Reassembling the Strange: Naturalists, Missionaries, and the Environment of Nineteenth-Century Madagascar

This book examines how Westerners understood and processed Madagascar and its environment during the nineteenth century. Madagascar’s unique ecosystem crafted its reputation as a strange place full of unusual species. Westerners, however, often minimized Madagascar’s peculiar features to stress the commonality of its fauna and flora with the world. The attempt to understand the island through science led to a domestication of its environment that created the image of a tame and known world capable of being controlled and used by Western powers. At the heart of the exploration of Madagascar and its transformation in Western eyes from a strange world to a cash crop colony were missionaries and naturalists who relied upon global experiences to master the island by normalizing the peculiar qualities of Madagascar’s environment. This book reveals how the environment played a dominant role in understanding the island and its people, and how current environmental debates have evolved from earlier policies and discussions about the environment.

Table of Contents:
Chapter One Introduction Environmental Origins Malagasy Origins Framework of the Book Chapter Two Seeking the Strange The Tropical Eden and a Scientific Turn Exploration and the Malagasy The Man-Eating Tree and Scientific Discovery Finding the Strange Legitimizing Folklore Conclusion Chapter Three Interpreting the Strange: Global Scientific Theories The Case of the Aepyornis Normalizing Fauna From Lemuria to Biogeography Conclusion Chapter Four The Scientific Community of the LMS Protestant Missionaries as Naturalists The Antananarivo Annual and the Scientific Community A Global and Scientific Audience Conclusion Chapter Five Defining the Malagasy: Language and Race on Madagascar Language as a Civilizing Tool Differentiating the Malagasy Missionary Experiences Spreading the Racial Word The Slave Trade and the Merina Kingdom Conclusion Chapter Six Redefining the Environment The Tropical Becomes Familiar Wresting Control from the Malagasy Reshaping the Environment A Plantation Once More Conclusion Chapter Seven A French Colonial World Creating a Colony The Creation of Forest Reserves A New Scientific Madagascar Conclusion