Environment and Empire (Oxford History of the British Empire Companion Series)

European imperialism was extraordinarily far-reaching: a key global historical process of the last 500 years. It locked disparate human societies together over a wider area than any previous imperial expansion; it underpinned the repopulation of the Americas and Australasia; it was the precursor of globalization as we now understand it. Imperialism was inseparable from the history of global environmental change. Metropolitan countries sought raw materials of all kinds, from timber and furs to rubber and oil. They established sugar plantations that transformed island ecologies. Settlers introduced new methods of farming and displaced indigenous peoples. Colonial cities, many of which became great conurbations, fundamentally changed relationships between people and nature. Consumer cultures, the internal combustion engine, and pollution are now ubiquitous. Environmental history deals with the reciprocal interaction between people and other elements in the natural world, and this book illustrates the diverse environmental themes in the history of empire. Initially concentrating on the material factors that shaped empire and environmental change, Environment and Empire discusses the way in which British consumers and manufacturers sucked in resources that were gathered, hunted, fished, mined, and farmed. Yet it is also clear that British settler and colonial states sought to regulate the use of natural resources as well as commodify them. Conservation aimed to preserve resources by exclusion, as in wildlife parks and forests, and to guarantee efficient use of soil and water. Exploring these linked themes of exploitation and conservation, this study concludes with a focus on political reassertions by colonised peoples over natural resources. In a post-imperial age, they have found a new voice, reformulating ideas about nature, landscape, and heritage and challenging, at a local and global level, views of who has the right to regulate nature. Environmental History Deals With The Reciprocal Interaction Between People And Other Elements In The Natural World. This Study Illustrates Diverse Environmental Themes In The History Of The British Empire. It Concentrates Initially On The Material Factors That Shaped Patterns Of Extraction And Environmental Change. But A Core Theme Throughout Is The Tension Between Exploitation And Conservation. India Needed Forests For Its Railways; Australia Required Pastures For Its Sheep. Soil Erosion Was Seen To Threaten African Agriculture. Conservation Aimed To Preserve Resources By Exclusion, As In Wildlife Parks And Forests, Or To Guarantee Efficient Use Of Soil And Water. This Study Concludes By Describing Political Reassertions By Colonized Peoples Over Natural Resources. In A Post-imperial Age, They Have Found A New Voice, Reformulating Ideas About Nature, Landscape, And Heritage, And Challenging - At Local And Global Level - Views About Who Has The Right To Regulate Nature. Environment And Empire Is An Innovative Synthesis, Exploring Environmental Change, Conservationist Ideas, Environmentally Related Diseases, Visual Images Of Nature, And Political Ecology Over The Long Term.--jacket. Environmental Aspects Of The Atlantic Slave Trade And Caribbean Plantation -- The Fur Trade In Canada -- Hunting, Wildlife, And Imperialism In Southern Africa -- Imperial Travellers -- Sheep, Pastures, And Demography In Australia -- Forests And Forestry In India -- Water, Irrigation, And Agrarian Society In India And Egypt -- Colonial Cities: Environment, Space, And Race -- Plague And Urban Environments -- Tsetse And Trypanosomiasis In East And Central Africa -- Imperial Scientists, Ecology, And Conservation -- Empire And The Visual Representation Of Nature -- Rubber And The Environment In Malaysia -- Oil Extraction In The Middle East: The Kuwait Experience -- Resistance To Colonial Conservation And Resource Management -- National Parks And The Growth Of Tourism -- The Post-imperial Urban Environment -- Reassertion Of Indigenous Environmental Rights And Knowledge. William Beinart And Lotte Hughes. Includes Bibliographical References (p. [353]-382) And Index. Contents......Page 12 List of Illustrations......Page 14 1. Introduction......Page 16 2. Environmental Aspects of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Caribbean Plantations......Page 37 3. The Fur Trade in Canada......Page 55 4. Hunting, Wildlife, and Imperialism in Southern Africa......Page 73 5. Imperial Travellers......Page 91 6. Sheep, Pastures, and Demography in Australia......Page 108 7. Forests and Forestry in India......Page 126 8. Water, Irrigation, and Agrarian Society in India and Egypt......Page 145 9. Colonial Cities: Environment, Space, and Race......Page 163 10. Plague and Urban Environments......Page 182 11. Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis in East and Central Africa......Page 199 12. Imperial Scientists, Ecology, and Conservation......Page 215 13. Empire and the Visual Representation of Nature......Page 229 14. Rubber and the Environment in Malaysia......Page 248 15. Oil Extraction in the Middle East: The Kuwait Experience......Page 266 16. Resistance to Colonial Conservation and Resource Management......Page 284 17. National Parks and the Growth of Tourism......Page 304 18. The Post-Imperial Urban Environment......Page 325 19. Reassertion of Indigenous Environmental Rights and Knowledge......Page 344 Select Bibliography......Page 368 A......Page 398 C......Page 399 E......Page 401 G......Page 402 I......Page 403 K......Page 404 M......Page 405 P......Page 406 R......Page 407 S......Page 408 W......Page 409 Z......Page 410 Contents 12 List of Illustrations 14 1. Introduction 16 2. Environmental Aspects of the Atlantic Slave Trade and Caribbean Plantations 37 3. The Fur Trade in Canada 55 4. Hunting, Wildlife, and Imperialism in Southern Africa 73 5. Imperial Travellers 91 6. Sheep, Pastures, and Demography in Australia 108 7. Forests and Forestry in India 126 8. Water, Irrigation, and Agrarian Society in India and Egypt 145 9. Colonial Cities: Environment, Space, and Race 163 10. Plague and Urban Environments 182 11. Tsetse and Trypanosomiasis in East and Central Africa 199 12. Imperial Scientists, Ecology, and Conservation 215 13. Empire and the Visual Representation of Nature 229 14. Rubber and the Environment in Malaysia 248 15. Oil Extraction in the Middle East: The Kuwait Experience 266 16. Resistance to Colonial Conservation and Resource Management 284 17. National Parks and the Growth of Tourism 304 18. The Post-Imperial Urban Environment 325 19. Reassertion of Indigenous Environmental Rights and Knowledge 344 Select Bibliography 368 Index 398 A 398 B 399 C 399 D 401 E 401 F 402 G 402 H 403 I 403 J 404 K 404 L 405 M 405 N 406 O 406 P 406 R 407 S 408 T 409 U 409 V 409 W 409 X 410 Y 410 Z 410 Environment and Empire uncovers the fascinating interaction between people and the elements in very different British colonies throughout the world. Providing a rich overview of socio-environmental change, driven by imperial forces, this fascinating new study examines a key global historical process of the last 500 years. British imperial authorities were concerned about overexploitation and the potential risks to nature and material production, and this book examines the rise of. conservation as a result. It also looks at political reassertions by colonised peoples over natural resources, who This volume uncovers the interaction between people and the elements in very different British colonies throughout the world. Providing a rich overview of socio-environmental change, driven by imperial forces, this study examines a key global historical process