Alfred Crosby

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Alfred W. Crosby is a historian, professor and well-respected author.

1 Background
2 References
3 Additional References
4 External link

He is author of such books as The Colombian Exchange (1972) and Ecological Imperialism (1986). In these works, he provides biological and geographical explanations for why Europeans were able to succeed with relative ease in what he refers to as the Neo-Europes of Australasia, North America, and southern South America. Unfortunately for Crosby, however, he is not commonly credited for this advancement. Instead, Jared Diamond is typically recognized for disseminating many of the same ideas in his Pulitzer prize-winning book Guns, Germs, and Steel (1998).

Recognizing the majority of modern day wealth is located in Europe and the Neo-Europes, Crosby set out to investigate what historical causes are behind the disparity. Similarly, Diamond was prompted to research this question when, in 1960s Papua New Guinea, a local politician and leader of a post-World War II movement named Yali asked him, “Why you white man have so much cargo [or material goods] and we New Guineans have so little?”^[1]

By the time Jared Diamond published Guns, Germs, And Steel, Alfred Crosby had already made significant contributions to the field that altered the way European success in the Neo-Europes was understood. According to Hal Rothman, a Professor of History at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, Crosby “added biology to the process of human exploration, coming up with explanations for events as diverse as Cortez’s conquest of Mexico and the fall of the Inca empire that made vital use of the physical essence of humanity.”^[2] Therefore, despite the fact Jared Diamond is often credited with discovering the biological and ecological forces behind European success in the Neo-Europes, it is important to understand and acknowledge Alfred Crosby’s contributions to the field. And while Guns, Germs, And Steel remains a groundbreaking book, it should not be forgotten that Crosby was one of the first to propose many of the ideas contained within its covers, Diamond merely advanced them and gave them a broader context.

[edit] Background

Crosby is currently a professor at the University of Texas at Austin. He has taught at Yale University and at the Alexander Turnbull Library in New Zealand. His books include:

Ecological Imperialism: The Biological Expansion of Europe, 900-1900
Germs, Seeds, & Animals: Studies in Ecological History
The Columbian Voyages: The Columbain Exchange & Their Historians
The Columbian Exchange: Biological & Cultural Consequences of 1492
America's Foregotten Pandemic: The Influenza of 1918
The measure of reality : quantification and Western society, 1250-1600

[edit] References

^ Balter, Michael. "Is This How the West Won?" Science 309 (2005): 248-249. ProQuest. University of Washington, Lynnwood. 2 Nov. 2006.
^ Rothman, Hal. "Conceptualizing the Real." American Quarterly 54.3 (2002): 485-497. ProQuest. University of Washington, Lynnwood. 1 Nov. 2006.

[edit] Additional References

Gallup, John, and Jeffrey Sachs. "Location, Location." Harvard International Review 21.1 (1998): 56-610. ProQuest. University of Washington, Lynnwood. 1 Nov. 2006.