Entangled pathways of the Plantationocene: early colonial monocropping, subaltern agrobiodiversity, and aridity in Andalus (Spain) and Coastal Peru

Abstract

ABSTRACT The long-term (AD 1300–1800), multi-scale interactions of monocropping and subaltern agri-food systems of Andalus (Spain) and coastal Peru reveal the entangled transformations of the Plantationocene. Historically convergent colonial monocultures (wheat, sugar, cotton, sheep, cattle) entangled with the divergence and plurality of resilient yet precarious diverse-food affordances of subaltern groups (peasants, indigenous people, enslaved persons, Mudejares, Moriscos). Using political ecology, the comparative cases illuminate how Plantationocene colonial entanglements were shaped through spatial movements and social-environmental affordances of biota, populations, and institutions. New empirical understanding and a novel conceptual and analytical framework offer insight into Plantationocene pathways, alternatives, and struggles.