Animal Companions: Pets and Social Change in Eighteenth-Century Britain (Animalibus: Of Animals and Cultures)

__Animal Companions__ explores how eighteenth-century British society perceived pets and the ways in which conversation about them reflected and shaped broader cultural debates. While Europeans kept pets long before the eighteenth century, many believed that doing so was at best frivolous and at worst downright dangerous. Ingrid Tague argues that for Britons of the eighteenth century, pets offered a unique way to articulate what it meant to be human and what society ought to look like. With the dawn of the Enlightenment and the end of the Malthusian cycle of dearth and famine that marked previous eras, England became the wealthiest nation in Europe, with a new understanding of religion, science, and non-European cultures and unprecedented access to consumer goods of all kinds. These transformations generated excitement and anxiety that were reflected in debates over the rights and wrongs of human-animal relationships. Drawing on a broad array of sources, including natural histories, periodicals, visual and material culture, and the testimony of pet owners themselves, __Animal Companions__ shows how pets became both increasingly visible indicators of spreading prosperity and catalysts for debates about the morality of the radically different society emerging in eighteenth-century Britain.

Animal Companions explores how eighteenth-centuryBritish society perceived pets and the ways in which conversationabout them reflected and shaped broader cultural debates.

While Europeans kept pets long before the eighteenth century,many believed that doing so was at best frivolous and at worstdownright dangerous. Ingrid Tague argues that for Britons of theeighteenth century, pets offered a unique way to articulate what itmeant to be human and what society ought to look like. With thedawn of the Enlightenment and the end of the Malthusian cycle ofdearth and famine that marked previous eras, England became thewealthiest nation in Europe, with a new understanding of religion,science, and non-European cultures and unprecedented access toconsumer goods of all kinds. These transformations generatedexcitement and anxiety that were reflected in debates over therights and wrongs of human-animal relationships.

Drawing on a broad array of sources, including naturalhistories, periodicals, visual and material culture, and thetestimony of pet owners themselves, Animal Companionsshows how pets became both increasingly visible indicators ofspreading prosperity and catalysts for debates about the moralityof the radically different society emerging in eighteenth-centuryBritain.

Explores How Thinking About Pets In Eighteenth-century Britain Reflected And Influenced The Great Social And Cultural Debates Of The Day, Including Struggles Over Gender, Race, Class, And National Identity--provided By Publisher. The Material Conditions Of Pet Keeping -- Domesticating The Exotic -- Fashioning The Pet -- A Privilege Or A Right? -- Pets And Their People. Ingrid H. Tague. Includes Bibliographical References (pages 269-281) And Index. Mode Of Access: World Wide Web.