Unfortunately, this unusual tameness was used to their disadvantage: as Darwin notes, men "frequently killed them in the evening, by holding out a piece of meat in one hand, and in the other a knife ready to stick them."
this post was submitted on 21 Jun 2025
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chapotraphouse
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While it's true that Christian imperialism is environmentally destructive, hunting species to extinction predates both Christianity and white people. Every continent suffered mass extinctions pretty much the moment the humans set foot there for the first time.
The invention of agriculture provided a huge material impetus to destroy predator populations and as far back as the neolithic revolution humans conducted the mass burning of forests and wild habitat to clear room for farms.
Yes, it starts with civilization in general. But Christian imperialism sure sent it into overdrive.
With the advent of agriculture and domestication of animals, humans began to believe that they hold dominion over nature. Perhaps that was inevitable. But it's that worldview that has us hurling down a path of irreversible climate change that may lead to our (and others) extinction.