Review of Crosby

Review of Alfred W. Crosby’s Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900

In his Ecological Imperialism, Alfred W. Crosby details how and why the people, flora and fauna of Europe were dispersed throughout the world, and what the impact of this diaspora has been from an environmental perspective. He actually begins his book with the geographical creation of the continents, beginning with Pangaea, and he emphasizes the importance of this geography with repetitive references to the “Mid-Atlantic Ridge” (49) and the “Pangaean seam” (45). He further sets up the foundation of his argument with a description of the innovations of the Neolithic Revolution. He discusses the development of agriculture, the domestication of livestock, the creation of a written language, and eventually the formation of cities and civilizations (17). He also notes how diseases, “weeds” (28) and “varmints” (29) rise up out of civilization. Disease is a very important and recurring theme for Crosby in relation to its influence on Europe’s “biological expansion”, and how it made European conquest impossible in some instances and more than possible in most others. From this point, Crosby goes into a detailed discussion of the failures of the Norse seamen in the North and of the Crusaders in the Mediterranean, and onto the exploits of the conquistadors in the “Fortunate Isles” (70) portending what was to come in the Americas and Australia...

Crosby’s book is very readable and well-structured. He leaves his audience with a very clear understanding of his ideas on Europe’s environmental imperialism and their effects. He addresses each point methodically and not only poses thought-provoking questions, but adequately answers them. Crosby also uses quite a few primary sources to support his arguments. He provides a fresh perspective on this topic while still preserving his academic integrity in a mostly unbiased manner...

Crosby, Alfred W. Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900. 2nd ed. Cambridge University Press, 2004.