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

This book examines how Westerners understood and processed Madagascar and its environment during the nineteenth century. Madagascars unique ecosystem crafted its reputation as a strange place full of unusual species. Westerners, however, often minimized Madagascars 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 Madagascars 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.Thomas Anderson is assistant professor at Merrimack College.

Chapter OneIntroduction
Environmental Origins
Malagasy Origins
Framework of the Book
Chapter TwoSeeking 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 ThreeInterpreting the Strange: Global Scientific Theories
The Case of the Aepyornis
Normalizing Fauna
From Lemuria to Biogeography
Conclusion
Chapter FourThe Scientific Community of the LMS
Protestant Missionaries as Naturalists
The Antananarivo Annual and the Scientific Community
A Global and Scientific Audience
Conclusion
Chapter FiveDefining the Malagasy: Language and Race on Madagascar
Language as a Civilizing Tool
Differentiating the Malagasy
Missionary Experiences
Spreading the Racial Word
The Slave lót