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Environmental Awareness
: Wolves and Bears in 19th Century Europe
Korean Minjok Leadership Academy
International Program
Hur, Da Eun
Term Paper, AP European History Class, July 2009
Table of Contents
I. Introduction
II. Wolves
II.1 Northern Europe: Norway
II.2 Western Europe: Spain
II.3 Eastern Europe
II.3.1 Volhynia, Little Russia
II.3.2 Galicia, Austrian Empire
II.3.3 Congress Poland
II.3.4 Circassia, Russian Empire
II.4 Southern Europe: Papal States
II.5 Southeastern Europe
II.5.1 European Turkey
II.5.2 Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
II.5.3 Crete, Turkish Empire
III. Bears
III.1 Northern Europe: Norway
III.2 Western Europe: Spain
III.3 Eastern Europe
III.3.1 Volhynia, Little Russia
III.3.2 Galicia, Austrian Empire
III.3.3 Congress Poland
III.3.4 Circassia, Russian Empire
III.4 Southern Europe: Papal States
III.5 Southeastern Europe
III.5.1 European Turkey
III.5.2 Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
III.5.3 Crete, Turkish Empire
IV. Overall Analysis
V. Comment on the Encyclopedias
VI. Conclusion
Notes
Bbliography
I. Introduction
The paper focuses on the environmental awareness of 19th century Europe, based on the state of wolves and bears then.
Most information used for the analysis is based on the rate of killing. First, I divided Europe into regions and listed the
regions that wolves and bears inhabit. And then, within that, described how the rate of killing the wolves and bears changed
eventually, and finally its relation to the environmental neglect, economic issues, and social issues, in the conclusion. Although
both lists of wolves and bears are divided into same regions, some regions might not have either bear or wolves inhabiting.
II. Wolves
II.1 Northern Europe : Norway
In 19th century Norway, wolves were not only numerous, but also made up significant portion in Norwegian economic life.
Wolves were found in Norway in abundant number throughout the 19th century; it is recorded that they were numerous in
number even in the early 20th century (1). Also, wolves took considerably important portion of the
living of the Norwegian inhabitants. Main sources of living in Norway then were fishing and the trade, including skins and furs
of the animals (wolves were one of them). (2) 19th century Norway exported, mostly on sea, the
products of the forest, mining; according to the statistics, there were 26 trading places and 32 landing places, not counting
for the cities. In the end of the 19th century, the sum of fishery and forest economy made up 72.3% of the total exports of the
country. (3)
II.2 Western Europe : Spain
The existence of wolves was not mentioned, in the encyclopedias referenced, until the mid-19th century.
"Hunt and fishing in Spain are free, but he former is not seriously conducted; the most frequent game are rabbits, the most
frewuent fowl partridges."
The reason why wolves are suddenly mentioned in the encyclopedia in the mid 19th century might be the growth of wool industry.
Throughout the 19th century, wool production took significant portion in Spanish economy. However, it is in the encyclopedia of
the 1850s that sheep are emphasized.
"The most important domesticated animal is the sheep, the fine wool of which provides an important article for export. The large
herds of sheep during the summer graze in the mountains and during the winter on the lower stretches of the plateau."
(4)
Wolves are renowned to be one of the most dangerous predators of sheep, and their frequent attacks on sheep might have
jeopardized the wool industry, making people pay more attention to the wolves and their negative effects.
II.3 Eastern Europe
II.3.1 Volhynia, Little Russia
In 19th century Volhynia, historic region in the west of Ukraine, too, hunting was one of the most important economic activities,
the hunted animals including wolves. However, in the encyclopedia of the late 19th century Volhynia, wolves are not mentioned.
It might be that they were extinct by then, or that the number was small that it did not have much importance.
(6)
II.3.2 Galicia, Austrian Empire
Also in Galicia, hunting and trading the raw products of the hunt is one feature of the economy. Wolves appear to be hunted
more in number than the bears were, although they seem to have stayed numerous in number throughout the 19th century.
