Reassembling the Strange: Naturalists, Missionaries, and the Environment of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar
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Book Title
Reassembling the Strange: Naturalists, Missionaries, and the Environment of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar
Department
History
Description
This book examines how Westerners understood and processed Madagascar and its environment during the nineteenth century. Madagascar’s unique ecosystem crafted its reputation as a strange place full of unusual species. Westerners, however, often minimized Madagascar’s peculiar features to stress the commonality of its fauna and flora with the world. The attempt to understand the island through science led to a domestication of its environment that created the image of a tame and known world capable of being controlled and used by Western powers. At the heart of the exploration of Madagascar and its transformation in Western eyes from a strange world to a cash crop colony were missionaries and naturalists who relied upon global experiences to master the island by normalizing the peculiar qualities of Madagascar’s environment. This book reveals how the environment played a dominant role in understanding the island and its people, and how current environmental debates have evolved from earlier policies and discussions about the environment.
ISBN
9781498576055
Publication Date
10-2018
Publisher
Lexington Books
City
Lanham, MD
Disciplines
History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Recommended Citation
Anderson, Thomas J., "Reassembling the Strange: Naturalists, Missionaries, and the Environment of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar" (2018). Books and Monographs. 94.
https://scholarworks.merrimack.edu/books/94