Penser l’écocide au XIXe siècle : crimes contre la nature, châtiment divin et vengeance de la Terre

The notion of ecocide, which literally refers to the destruction of an inhabited space, becomes increasingly relevant in the debate on environmental law, and in particular on the legal definition of crime against nature. We want to show in this article that the idea of ecocide is older than the word : since the beginning of the 19th century, in the West, many (scientists, philosophers, naturalists, essay writers, etc.) have worried about the growth of the environmental damages, considering them as transgressions, and even as crimes committed against God’s creation or, in a more secular spirit, against a nature which should have remained untouched, for the good of mankind. We will especially insist on the fear of the punishment that such infringements provoke. Result of a divine or an immanent justice, this punishment would result in the collapse of civilisation.