Nicholas Acker: Making Nature Sacred #3

“First generation colonists considered themselves transplanted, reformed Britons who instinctively projected an English cultural identity and nomenclature onto the landscape.” These first settlers weren’t as open-minded as necessary to see the beauty of the new land they found themselves in. They were so used to the land they came from they had preconceived notions of what a beautiful landscape was or should look like. Instead of describing themselves as being a part of the natural landscape, or experiencing it spiritually or aesthetically, the first generation Britons described it as “transplanted” there. This implies they don’t feel a part of it, or they don’t belong there. As future generations came to inhabit the new land, perceptions of the landscape began to change. By the third generation of settlers, the views of the land greatly differed from that of the early settlers. “Thus, despite the Puritans’ general fear and suspicion of unsettled land, they were also disposed to regard the wild continent as uncorrupted space—and even, on occasion, as a sacred site of regeneration..” Through inhabitation and continuous interaction with the land the people that came to settle America began to appreciate it more and more. The influence the land has on people in undeniable and we are naturally drawn to the inherent sacredness that it has to offer.