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- Convenors:
-
Tomás Bartoletti
(Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Zürich)
David Pretel (Universidad Autónoma de Madrid)
Michele Sollai (University of Zurich)
James McCann (Boston University)
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- Formats:
- Panel
- Streams:
- Human and More than Human (and Microbial)
- Location:
- Room 12
- Sessions:
- Tuesday 20 August, -, -
Time zone: Europe/Helsinki
Short Abstract:
This two-session panel aims to offer new perspectives on the relationship between non-human actors, ecological transformations, and capitalist expansion in the 20th century. We invite contributors with a wide range of methodological approaches that examine pests and diseases in commodity frontiers.
Long Abstract:
In current academic debates about the “Anthropocene,” a certain “human exceptionalism” (Haraway) often prevents historians from producing more complex explanations about climate change and the transformation of the environment. Apart from a few pioneering works, such as McNeill’s Plagues and Peoples (1976), or Diamond’s Guns, Germs, and Steel (1998), studies have in recent years adopted a less anthropocentric perspective, thus helping to shed new light on the crucial role of non-human actors in the history of imperialism and development. The expansion of the capitalist world economy led to the transformation of environments and ecosystems, spurring the unprecedented circulation of biological agents such as insects, plants and fungi, each spreading, mutating, or adapting due to new human interventions. More often than not, these non-human actors challenged human enterprises: i.e. plantation economies, forest extraction or shipping of raw materials. This two-session panel aims to discuss transdisciplinary and multi-polar approaches to the study of pests and diseases in the modern and contemporary era. Particularly, it invites contributions that examine specific human-non-human interactions in processes of commodity production and the transformation of ecological frontiers. Historical inquiries about invasive species, biological control, and scientific strategies of containment and adaptation, are at the core of a nuanced understanding of socio-ecological alterations in a highly globalized economic system. With this panel, we intend to tackle biases and epistemic limitations in our methodologies for assessing the correlation of biological agency, knowledge production, and economic enterprises in the context of the 20th-century expansion of commodity frontiers.
Accepted papers:
Session 1 Tuesday 20 August, 2024, -Paper short abstract:
My paper examines the interlocking of economic entomology in processes of global territorialisation and imperial capitalism. It explores the emergence of pest control research as the human response to the unexpected ways insect species spread across plantations between c. 1890–1930.
Paper long abstract:
In 1909, the Indian rhinoceros beetle (Oryctes nasicornis) was taken onto Upolu, German Samoa, in Hevea cuttings from Ceylon. This species found such favourable conditions here that it multiplied enormously and killed thousands of palm trees threatening the entire coconut crop. In order to avoid the loss of coconut plantations, the German colonial regime, under pressure from economic actors, sent the entomologist Karl Friedrichs to develop methods to control the rhinoceros beetle plague. After a scientific tour of South Asia and East Africa, Friedrichs found a biological enemy, the insect fungus Metarhizium anisopliae, and introduced it to Samoa. Friederichs later studied pest control in coffee plantations in Java (1921-24) and was a visiting professor at the University of Minnesota (1928-29.) As a result of his global trajectory, Friedrichs published important works on the ecology of insects and economic entomology during his academic positions in Rostock and Posen. This paper will examine the success of Friedrichs against the rhinoceros beetle in German Samoa, showing the intermingled scientific, private and colonial interests to prevent loss of economic profit. It will analyse scientific cooperation between the German colonial space, linking experimental stations in Apia and Amani, and beyond imperial boundaries, like stations in Ceylon and Madagascar. Moreover, the migration of the Indian rhinoceros beetle to Samoa provides sufficient evidence about the unexpected ecological consequences of the increasing mobility of biological agents across imperial borders. Lastly, this case allows to reflect on the non-human agency of insects for a methodology of ‹multi-species› global histories.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores the relationship between sugar pests, the production of scientific knowledge and the expansion of commercial agribusiness in the context of the imperial expansion of the United States in Cuba and Puerto Rico from the history of science, environmental and commodity histories.
Paper long abstract:
This paper explores the relationship between the sugarcane mosaic virus plague, the production of scientific knowledge, and the expansion of commercial agribusiness in the context of the imperial expansion of the United States in Cuba and Puerto Rico from the history of science, and environmental and commodity histories. In doing this I highlight the zones of negotiation between different circuits and socioeconomic actors at various levels (global, regional, local). The epidemic illuminates the study and exchange of solutions at various scales that traveled within diverse circuits of knowledge (scientists, sugar producers, etc.), and illustrates multiple connections (vertical, horizontal, transnational, among others). Likewise, I highlight biological agency in the developments of tropical agricultural science.
Paper short abstract:
The paper analyzes the role of rust fungi, sparrows, and hot winds in the evolution of agrarian development and wheat autarky in fascist Italy. Particularly, it examines how fascist science sought to transform the relationship between these non-human agents and wheat farming in the Italian South.
