Ecological imperialism
Also called: Biological conquest of the Americas · Topic: The Making of a Global World · NCERT: Class 10, Ch 3 "The Making of a Global World"
Meaning
Ecological imperialism is a term used by the historian Alfred Crosby. It means that Europeans conquered and settled distant lands with the help of the living things they brought with them, and not just with their guns. These included germs, animals, weeds and crops. People in places such as the Americas had been cut off for a long time. They had no immunity (natural protection) against European diseases like smallpox, so the diseases killed them in huge numbers. This weakened them before the conquerors even arrived.
Example
In the 16th century, smallpox spread through the Americas ahead of the Spanish and Portuguese soldiers and killed whole communities. In 1634 John Winthrop, an English settler in America, said smallpox had "cleared our title" to the land.
Don't confuse with
- Rinderpest in Africa: this was a disease of cattle, not of people. It struck Africa in the late 1880s and 1890s. It killed African cattle and forced Africans into wage labour.