Human Impacts and Adaptations in the Caribbean Islands
The earliest colonization of the Caribbean islands dates back to 6000 BP. These groups arrived in Cuba and Hispaniola from Mesoamerica and are sometimes referred to as Casminoid. The paper breaks up time into three ages: the Archaic, the Ceramic, and the Historic period (post European).
Even before the arrival of the Europeans, human populations were still degrading the local environments, even killing off whole populations of animals (sea turtles, iguanas, large fishes, and the indigenous tortoise) in some places (Grand Turk).
However, with the arrival of the Europeans, "extensive land clearing for agriculture and settlement, the introduction of Old World plants and animals (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep), and overfishing and hunting led to major alterations of island ecosystem in the Caribbean." The decrease of sea turtles from overhunting and the general overexploitation of fish being some of the most lasting. Whales, which were never an interest to prehistoric peoples, was a primary source of income for Europeans in the 1800s, leading to the extensive hunting of humpbacks.
Furthermore, agriculture was the cause of some of the biggest changes to terrestrial and marine environments in the Caribbean. Colonists throughout the British West Indies used fire to clear forest of native vegetation in order to create arable land to grow crops, such as sugarcane. Fire was the most "effective [agent] in permanently altering the ecologies of Caribbean island landscapes."
Today, mangroves are destroyed for housing, road, and tourist development, destroying habitats and nursery grounds for lobsters and other species as well as providing a natural near-shore buffer to pollutants. Sand is mined to create cement, causing heavy coastal erosion. Bilge water, garbage, petroleum, and other pollutants dumped from ships or leached from landfills, sewage treatment centers, and factories within the region are poisoning both land and sea.
Questions
The earliest colonization of the Caribbean islands dates back to 6000 BP. These groups arrived in Cuba and Hispaniola from Mesoamerica and are sometimes referred to as Casminoid. The paper breaks up time into three ages: the Archaic, the Ceramic, and the Historic period (post European).
Even before the arrival of the Europeans, human populations were still degrading the local environments, even killing off whole populations of animals (sea turtles, iguanas, large fishes, and the indigenous tortoise) in some places (Grand Turk).
However, with the arrival of the Europeans, "extensive land clearing for agriculture and settlement, the introduction of Old World plants and animals (cattle, horses, pigs, sheep), and overfishing and hunting led to major alterations of island ecosystem in the Caribbean." The decrease of sea turtles from overhunting and the general overexploitation of fish being some of the most lasting. Whales, which were never an interest to prehistoric peoples, was a primary source of income for Europeans in the 1800s, leading to the extensive hunting of humpbacks.
Furthermore, agriculture was the cause of some of the biggest changes to terrestrial and marine environments in the Caribbean. Colonists throughout the British West Indies used fire to clear forest of native vegetation in order to create arable land to grow crops, such as sugarcane. Fire was the most "effective [agent] in permanently altering the ecologies of Caribbean island landscapes."
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Questions
- What is grown in the Caribbean today?
- How has tourism changed the Caribbean?
- Have any islands in the Caribbean (or any other island chains in similar situations) implemented laws/practices to prevent the exploitation of local environments by humans?
- Does is matter that we're overexploiting and contaminating the Caribbean?
I was super interested to read that humans were exploiting and harming the environment even before colonial times in the Americas and the Caribbean. You really never hear of native peoples damaging the environment, as they are often depicted as in perfect harmony with nature and their surroundings. I believe that you are absolutely right in noting that the most dramatic and detrimental effects occurred after Europeans arrived to the New World, as these effects have been monumental and can still be seen today. I think it matters a great deal that we are overexploiting and contaminating the Caribbean, as it is damaging the ecosystem and eradicating many organisms and their environments.
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