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Accumulations and Cascades: Burmese Elephants and the Ecological Impact of British Imperialism

Saha, Jonathan

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Abstract

What effect did British imperialism in Myanmar have on frogs? And, given that the lives of these small amphibian creatures were rarely ever recorded or preserved in archival collections, how might we find out? Sceptical readers may also wish to take a step back and ask, why should historians even care about their lives? These are unusual questions for a historian to confront, but they are occasioned by the deepening conversation between ecology and history. This paper delves into the ecological impact of colonial rule in Myanmar through the lives of Burmese elephants and the creatures that they lived alongside. In it I argue that the concepts of ‘accumulation’ and ‘cascade’ are useful for enabling historians to apprehend the full extent of the impact of imperialism on the lives of animals.

Citation

Saha, J. (2022). Accumulations and Cascades: Burmese Elephants and the Ecological Impact of British Imperialism. Transactions of the Royal Historical Society, 32, 177-197. https://doi.org/10.1017/s0080440122000044

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Feb 28, 2022
Online Publication Date Apr 13, 2022
Publication Date 2022-12
Deposit Date Mar 8, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal The Transactions of the Royal Historical Society
Print ISSN 0080-4401
Electronic ISSN 1474-0648
Publisher Cambridge University Press
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 32
Pages 177-197
DOI https://doi.org/10.1017/s0080440122000044

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