Patterns of Animal Disease

Abstract

Animal disease is a key shaper and product of human, animal and environmental history. Its emergence and spread can be traced to the ecological relationships between animals and their environments, and to the ways in which humans have used and manipulated them to better serve human ends. Disease not only impacted on animal health and well-being. Heavy human dependence on animals for food, income, transport, companionship, military strength, cultural capital and the creation of scientific knowledge, meant that it also had profound ramifications for human society, politics, economics, health, science and nutrition. These disease dynamics and their historical significance are increasingly recognised by historians. While short, descriptive accounts of animal disease have long featured in histories of war, agriculture, colonialism, politics and economics, the last ten to fifteen years have witnessed a considerable expansion in dedicated, critical historical literature. This chapter will review works published in the English language. Building on earlier analyses , it opens with some general historiographical reflections on the scope of the field and its sources, themes and approaches. It then offers a summary of the current state of knowledge before concluding with some suggestions for future lines of enquiry.