The Americas before and after 1492: An Introduction to Current Geographical Research

The controversy over the Columbian Quincentenary identifies two broad issues of fundamental interest to geography: (a) the decimation and displacement of indigenous peoples, leading to creation of new human and cultural landscapes; and (b) the relative ecological impacts of indigenous and Colonial land use, as a prelude to the global environmental transformation introduced by the Industrial Revolution. This introductory essay outlines the contributions of ten critical or synthetic reviews, setting them in a wider context of contemporary research, as a web of related themes focused on the Americas before and after 1492. These themes include: (a) pre-Columbian population densities, environmental impact, and the myth of the Indian as Ecologist; (b) the labor intensity and technological sophistication of pre-Columbian agriculture in many areas; (c) the human implications and landscape impact of catastrophic indigenous depopulation; (d) the process of Spanish settlement and landscape transformation; (e) diffusion, continuity, and syncretism in the residual indigenous landscapes; (f) the divergent policies and impacts of French and British colonization, and the comparatively limited attention given to Native American and African contributions to the North American cultural landscape; and (g) the different perceptions, cartographies, and geographies of the explorers, the indigenous peoples, and the European scholars engaged in the Columbian Encounter. The final discussion identifies themes that cannot yet be adequately reviewed, especially the impact of Colonial settlement upon the environment, as distinct from the consequences of the Industrial Era, its technology, and its demand for raw materials. The debate raised by the Encounter can and should refocus geographical research on related cultural and environmental questions that require fresh attention.