This document outlines Michael Putz's thesis on how natural philosophy and mercantilism worked together to create and consolidate the British Empire in Barbados during the 17th century. It examines primary sources from Richard Ligon, Henry Colt, and Griffith Hughes on the environment, diseases, climate, agriculture, and use of slave labor in Barbados. It also reviews relevant historiography and includes maps and illustrations related to the colonization and development of Barbados.
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The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492
Author(s): William M. Denevan
Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 82, No. 3, The Americas before
and after 1492: Current Geographical Research (Sep., 1992), pp. 369-385
Published by: on behalf of the Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Association of American Geographers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563351
Accessed: 26-06-2015 03:49 UTC
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The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the
Americas in 1492
William M. Denevan
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
Abstract. The myth persists that in 1492 the
Americas were a sparsely populated wilder-
ness, "a world of barely perceptible human
disturbance." There is substantial evidence,
however, that the Native American landscape
of the early sixteenth century was a humanized
landscape almost everywhere. Populations
were large. Forest composition had been
modified, grasslands had been created, wild-
life disrupted, and erosion was severe in
places. Earthworks, roads, fields, and settle-
ments were ubiquitous. With Indian depopu-
lation in the wake of Old World disease, the
environment recovered in many areas. A good
argument can be made that the human pres-
ence was less visible in 1750 than it was in 1492.
Key Words: Pristine myth, 1492, Columbus, Native
American settlement and demography, prehistoric
New World, vegetation change, earthworks.
"This is the forest primeval . . . "
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie
(Longfellow, 1847).
HAT was the New World like at the
time of Columbus?-"Geography as
_ it was," in the words of Carl Sauer
(1971, x).1 The Admiral himself spoke of a "Ter-
restrial Paradise," beautiful and green and fer-
tile, teeming with birds, with naked people
living ...
Modern science in the Western and Non-Western contextsRajesh Kochhar
Advent, growth and deployment of (modern) science make a complex and multi-dimensional story. However, during the ‘golden age of colonialism’, once modern science came into a full- blown form, attempts were made to decouple it from its immediate antecedents and present it as a stand-alone, purely intellectual, exercise.
Taylor & Francis, Ltd. and Association of American Geographer.docxMARRY7
Taylor & Francis, Ltd. and Association of American Geographers are collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and
extend access to Annals of the Association of American Geographers.
http://www.jstor.org
The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the Americas in 1492
Author(s): William M. Denevan
Source: Annals of the Association of American Geographers, Vol. 82, No. 3, The Americas before
and after 1492: Current Geographical Research (Sep., 1992), pp. 369-385
Published by: on behalf of the Taylor & Francis, Ltd. Association of American Geographers
Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563351
Accessed: 26-06-2015 03:49 UTC
Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at http://www.jstor.org/page/
info/about/policies/terms.jsp
JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content
in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship.
For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]
This content downloaded from 128.193.164.203 on Fri, 26 Jun 2015 03:49:32 UTC
All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions
http://www.jstor.org
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=taylorfrancis
http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=aag
http://www.jstor.org/stable/2563351
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp
The Pristine Myth: The Landscape of the
Americas in 1492
William M. Denevan
Department of Geography, University of Wisconsin, Madison, WI 53706
Abstract. The myth persists that in 1492 the
Americas were a sparsely populated wilder-
ness, "a world of barely perceptible human
disturbance." There is substantial evidence,
however, that the Native American landscape
of the early sixteenth century was a humanized
landscape almost everywhere. Populations
were large. Forest composition had been
modified, grasslands had been created, wild-
life disrupted, and erosion was severe in
places. Earthworks, roads, fields, and settle-
ments were ubiquitous. With Indian depopu-
lation in the wake of Old World disease, the
environment recovered in many areas. A good
argument can be made that the human pres-
ence was less visible in 1750 than it was in 1492.
Key Words: Pristine myth, 1492, Columbus, Native
American settlement and demography, prehistoric
New World, vegetation change, earthworks.
"This is the forest primeval . . . "
Evangeline: A Tale of Acadie
(Longfellow, 1847).
HAT was the New World like at the
time of Columbus?-"Geography as
_ it was," in the words of Carl Sauer
(1971, x).1 The Admiral himself spoke of a "Ter-
restrial Paradise," beautiful and green and fer-
tile, teeming with birds, with naked people
living ...
Modern science in the Western and Non-Western contextsRajesh Kochhar
Advent, growth and deployment of (modern) science make a complex and multi-dimensional story. However, during the ‘golden age of colonialism’, once modern science came into a full- blown form, attempts were made to decouple it from its immediate antecedents and present it as a stand-alone, purely intellectual, exercise.
1. Science, Mercantilism, Empire:
Colonial Development and
Nature on Barbados, 1627-1700
By Michael Putz
Advisor: Dr. Jose Amador
Secondary Reader: Dr.Andrew Cayton
2. Fear of the NewWorld
Map 1. Diego Gutierrez“Map of theWestern Hemisphere.” 1562. Retrieved from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm
3. Transformation of the NewWorld
Map 2. John Senex. “Map of North America.” 1710. Retrieved from
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm
4. Thesis
I argue that natural philosophy, man’s
understanding of his relationship with nature, and
mercantilism, ideas concerning the extraction of
natural resources, worked in tandem to create and
consolidate empire during the seventeenth
century.