"Among wild animals, still bears, lynxes and wolves are found, of which in 1881 15, 39 respectively 94 were killed."
(7)
II.3.3 Congress Poland
Not much stress was put on the hunting and wolves in the encyclopedias about 19th century Congress Poland. It is said that the
country has abundant source of hunted animals. Wolves are especially abundant. (8)
II.3.4 Circassia, Russian Empire
Living in tribes, people of Circassia depended greatly on industry based on nature such as agriculture, livestock, and hunting.
There is a lot of forest in Circassia, and hunted animals include wolves, too. The products are traded for the salt, weapons,
and supplies for war and hunt. (9)
II.4 Southern Europe: Papal States
Wolves are mentioned as one of the hunted animals in 19th century Papal States. However, not much emphasis on wolves, or
hunting itself, is shown in the encyclopedia. (10)
II.5 Southeastern Europe
II.5.1 European Turkey
In the encyclopedias, it is stated that hunting is an important source of income in 19th century Turkey. Wolves are one of the kinds
of hunted animals. (11)
However, in the encyclopedia of the late 19th century Turkey, it is seems that forestry has gone down hill, due to the huge devastation
of forest. Forests being the habitat of the wolves, it could be predicted that the number of wolves would have decreased in the late
19th century, too. (12)
II.5.2 Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
In the encyclopedias on Dalmatia in the mid 1800s, wolves are mentioned. However, there is not any comment on the hunting of the
wolves. It is stated in the encyclopedias that the mountains are barren, with only a few bushes left. Lack of place to live might be the
reason why hunting is not flourished in the country then. (13)
However, in the later encyclopedias, water fowl, which is numerous, is mentioned as the only hunted animals, which means that
wolves are not hunted anymore (14). Since it was mentioned in the previous encyclopedia that deforestation
was serious, lack of living space might have caused decrease in number, or even extinction.
II.5.3 Crete, Turkish Empire
Until the late 19th century, wolves were listed as huntable animals in the island fauna (15). However, in the
encyclopedias in the early 20th century, only two species are said to live in the island, not merely huntable but existent, which means
that the wolves were extinct. (16)
III Bears
III.1 Northern Europe: Norway
In 19th century Norway, the situation of bears was similar to that of wolves. They remained numerous in number throughout the 19th
century, and made up significant portion of the local economy, especially in trade.
III.2 Western Europe: Spain
Bears are not mentioned in the 19th century encyclopedias on Spain. This suggests two possibilities. Bears might not have existed,
not lived in Spain, or there existed small number of them so that they did not gain enough attention of people.
III.3 Eastern Europe
III.3.1 Volhynia, Little Russia
Like wolves, bears were one of the numerous kinds of hunted animals in 19th century Volhynia. In the encyclopedias of the late 19th
century, bears are said to be in large number living in the extensive forests, their habitat, forest, consisting over 30 percent of the land.
(17)
"Main sources of revenue are agriculture, especially in the south, livestock keeping (currently declining), forestry in the
north (significant production of timber, pitch, tar, pottash), beekeeping, fishery and hunt (among others for bears, who live in
large numbers in the extensive forests." (18)
III.3.2 Galicia, Austrian Empire
The situation of the bears in Galicia is similar to that of wolves. The hunting was one of the important features in 19th century Galicia,
and bears were one of the kinds hunted frequently. However, compared to the wolves, bears seem to have been hunted less than wolves.
"Among wild animals, still bears, lynxes and wolves are found, of which in 1881 15, 39 respectively 94 were killed."
(19)
III.3.3 Congress Poland
The country is said to be rich in hunted animals; however, bears seem not to have been that large in number, because not much emphasis
was made on hunting in the encyclopedias on 19th century Congress Poland and it was wolves that was remarked to be large in number.
"They are home to a number of wild animals, of which wolves are especially numerous. The country is rich in all kinds of hunted animals."
