Why read Cattle Colonialism?

Book cover of Cattle Colonialism: An Environmental History of the Conquest of California and Hawai'i

Book description

In the nineteenth century, the colonial territories of California and Hawai'i underwent important cultural, economic, and ecological transformations influenced by an unlikely factor: cows. The creation of native cattle cultures, represented by the Indian vaquero and the Hawaiian paniolo, demonstrates that California Indians and native Hawaiians adapted in ways that…

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American history

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Why read it?

1 author picked Cattle Colonialism as one of their favorite books. Why do they recommend it?

Christopher Michael Blakley

Author

Cows are not typically centered in histories of imperialism and colonialism, but John Ryan Fischer presents the case that bovines transformed the societies of California Indians and native Hawaiians in the nineteenth century.

This book helped me think about how to connect histories of livestock and land seizures, and helps us think about animals as malleable creatures of empire that are repurposed by Indigenous nations.

From Christopher's list on animal and environmental history.