Themes In Environmental History Research Articles

Maritime cultural encounters and consumerism of turtles and manatees: An environmental history of the Caribbean

By the mid-eighteenth century, a distinctive maritime commerce in turtle and manatee products existed in the Caribbean. It was especially prevalent amongst English-speaking inhabitants, from the Cayman Islands and Jamaica to the outposts of Costa Rica, Nicaragua and the Colombian islands. Consumption patterns led to a variety of encounters between indigenous Indians, Europeans, Africans and Creoles. Commerce in these natural resources, especially turtles, grew steadily, creating prodigious consumer demands for medical uses, culinary and fashion trends in Europe and the North America by the late-nineteenth century. This study intertwines themes of environmental history, maritime cultural encounters, fisheries and food history. Topics such as indigenous hunting techniques, processing, transportation, marketization, utilitarian and luxury consumerism and evolution of social attitudes towards natural resources are addressed. It is based on contemporary sources and covers various aspects of the supply and utilization of these marine animals over the longue durée.

Trees: Themes in Environmental History . Compiled by Sarah Johnson. Biggleswade: White Horse Press, 2015. 381 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, notes, and index. Paper $25.00.

<i> Trees: Themes in Environmental History </i>. Compiled by Sarah Johnson. Biggleswade: White Horse Press, 2015. 381 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, notes, and index. Paper $25.00.

Setting the Scene for an Environmental History of Late Antiquity

Abstract Environmental history is a well-established discipline that until recently focused mainly on the modern era and was dominated by historians. Numerous scholars agree today that this needs to change: a focus on Late Antiquity can help this happen. To make it possible, we should concentrate our efforts on three parallel projects. First, make late antique studies more interdisciplinary, i.e. joining the efforts of historians, archaeologists and natural scientists. Second, look at Late Antiquity and the early Middle Ages as a source of case studies that are relevant to the central themes of environmental history. Third, use environmental history as a new framework that has the potential to modify our vision of the 1st millennium AD, by getting us closer to the actual experience of the people who lived this past.

From the Other Side of the Ocean: Environment and Empire

A decade ago, John McNeill provided an impressive set of reflections on the state of environmental history. Practitioners within the field could not help but feel ebullient about the diverse and vibrant intellectual activity surrounding the study of reciprocal relationships between humanity and the rest of the natural world across time and space. McNeill’s assessment of Canadian contributions was less encouraging, however, as he noted, ‘‘Canadianists have almost entirely ignored the genre.’’ The nature of his discussion belied potential difficulties in locating Canadian environmental history. The several lines devoted to Canada were offered in the context of cross-border environmental history: nature does not respect political boundaries and transcends the nation-state. The discussion of Canada, therefore, was part of an effort to place American environmental history in a North American context. Shortly thereafter, McNeill noted that the British Empire and Commonwealth was an ‘‘especially strong’’ representative among imperial themes in environmental history. McNeill’s observation became a springboard for a survey of regional and national offerings in environmental history across the globe.1 Despite stating the strength of the British Empire and Commonwealth in imperial environmental history, McNeill had elected at this point not to introduce Canada, the largest colony of overseas settlement. In part, McNeill’s placement of Canada reflects the current trajectory of the nation in its North American context: since the Second World War, Canada has increasingly distanced itself from the British Empire and Commonwealth as it has sought closer economic and political ties with the United States. This shift has generated a field of Canadian studies that often defines itself through comparison with the United States. The comparative search for ‘‘difference,’’ however, suggests some of the possible historical limitations to a ‘‘natural,’’

Themes in Environmental History: Indigenous Knowledge. Compiled by Sara Johnson. Cambridge: White Horse Press, 2012. xviii + 362 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, notes, and index. Paper $25.00.

<i>Themes in Environmental History: Indigenous Knowledge.</i> Compiled by Sara Johnson. Cambridge: White Horse Press, 2012. xviii + 362 pp. Illustrations, maps, tables, notes, and index. Paper $25.00.

Bioinvaders: Themes in Environmental History. Compiled by Sarah Johnson. Cambridge: White Horse Press, 2010. xiii + 275 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, and index. Paper $22.50.

<i>Bioinvaders: Themes in Environmental History.</i> Compiled by Sarah Johnson. Cambridge: White Horse Press, 2010. xiii + 275 pp. Illustrations, maps, notes, and index. Paper $22.50.

New Zealand on the Pacific Frontier: Environment, Economy and Culture

This article reviews the first decades of European activity in New Zealand, a period dominated by resource extraction. It suggests that while much excellent scholarly work has been published on this period, a fuller understanding is by integrating the sometimes historiographically separate themes of environmental history, imperial economic history, and culture contact.

An Historiographical Overview of Environmental History in South Africa

AbstractThis article identifies key themes in environmental history in South Africa and points to how research in environmental history has contributed to our understanding of the South African past, ranging from the pre‐colonial period to the late‐twentieth century and the anti‐apartheid struggle. The article notes how research on the environmental practices of indigenous African societies in the pre‐colonial era has furthered understandings of these societies more broadly; how the environment is seen by many historians to have been integral to the processes of conquest and resistance to colonial rule; and how societal tensions in an increasingly racialized South Africa found expression in conflict over environmental resources and interventions.