(20)
III.3.4 Circassia, Russian Empire
Same situation with wolves. With large portion of forest in land, hunting is one of the most important features of Circassian life. The products
are traded for living goods and weapons, and supplies for hunting. (21)
III.4 Southern Europe : Papal State
Bears are not mentioned among other animals in the hunting part of encyclopedia on 19th century Papal States. This might mean that bears did
not exist in Papal States then, or were extremely small in number. (22)
III.5 Southeastern Europe
III.5.1 European Turkey
Bears are also said to be one of the hunted animals in the 19th century Turkey, while in many areas hunting takes important portion in the economy.
However, the excessive devastation of forest might have decreased the number of bear living in Turkey. (23)
III.5.2 Dalmatia, Austrian Empire
Bears are not mentioned in the 19th century encyclopedias of Dalmatia. Probably, number of bears was small, or bears did not exist in Dalmatia.
III.5.3 Crete, Turkish Empire
Bears are not mentioned in the 19th century encyclopedias of Dalmatia. The number might have been small, or bears might not have inhabited.
IV. Overall Analysis
Wolves seem to have inhabited widely, all over Europe. Wolf hunting in the 19th century Europe was closely related to the economic
matter at that time. It consists significant portion of the economy, such as in trade; products gained from hunting were one of the most
traded in the 19th century. Also, wolves might have attacked on people, causing the economic damage. As a result, wolves were limitlessly
killed in the 19th century, causing some serious decrease in number in some areas; the cause includes not only excessive hunting, but
also includes neglect such as excessive deforestation.
Wolf hunting was rarely inhibited in 19th century Europe; rather, it was often supported by the government. For example, in Czarist Russia,
the wolf attack was one of the problems of that time; as a solution, the government opened wolf bounties and appointed government hunters.
Wolf bounty is one of the most frequently utilized methods in solving wolf-problems; people were paid for hunting the wolves. In some cases,
such as those of Sweden and Norway, people were to pay fee for not hunting or for not owning the weapon for the hunt. In addition, the
representation of wolf hunting as luxurious and aristocratic good was another reason of high rate of wolf killing in 19th century. Wolf hunting
was often regarded as wealth; in some countries, wolf hunters were regarded as respected county figure in the area. As a result, after the
revolutions and throwing of the social classes, such as French Revolution or Russian Serf Emancipation, people who used to be in lower
social class started hunting wolves, enhancing the rate of wolf killing. (24)
Unlike wolves, bears seem to be not that wide spread, especially in the south. In hunting bears, people rarely had environmental awareness,
killing excessively and destroying their habitats. However, bears were hunted less than wolves were. For some tribes in Europe, bear
hunting was regarded as some ritual. Bear meat was considered to be an aristocratic activity; this might have made people to hunt more
as people escaped the social class system. Also, in some countries, people were obligated to hunt on bears, some village communities
having to hand in set number of paws of bears from time to time. (25)
In the 19th century, excessive number of wolves and bears was killed without any limit. Not only people were eager to because they were
recognized as luxury of aristocracy, but also the government insisted people to hunt wolves and bears as solution to the problems they were
causing. Thus, because of these reasons, people killed wolves and bears limitlessly, causing in killing excessive number or destroying their
living space, reducing the number.
V. Comment on Encyclopedias
This paper is about the environmental awareness on wolves and bears; thus, the encyclopedias were chosen based on the question:
"Does the encyclopedia contain any information on hunting, wolves, and bears?" Several other keywords were used. As a
result, I could find some encyclopedia excerpts about wolves, bears, and hunting; some were excluded for their lack of sufficient information.
In the early encyclopedias, even until the mid 1800s, the matter of existence was the only thing mentioned about bears and wolves.
