The Environmental Impact of Human Exploration
Throughout history, there has continually been movement - of peoples and cultures, diseases, and technology. The movement of each type has affected the environment in different ways. The effect of the changing patterns of human movement on the environment is leading to further environmental degradation.
The history of human movement has been one of a shift from a nomadic lifestyle to a more sedentary one with the agricultural revolution. With the agricultural revolution, people gradually abandoned the hunter-gatherer lifestyle, so they were no longer moving around, following the migration patterns of the animals that humans hunted and the seasonal pattern of plants as they became suitable for consumption (Discovery Channel 01.27.04). The industrial revolution brought about a shift from a more pastoral lifestyle to a more urban one, as people moved from the country to the city, but at the same time, trade enabled movement between cities. As people moved, they have also brought with them new ideas and cultures. For example, when the conquistadors came to the Americas, they came in search of gold, but some also came as missionaries, to spread the word of God and convert all of the heathen indigenous peoples to Christianity (Cipolla). Christianity first had to spread throughout Europe and North Africa and it started along the coastal areas, and then spread inland. Spread of Christianity - BYU Instructional Media Center From Europe, Christianity came to the Americas. Spanish Catholic missionaries came to what is now present-day Mexico, Central America, and South America, as evidenced by the spread of the Spanish language. The French came to the New World as trappers and traders. Th...
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...y became more developed and advanced. The development of agricultural technology most likely came about as a result of difficulty in gathering sufficient quantities of foodstuffs. As people migrated, they brought this agricultural technology with them; thus the movement of many technologies mirrors the movement of peoples.
Movement is so important to the rise and fall of societies and linked to patterns of environmental degradation. For this reason, it is important to know and understand why such movement occurs.
Sources:
Cipolla, Carlo M., "Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700" Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996.
Diamond, Jared, "Guns, Germs, and Steel" W.W. Norton & Co, 1997
Spread of Christianity - BYU Instructional Media Center From Europe,
Available at http://cid.byu.edu/tutorials.htm
In conclusion, Sprague believes that a number of factors carried out by the Canadian government ultimately led to the exodus of the Metis from Manitoba. Firstly through the manipulation of Metis land organization, secondly through broken promises made by the Canadian Government, and lastly through newly introduced laws which dispersed the Metis.
Bartlett, Robert, ‘The Making of Europe: Conquest, Colonization and Cultural change 950-1350’ (Penguin Books 1994)
In Canada, women make up slightly more than half of the population. However, throughout Canadian history and modern day, women are needing to stand up for themselves and other women to bring about change. Canadian women are strong and have the power to work together and bring about change. Jennie Trout stood up for Canadian women that wanted to be in the medical field, women during WWI made a difference in their lives by entering the workplace and standing for their right to work, Nellie McClung was a leader for women’s suffrage, and The Famous Five campaigned and won The “Persons” Case allowing women to be considered persons under the Canadian Constitution. These women were instigators of change. Change for women only occurs when ambitious and courageous women stand up for a difference that they deserve.
Cipolla, Carlo M. Guns, sails and empires; technological innovation and the early phases of European expansion, 1400-1700. Manhattan, Kan. : Sunflower University Press, 1985.
Before World War I, equality for woman and men were very unfair. Woman weren’t even legally “persons”; they weren’t allowed to join parliament or the senate because they weren’t legally “persons”, therefore these jobs were occupied by men only. During World War I and World War II, many men had left for war, thus meaning there were many job openings that needed to be occupied as soon as possible, women then began to take on stereotypical male jobs which men thought women couldn’t do or couldn’t do as well. Women showed their capabilities and realized they shouldn’t be considered less than men. In retaliation of not being considered “persons”, women decided to take action. The famous five brought the persons case upon the supreme court of Canada in 1927, which was finally determined by Judicial Council of Britain's Privy Council in 1929. The “persons” case involved women not legally being “persons”. After the famous five won the case, women were legally considered “persons” then women began to join important jobs such as members of parliament and the senate. Along with becoming “persons”, women were beginning to get their right to vote in provinces slowly. In 1916, four provinces gave women the right to vote provincially and, finally, in 1940, the last province (Quebec) gave women the right to vote provincially. Later, in World War II, there was another change in
Rynard, P. (2001). Ally or colonizer?: The federal state, the cree nation and the james bay agreement. Journal of Canadian Studies, 36(2), 8.
