European Animals The Major Part They Took In Forever Altering the Ecology of the Americas :: essays papers

European Animals The Major Part They Took In Forever Altering the Ecology of the Americas Although the Europeans presence in the Americas from 1492 to many years later caused drastic change in the environment, their part in forever altering the entire American ecosystem was minor when compared to the part of the true criminals: the European animals. The introduction of these European animals into the New World had the most destructive effects on the new environment and everlastingly altered the ecology of the Americas. During the time that pre-dated the arrival of the Europeans, the Americas remained basically untouched and prevailed as virgin land. The land was populated with not just American Indians, but also populated by vast numbers of plants and animals. These inhabitants "lived, died, and bred alone for generation after generation, developing unique cultures and working out tolerances," that is up until 1492, when Columbus and the European conquerors invaded the harmonious land and instantaneously initiated the many long years of corruption. The arrival of the Europeans immediately brought drastic changes to the way things were previously done in the Americas; they "immediately set about to transform as much of the new world as possible into the old world." Because they were people who practiced mixed farming with a heavy emphasis on herding and because they saw only very few domesticated animals in the new land, the Europeans began the action of importing Old World domesticated animals, such as the pig, cow, and horse. This action could most definitely be described as "the greatest biological revolution in the Americas since the end of the Pleistocene era." The Europeans had no idea as to what they unleashed upon the New World when they introduced their domesticated animals. Many of these animals flourished in the new environment beyond the wildest hopes of their European masters. The animals and their diseases "moved through the virgin lands of America faster than did the people who had brought them to the New World." By surpassing their masters, the animals became unstoppable, and their destruction was unfortunately boundless. Pigs, for example, existed as one among the many animal groups that played such a significant role in the changes that wrought the ecology of the New World. Out of all of the imported animals, the pigs adapted quickest to the new environment.