6. Historiography
1) Economic/MercantileTrend
Richard Dunn – Sugar and Slaves (1972)
Sydney Mintz – Sweetness and Power (1985)
2) NatureTrend
Mathew Mulcahy – Hurricanes and Society (2006)
Virgina DeJohn Anderson – Creatures of Empire
(2006)
Susan Scott Parrish – American Curiosity (2006)
7. Primary Sources
Richard Ligon (1585?-1662)
ATrue and Exact History of the Island of Barbados (1657)
Sir Henry Colt (1585-1635)
TheVoyage of Sir Henry Colt to the Islands of
Barbados and St. Christopher (1631)
Griffith Hughes (1707- death unknown)
The Natural History of Barbados (1750)
8. Ligon’s Barbados
Map 3. Richard Ligon. “A topographical description and admeasurement of the
island of Barbados in theWest Indies.” 1657. Retrieved from
http://www.lloydlibrary.org/exhibits/sugar/lloydsugar.html
9. Man (English)
“[T]he inhabitants of hot Countries are of a more
lively Disposition, and more irascible in general,
than the Inhabitants of the Northern Part of the
World…thereby causing them to overlook those
Rules of Method and Connection, that are
observed by Europeans of a cooler and more
regular Fancy” –Griffith Hughes (9)
10. Diseases
“At the time of our arrival, and a month or two
after, the sickness raged so extremely, as the
living could hardly bury the dead” – Richard
Ligon
11. Airs
“And such is the
Serenity and
Clearness of the
Atmosphere, that the
Air is, in general, very
healthy: But what
chiefly conduces to its
Purity, is the
Regularity of the
Trade-Winds, which,
seldom varying
throughout theYear”
- Griffith Hughes (3)
Map 4. unknown. Wind and Ocean Currents of the Atlantic Basins. Retrieved from
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/intro-maps.faces
12. Animals
• Camels
• Horses
• Donkeys
• Sheep
• Goats
Fig 2. unknown. Donkey with some sugar cane.
[photograph]. Retrieved from
http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/diary/2003/07/july2003
_9.htm
13. African Slaves
Fig 3. unknown. An unknown 19th-century artist’s impression of work in the
sugar cane fields. [Drawing]. Retrieved from
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_article_0
14. Plantations
Map 5.Richard Ford. A New Map of the Island of Barbados. 1710. Retrieved from
http://www.oldworldauctions.com/archives/detail/126-398.htm
15. Bibliography
Anderson,Virginia DeJohn. Creatures of Empire: How Domestic AnimalsTransformed Early America.
NewYork: Oxford University Press, 2004. Accessed November 13, 2014. http://ebooks.ohiolink.edu/xtf-
ebc/search?keyword=creatures%20of%20empire&text-join=and
Dunn, Richard S. Sugar and Slaves:The Rise of the Planter Class in the EnglishWest Indies, 1624-1713.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 1972.
Richard Ford, A New Map of the Island of Barbadoes. Map. London: British Library.
http://www.bl.uk/learning/artimages/maphist/deception/barbadoshome/barbados.html (accessed
November 5, 2014)
Diego Gutierrez. Map of theWestern Hemisphere [map]. 1562.
http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm (accessed April 27, 2015)
Hughes, Griffith. The Natural History of Barbados: InTen Books. London: printed for the author, 1750.
Ligon, Richard. ATrue & Exact History of the Island of Barbadoes. London: Frank Cass & Co., 1970.
Mintz, Sidney. Sweetness and Power:The Place of Sugar in Modern History. NewYork:Viking Penguin Inc., 1985.
16. Bibliography (cont.)
Mulcahy, Matthew. Hurricanes and Society in the British Greater Caribbean, 1624-1783. Baltimore: John
Hopkins University Press, 2006.
Parrish, Susan Scott. American Curiosity: Cultures of Natural History in the Colonial British AtlanticWorld.
Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2006.
John Senex. Map of North America [map]. 1710. http://www.digitalhistory.uh.edu/maps/maps.cfm
(accessed April 27, 2015)
Wind and Ocean Currents of the Atlantic Basins [Map].
http://www.slavevoyages.org/tast/assessment/intro-maps.faces (accessed April 27, 2015)
Donkey with some Sugar Cane [photograph].
http://www.ihana.com/big_trip/diary/2003/07/july2003_9.htm (accessed April 27, 2015)
An unknown 19th-century artist’s impression of work in the sugar cane fields [Drawing].
http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/abolition/industrialisation_article_01.shtml (accessed April 27,
2015)
Editor's Notes
Informs scientific understanding of pestilence and disease tropic of cancer is danger zone (Colt)
Place of fear that needed to be dominated to place of possibility and expolitation
Scientific knowledge, informed by natural philosophy, combined with mercantilism can help modern historians better understand how and why Europeans actively transformed the New World into colonies, create plantation/slave societies, and thus lay the foundation of empire in the New World.
Work explores what I call env.-mer. Philosophy how work in tandem to make empire
3 histographical trends that inform work 1 mercanilitsm/economic (emergence of plantation societies local and plantation societies that are sugar and slave to British colonies) 2. nature (np
Rise of planttion society as local and transatlantic (mintz Dunn) and cultural studies amd intellectual history about how human domination over nature shaped british colonization and Englishness
Creolization seciton here. How man fears the unknown and warm climates of the tropics. Have to rethink np in order
Slide for each point
Talk about why African slaves became racialized
Picture of barbados w how much sugar they were producing by 1700
Restate thesis here (culmination of mercantilism and np together) (understant european thought about np and extraction of natural resources)