"Bears, wolves, lynxes, moose, the small fur-bearing animals of he north, wild land- and waterfowl, among them the famous Eider ducks, are found in quantity"
(26)
However, the possibility is that the contents and the view of the encyclopedias might change depending on the time it is written, since the
importance of the subject and social attitudes on them change eventually. Thus, I decided to look for the change in the attitude towards
the environment, based on hunting of wolves and bears.
As mentioned above, in the encyclopedias in the early and mid 1800s, not much attention was paid to the animals, especially if the animals
did not have much effect on the society. However, in the encyclopedias about the countries that wolves and bears were closely related
to the social matter; and as the importance of them grew within the same society, the attention on the wolves and bears grew, too,
increasing the portion of the encyclopedia about them. For example, in the encyclopedias on Spain, not much attention was paid on wolves.
They are not mentioned in Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon 1809-1811 and Brockhaus Bilder-Conversations-Lexikon 1837-1841.
However, wolves receive attention in the encyclopedias starting in the mid 1800s. Anskjaer, Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
is where wolves are first mentioned in the 19th century encyclopedias. The important thing is that this takes place along with the
development in wool industry. In contrast, in some areas wolves were considered rather beneficial to the economy, not harmful. Because
wolves were beneficial to the society, they were judged better in those encyclopedias. As in this example, depending on the social situation
of the time, the content and attitude of encyclopedia are different.
Also, there was a change in the attitude of the encyclopedia over time. In most encyclopedias, not much environmental awareness was shown.
However, among the encyclopedias I researched, there was one encyclopedia excerpt that appeared to be aware of the environmental problem.
"Forestry is at a low level, the devastation of forests enormous. Single provinces partially are still covered by dense forests, while others
have an almost complete lack of timber." (27)
This is an excerpt from the encyclopedia of 1885-1892. Among the 19th century encyclopedias, this is the only place where the environmental
awareness is shown. As it is the encyclopedia of the late 19th century, we may expect that the environmental awareness to be enhanced
in the later encyclopedias.
VI. Conclusion
In the 19th century, as social class system was demolished and industry developed, hunting rate became intense. Hunting wolves
and bears were not only considered luxury of aristocracy, but also people were supported by the government to kill them because
of the damages people got from the animals. However, lack of environmental awareness and excessive killing of the animals finally
resulted in the decrease in number in some areas, and, in some other areas, even extinct. Not much effort was put in the 19th
century to protect the population of wolves and bears.
Other than the analysis on the factual information on wolves and bears, I tried to interpret the change over time in the attitude and
contents of the encyclopedias. Within encyclopedia, the amount of attention paid on wolves and bears differed based on the social
situation. Also, it appeared to be that in late 19th century, some environmental awareness developed, increasing the expectation
that the environmental awareness might have increasd in the 20th century.
Notes
1. Article: Norwegen, from
Meyers Grosses Konversations-Lexikon 1902-1909
2. Article: Norwegen, from
Brockhaus Conversations-Lexicon 1837-1841
3. Article: Norwegen, from
Meyers Grosses Konversations-Lexikon 1902-1909
4. Article : Spanien , from Anskjaer,
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
5. Article : Wolhynien , from
Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885-1892
6. Article: Galizien, from Anskjaer,
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
7. Article: Galizien, from
Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885-1892
8. Article: Polen, from Anskjaer,
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
9. Article : Tscherkessen, from
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865
10. Article : Kirchenstaat (I), from
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865
11. Article: Tyrkiet, from Anskjaer,
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
12. Article: T?rkisches Reich : Europ?ische T?rkei, from
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892
13. Article: Dalmatien (1), from
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865
14. Article: Dalmatien,
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892
15. Article: Kreta,
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892
16. Article: Kreta (1911), from
Nordisk Familje-Bok 1904-1926
17. Article: Wolhynien, from
Meyers Konversationslexikon 1885-1892
18. ibid.
