From the Other Side of the Ocean: Environment and Empire

Abstract

A decade ago, John McNeill provided an impressive set of reflections on the state of environmental history. Practitioners within the field could not help but feel ebullient about the diverse and vibrant intellectual activity surrounding the study of reciprocal relationships between humanity and the rest of the natural world across time and space. McNeill’s assessment of Canadian contributions was less encouraging, however, as he noted, ‘‘Canadianists have almost entirely ignored the genre.’’ The nature of his discussion belied potential difficulties in locating Canadian environmental history. The several lines devoted to Canada were offered in the context of cross-border environmental history: nature does not respect political boundaries and transcends the nation-state. The discussion of Canada, therefore, was part of an effort to place American environmental history in a North American context. Shortly thereafter, McNeill noted that the British Empire and Commonwealth was an ‘‘especially strong’’ representative among imperial themes in environmental history. McNeill’s observation became a springboard for a survey of regional and national offerings in environmental history across the globe.1 Despite stating the strength of the British Empire and Commonwealth in imperial environmental history, McNeill had elected at this point not to introduce Canada, the largest colony of overseas settlement. In part, McNeill’s placement of Canada reflects the current trajectory of the nation in its North American context: since the Second World War, Canada has increasingly distanced itself from the British Empire and Commonwealth as it has sought closer economic and political ties with the United States. This shift has generated a field of Canadian studies that often defines itself through comparison with the United States. The comparative search for ‘‘difference,’’ however, suggests some of the possible historical limitations to a ‘‘natural,’’