Paper long abstract:
The paper brings to the center stage three more-than-human agents that have long characterized and deeply shaped the agrarian wheatscape of southern Italy: a plant fungus (rust); a bird (sparrow); and a wind ("favonio" or "libeccio", hot and dry south-west winds). As affirmed in 1919 by southern intellectual Giustino Fortunato, these were the “familiar demons” of southern Italian farmers: a cyclical, seemingly never-ending presence in their wheat fields, painful and yet embodied, accepted in daily life and popular folklore. The paper shows how in the context of the fascist diktat of agrarian development and wheat autarky in the Italian South, Italian agrarian science and technology was tasked to finally “fight” these demons and "free" local wheat farmers from their chains. The paper thus analyzes the interplay between "modern" agrarian science and technology, farmers’ agroecological knowledges, and the agency of rust, sparrows, and wind as an entry point to provide a new perspective on the history of science, farming, and the environment in fascist Italy.
Paper short abstract:
This paper follows one of the major soybean's pests, the brown stink bug, in relation with the expansion of Brazilian soybean cultivation, tracing its historical and ecological evolution, and its effects on pest management, agriculture, biodiversity, and ecosystem stability.
Paper long abstract:
In recent decades, Brazil has risen to become a global agricultural powerhouse, largely fueled by the exponential growth of soybeans’ production and consumption worldwide. However, this expansion has not occurred in isolation but rather in tandem with the dynamic ecological interactions between humans and non-humans. Threatening the quality and productivity of Brazilian soybeans, the brown stink bug (Euschistus heros) is one of the major pests of this agricultural frontier. Although they are also present in cotton and sunflower plantations, they are mostly known as “soybean's bugs” (“percevejo-da-soja”) in Brazil, as before the acceleration of Brazilian soy monoculture in the 1970s, this species was considered uncommon in the country. This paper will explore the intricate relationship between the brown stink bug (Euschistus heros) and soybean cultivation in Brazil, delving into the historical and ecological dimensions of this interaction, tracing its origins and subsequent transformations. In particular, the paper will discuss how the presence of this "pest" has led to a complex web of ecological changes, including alterations in pest management strategies, shifts in agricultural practices, and consequences for biodiversity and ecosystem stability.
Paper short abstract:
This paper examines how anthrax shaped the capitalist cattle frontier in colonial Madagascar (1895-1960). While French veterinary policy relied on mass vaccination and neglected ecological approaches, frontier expansion processes arguably reshaped the distribution and ecology of the disease.
Paper long abstract:
In the late nineteenth century, many a European observer imagined Madagascar as the next Argentina, whose immense, yet underexploited cattle herds could be transformed in profitable commodities. Madagascar’s disease environment seemed particularly amenable to such a new cattle frontier, as the island was (and would remain) free from key deadly cattle diseases such as rinderpest, animal trypanosomiasis and East Coast Fever. However, upon colonial conquest in 1895, veterinary doctors quickly grew aware that many parts of the island suffered from anthrax, an often lethal disease caused by contact (through inhaling or ingesting) with the spores of the bacterium Bacillus anthracis, able to survive in the soil for decades.
Focussing on the colonial period (1895-1960), this paper examines how anthrax, by killing animals and corrupting hides, affected the cattle frontier in Madagascar, and how French veterinary policy dealt with this challenge. It argues that, although anthrax was conceived as a telluric disease tied to particular soils and environments, the response was not ecological in approach. Profoundly influenced by Pastorian modes of conceptualizing and dealing with infectious disease, veterinary doctors adopted what Aro Velmet has called a more narrow “technopolitical” approach mainly consisting in the mass vaccination of cattle. Accordingly, this paper analyses (trans)imperial networks of anthrax vaccine development and the practicalities of large-scale vaccination campaigns mostly conducted by ‘indigenous’ vaccinators. Yet, it also asks to what extent changing range management, new trade routes and the mass production of hides under colonial rule reshaped the distribution and ecology of the disease.
Paper short abstract:
This presentation explores the impact of diseases and labour shortages on forest industries and infrastructure development in the Yucatan Peninsula during the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century.
Paper long abstract:
During the late 19th and the first half of the 20th century, the tropical forests of the Yucatán Peninsula served as a vital source of valuable export commodities, including mahogany, logwood, and, notably, chicle. This region witnessed substantial investments, infrastructure development, and a growing labour force amidst war and revolution. However, diseases posed significant challenges to commodity production, labour control and infrastructure expansion.
This presentation explores the impact of diseases and labour shortages on forest industries and infrastructure development in the Yucatan Peninsula. It provides insights into the intricate dynamics of extraction, processing and logistics of rainforest resources, as well as how environmental conditions influenced commodity production in the region.