19. Article : Galizien, from
Meyer's Konversationslexikon 1885-1892
20. Article : Polen, from Anskjaer,
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog 1858-1863
21. Article : Tscherkessen, from
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865
22. Article : Kirchenstaat (I), from
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 1857-1865
23. Article: T?rkisches Reich : Europ?ische T?rkei, from
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892
24. Article: Wolf hunting, from
Wikipedia.
25. Article: Bear hunting, from
Wikipedia.
26. Article ˇ°Norwegenˇ± from
Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon 1837-1841
27. Article ˇ°T?rkisches Reich : Europ?ische T?rkeiˇ± from
Meyers Konversations-Lexikon 1885-1892
Bibliography
Note : websites quoted below were visited in June 2009.
Primary Sources :
Brockhaus Conversations-Lexikon 1809-1811
1. Article : Spanien (2),
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Brockhaus-1809/A/Spanien+%5B2%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/spain/spainenc19.html
Brockhaus Bilder-Conversations-Lexikon 1837-1841
2. Article : Norwegen,
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Brockhaus-1837/A/Norwegen
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/scandinavia/norwenc19.html
3. Article : Spanien,
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Brockhaus-1837/A/Spanien
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/spain/spainenc19.html
Pierer's Universal-Lexikon 4th ed. 1857-1865
4. Norwegen (1),
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Norwegen+%5B1%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/scandinavia/norwenc19.html
5. Article : Volhynien,
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Volhynien
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/volhenc19.html
6. Article : Tscherkessien,
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Tscherkessien
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/circenc19.html
7. Article : Kirchenstaat (I),
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Kirchenstaat+%5B2%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/italy/pstenc19.html
8. Article : Dalmatien (1),
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Dalmatien+%5B1%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/dalmenc19.html
9. Article : Candia,
German language text posted by Zeno, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Kreta+%5B1%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/creteenc19.html
Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1885-1892 edition
10. Article : Spanien,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=115046
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/spain/spainenc19.html
11. Article : Wolhynien,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=116855#Wolhynien
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/volhenc19.html
12. Article : Galizien,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=106285
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/eceurope/galenc19.html
13. Article : T?rkisches Reich : Europ?ische T?rkei,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=115952
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/rum2enc19.html
14. Article : Dalmatien,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=103774
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/dalmenc19.html
15. Article : Kreta,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.retrobibliothek.de/retrobib/seite.html?id=109829
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/creteenc19.html
Meyers Konversationslexikon, 1902-1909 edition
16. Article : Norwegen,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.zeno.org/Pierer-1857/A/Norwegen+%5B2%5D
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/scandinavia/norwenc19.html
17. Article : Wolynien,
German language text posted by Retro Bibliothek, http://www.zeno.org/Meyers-1905/A/Wolyn%C4%ADen
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/russia/volhenc19.html
Nordisk Familje-Bok 2nd ed. 1904-1926
18. Article : Galizien,
Swedish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=nfbi&page=0318
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/eceurope/galenc19.html
19. Article : Kreta (1911),
Swedish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=nfbn&page=0660
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/creteenc19.html
Geografisk-Statistisk Haandbog ed. by Stefan Anskjaer, 2 viols. 1858-1863
20. Article : Spanien.
Danish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=ankjaer/2&page=0715
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/spain/spainenc19.html
21. Article : Galizien,
Danish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/ankjaer/2/galizien.html
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/eceurope/galenc19.html
22. Article : Polen,
Danish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=ankjaer/2&page=0538
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/eceurope/cgrpolenc19.html
23. Article Tyrkiet,
Danish language text posted by Project Runeberg, http://runeberg.org/display.pl?mode=facsimile&work=ankjaer/2&page=0814
English translation on WHKMLA, http://www.zum.de/whkmla/region/balkans/rum2enc19.html
Secondary Sources
24. Article: Bear hunting, from Wikipedia.
last revised on 27 June, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bear_hunting
25. Article: Wolf hunting, from Wikipedia.
last revised on 26 June, 2009. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wolf_hunting
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