived to North America they brought their resistance to Malaria with them. Although this was a good thing for those colonists, it turned out fatal to the rest of the continent. Once bitten, the Malaria could be transferred to the mosquito from the human, “it would only take one such carrier to arrive at Jamestown and get bitten by one of the mosquito species that inhabit the East Coast to establish malaria in the entire continent” (Mann 6). By stating this, Mann persuasively states how detrimental one Englishman can become to an entire continent of people, and ecosystems. Overall, the English colonists who arrived at Jamestown 400 years ago truly took advantage of the ecosystems and changed the future of the continent