The presentation reveals that many locals resisted participating in the forest industry and railway construction due to extremely harsh working conditions. Additionally, recruiting migrant labourers proved challenging due to the demanding work environment. Various health issues, including malaria, yellow fever, dysentery, tuberculosis, and snake bites, deterred people from entering this region. The combination of hot and humid weather, hygiene problems and abundant insects and parasites contributed to deadly diseases among local and migrant forest workers. Of particular concern was "la mosca chiclera," a carrier of leishmaniasis, a longstanding endemic illness in the area known since prehispanic times.
Paper short abstract:
This paper explores “Environmental Infrastructures” for entry and access on the early 1900s Malay Peninsula. Focusing on the spread of malaria on the Eastern coast of the Malacca Strait, it showcases how both humans and non-humans shaped commodity frontiers along a vital global transit corridor.
Paper long abstract:
Located along the most direct route connecting the South China Sea with the Indian Ocean, the Strait of Malacca, alongside its thriving hinterland, notably the Malay Peninsula, were key to controlling global markets. As the late 19th century witnessed an increasing demand for natural resources such as tin, gutta-percha, and timber, the British embarked on a mission to enter the peninsula (via coastal ports) and shift commodity frontiers in the region (via rail and road). However, this imperial endeavor faced a number of environmental obstacles, most of all malaria-carrying mosquitoes, that inhabited the deep mangrove swamp along the Strait’s Eastern coastline.
The proposed paper employs the concept of Environmental Infrastructure (Emmanuel Kreike) to illuminate the intricate process underlying entry and gaining access to the Malay Peninsula. This approach acknowledges that certain structures are neither fully nature nor entirely an artifact of culture, but rather a co-production of both realms. Referring to recent literature on diseases and multispecies scholarship, the proposed paper offers novel insights within the realm of commodity frontiers, focusing on two interrelated aspects: Firstly, it underscores the profound entwinement between infrastructural development and the living environment, consistently influencing the shift of commodity frontiers in the global tropics. Furthermore, it attributes a certain level of agency to the animals themselves in shifting and defining imperial endeavors. Drawing on colonial archival records and publications by physicians and engineers, this paper challenges conventional human-centered storylines by highlighting underestimated (and indeed very small) environmental protagonists in the construction of the British Empire.
Paper short abstract:
Tracing campaigns to 'control' two keys pests in Riverland (South Australia) citrus orchards between 1948 and 1970 reveals the foundational economic priorities and ideologies that drove outcomes for more-than-human lives and deaths.
Paper long abstract:
On the banks of the River Murray in the semi-arid Riverland (South Australia), irrigated orchards and vineyards formed the basis of colonial settlement and industry from the late nineteenth century. By the mid-twentieth century, the South Australian citrus industry experienced major growth, predominantly in the Riverland region, with area under citrus doubling between 1948 and 1970. With this expansion came increased economic benefits for primary producers and secondary industry. However, this expansion also heightened risks associated with climate, market saturation, and pest pressure - perennial problems in monocultural agriculture. Growers and industry players attempted to 'control' major pests such as Red Scale and Fruit Fly that threatened the value and health of crops and orchards. Analysing the discursive and material methods deployed by growers and industry bodies to control these pests reveals the ideological work done to prioritise economic outcomes, and to structure life and death in economically convenient forms. This paper explores the role of death and killing in capital creation within a historical local context and offers a more-than-human perspective on the complex interplay of local and global commodity production in the twentieth century.
Paper short abstract:
This paper seeks to connect global grain flows, as well as the logistical infrastructure that made them possible, with the widespread diffusion of plague between 1894 and 1904. I will analyze three specific case studies: Bombay (India), Rosario (Argentina), and Port Elizabeth (South Africa).
Paper long abstract:
Starting in 1894, bubonic plague spread swiftly from China to all inhabited continents. Various scholars have pointed out that this pandemic was directly related to the impact of steam-powered ships, which thanks to their unprecedented speed were able to break the “time-filter factor” that had previously hindered long-distance plague transmission. This paper will focus on another causal variable: the global circulation of agricultural commodities, especially of grains such as wheat, maize, and rice. During the late nineteenth century, the trade of bulk commodities over long distances grew dramatically both in terms of volume and geographical scope. In the case of grain, a combination of multiple factors—including, for example, the drastic fall of intercontinental freight rates and the global expansion of temperate and tropical agricultural frontiers—contributed to the gradual emergence of a unified world market. My research seeks to connect grain flows, as well as the logistical infrastructure that made them possible, with the widespread diffusion of Yersinia pestis between 1894 and 1904. Relying on the concept of “stored grain ecosystem,” borrowed from the field of agricultural science, I argue that the development of an interlinked network of grain storage facilities and transportation lines created ecologically advantageous conditions for the spread of plague vectors, namely rats (e.g., Rattus norvegicus and Rattus rattus) and rat fleas (typically Xenopsylla cheopis, the oriental rat flea). I will analyze three specific case studies: Bombay (India), Rosario (Argentina), and Port Elizabeth (South Africa).