Crosby’s “Neo-Europe” and the Transformation of the Canary Islands

By: GJR Callanta

            Alfred W. Crosby raised numerous interesting points in his book called Ecological Imperialism:  The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900.  One such point was his notion of the “Neo-Europes.”  According to Crosby, the Europeans, who were distinctly Caucasian,[i] occupied most of the territories in Northern Eurasia for most of history.  Hence, for thousands of years (from prehistory to about the tenth century) they lived in this northern block of the European-Asian continent between the Atlantic and the Pacific.  Here, they developed distinct cultures, technologies, politics, and agricultures.  However, due to various reasons such as overpopulation and others, the Europeans eventually spread throughout the globe outside of the Eurasian continent (especially around the twelfth century).  With them, they brought their culture, technology, and particularly their agriculture.  Such places were various isolated islands such as Australia, New Zealand, the Canary Islands, and the large continent of North America.[ii]  According to Crosby, these countries were vastly different prior to the immigration of the Europeans and that their original inhabitants were none-Caucasians.  In fact, he stated that the Europeans consciously, and sometimes accidentally,[iii] changed the landscapes of these foreign lands to make it more like their homelands.  These transformed territories; he called “Neo-Europes.”  These changes were done in numerous ways.  First, the settlers subjugated the native populations.[iv]  After this, they changed the ecosystem through the “seeding” of “European” animals and the clearing of forests for agriculture.  Lastly, they introduce new cash crops and large-scale plantations.  Through this, the new territories became environmental mirrors of the European mainland.  It is, however, important to note that the climate and weather of the subjugated lands needed to be quite similar to the European countries the settlers originated from.  This was because; the crops they would bring would only prosper in such specific climes.  Furthermore, the colonizers’ immune systems were essentially programmed to fight diseases that only thrived in specified conditions.  Thus, they would not have had any defenses against diseases of new climates.[v]  Crosby also stated that it would help if the new territory was isolated.  This insured that the land would not have evolved animals and diseases that could prey on the expansionists and their livestock.  Also, this almost insured that the natives would not have as advanced a technology as the Europeans.[vi]   

            Crosby provided a very good example of the above expansion process as he wrote about the Canary Islands.  In fact many considered this archipelago to be one of the first successful conquests of Europe.[vii]  Prior to the Spanish assault on the Canary’s seven islands in the fifteenth century, the Guanches were the native inhabitants of the lands.  They were Neolithic farmers who planted barley, wheat, beans and others.  They also had livestock such as pigs, dogs, and even sheep.[viii]  Because of their isolation, however, they did not progress further than “stone-age” farmers, though the climate matched the qualifications given earlier.  Eventually, by 1475, the Spanish incursion became quite rampant in the archipelago.  The Guanches fought off numerous assaults to their main islands of La Palma, Tenerife, and Gran Canaria.  Nonetheless, they eventually surrendered due to the seemingly inexhaustible resources of the Spanish Imperialists under the support of King Ferdinand and Queen Isabella in September 1496.[ix]  As a result, the Canary Islands were transformed into a “Neo-Europe.”  This was done by first removing the natives, through slavery, disease and inclusion to the general populace.  As a result, room was made for the European settlers and they gained uncontested proprietorship of the islands.  Then, they introduced animals such as rabbits, camels, asses, and others to alter the ecosystem of the islands making it more comparable to the European mainland and removing all traces of how the archipelago used to look.  They then cleared forests in order to grow their cash crops which were to be the main source of revenue for the new colony.  According to Crosby, “As soon as the Europeans conquered a given island in the Canaries, they set about transforming it in accordance with their plans to become wealthy.”[x]  Furthermore, he stated, “They ‘Europeanized’ their island, importing species of Old World plants and animals that were already doing well in Mediterranean lands.”[xi]  Hence, the “Neo-European” archipelago became one of the main exporters of sugar in Europe as the old Canary Islands disappeared completely and the “Neo” Canary Islands became an ecological mirror of the conquering European mainland.