Image: Mahsona cattle in Zimbabwe. Photograph by Dr. Wesley Mwatwara
We would like to hereby extend the invitation to the final lunch lecture in this year’s Environmental Humanities Center lunch lecture series!
In this lecture socio-environmental historian Dr. Wesley Mwatwara will explore how colonial authorities attempted to reshape African livestock regimes by introducing what they considered “better” cattle breeds during the early 20th century (for full abstract, see below). Dr. Mwatwara’s work focuses on African livestock regimes, particularly in colonial Zimbabwe.
The lecture takes place on Thursday the 26th of June from 12:45 until 13:30 in the Library Lounge, which is located in the VU main building at the far-end of the library space on the first floor.
To provide enough sandwiches at this lunch lecture, please sign up here.
Reforming the Herd: Colonial Science, African Livestock Regimes, and the Cattle Quality Clause in colonial Zimbabwe, c.1912 – 1930
This presentation examines the colonial management of indigenous livestock in tropical Africa by officials, veterinarians, and animal scientists who perceived these animals as markedly distinct from those in their countries of origin in terms of physiology, behavior, dietary preferences, and disease resistance. Confronted with unfamiliar socio-cultural dynamics between African communities and their domesticated animals, colonial authorities sought to reshape local livestock economies. The study explores a largely overlooked dimension of settler efforts to introduce exotic cattle breeds as a purported solution to overstocking and as a means to transform African pastoral systems. It argues that the interactions between colonial ‘experts’ and African livestock owners reveal critical insights into the broader colonial encounter and its entanglements with science, authority, and indigenous knowledge.
N.B. This lecture will take place in person in Amsterdam and will not be streamed or recorded.
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