Canadian workplaces today seem to be a fairly diverse place, with a blend of many religions, ethnicities, and genders present. However, although people preach affirmative action and melting pots in current times, many inequality and power issues still abound. One strikingly noticeable example is gender discrimination. Women in the workforce face many challenges like smaller wages, harassment, male privilege in hiring or promotions, and lack of support when pregnant or raising children. One half of the planet is women, and it can be assumed the same for Canada, but they still face judgment at work because they lack the authority to dispute against big corporations or even their male supervisor. It cannot be argued that Canadian women’s status has worsened over the past hundred years, of course, thanks to feminism and activism. However, their status is not as high as it could be. Women as a group first started fighting for workplace equality during the second wave of feminism, from the 1960s to the 1990s. Legislation was approved during the second wave to try to bring gender equality to the workplace. Feminists both collided and collaborated with unions and employers to ensure women received fair treatment in an occupation. Quebec had the same issues, only the province approached the conflict differently than English Canada with its own unique viewpoint. It became clear that women were entering the workplace and did not plan on leaving. Second-wave feminism in Canada shifted power from the government and businesses to women in order to try to bring equality, although the discrimination never completely disappeared.
“Honey, you’re not a person, now get back in the kitchen and make me a sandwich!” If a husband were to say these words to his wife today, he would likely receive a well-deserved smack to the face. It is not until recently that Canadian women have received their status as people and obtained equal rights as men. Women were excluded from an academic education and received a lesser pay than their male counter parts. With the many hardships women had to face, women were considered the “slave of slaves” (Women’s Rights). In the past century, women have fought for their rights, transitioning women from the point of being a piece of property to “holding twenty-five percent of senior positions in Canada” (More women in top senior positions: Report). The Married Women’s Property Act, World War I, The Person’s Case, and Canadian Human Rights Act have gained Canadian women their rights.
Human history has been defined by movement and expansion, as humans slowly moved throughout the globe. Even after humans had populated the entire world, humans continued to travel for many reasons: war, trade, adventure, and religion. It would seem that the human species is filled with inveterate travelers. Throughout history, those nations and civilizations that had the best modes of transportation seemed to have a real competitive advantage. The “northern barbarians” who savaged and conquered much of Europe in its early history, the Greeks, the Romans, and eventually all of Europe in the age of Exploration dominated because they had superior transportation. Horses, boats, and well-built roads are all examples of this general trend. Travel has had a significant impact in human history, and it has also had a significant impact on global ecological history. However, it is not the movement of humans that seems to carry environmental significance. If humans moved throughout the world, empty-handed and naked perhaps the effects of travel would have been minimal. Instead it seems that often the things that humans carried with them caused many more calamities then humans themselves. The plants, animals and technologies, which travelers carry with them often had devastating affects on the environment.
Cipolla, Carlo M., Epilog from "Guns, Sails, and Empires: Technological Innovation and the Early Phases of European Expansion, 1400-1700" Sunflower Univ. Press, 1996, pp. 132-148.
Reed, Kevin, Natasha Beeds, and Barbara Filion. Aboriginal Peoples in Canada. Toronto: Pearson Canada, 2011. Print.
Harris, Stephen. Understanding The Bible. 6 ed. New York City: McGraw-Hill Humanities/Social Sciences/Languages, 2002. Print.
The Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF) represents the Métis community in Manitoba in political, cultural, social and economic matters (Manitoba Métis Federation (MMF), 2013). Manitoba Métis Federation, representing Métis in Manitoba, filed a claim asking for a declaration that the federal and provincial statutes, which affected the implementation of Manitoba Act provisions, were "constitutionally invalid” (Chartrand, p. 477, 1991). In Section 31 of Manitoba Act, 1870, it provided lands to the Métis people. Section 32 assured the settlers, Aboriginal or not, that their occupied lands in 1869 would not be “jeopardized” by the wave of newcomers (Sprague...
...rosion occurring throughout the prairies. The town of Ste. Madeleine, populated by a small number of Metis families, was designated to be a pastureland, according to the PFRA. In accordance with the law, any family living in the occupied land would be compensated and relocated assuming they had the necessary land permits and taxes paid. Due to the economic conditions in the 1930’s, very few families located in Ste. Madeleine met these requirements. This resulted in their relocated and dispossession of land and property while other non – Indigenous farmers were given their land. Ste. Madeleine was a situation where Metis framers were forced off their land, with minimal compensation, to provide land for Euro Canadian farmers. This occurrence can be examined as another example of the Canadian policy of oppression, assimilation, and dispersal of its Indigenous peoples.
Answering these questions is the purpose of this essay. I begin by arguing that the Bible cannot be adequately understood independent of its historical context. I concede later that historical context alone however is insufficient, for the Bible is a living-breathing document as relevant to us today as it was the day it was scribed. I conclude we need both testimonies of God at work to fully appreciate how the Bible speaks to us.