{"title":"《畜牧国家不能临时凑合》:1910 - 1940年莫桑比克南部的养牛改良、经济抱负和环境","authors":"Bárbara Direito","doi":"10.1080/02582473.2022.2064909","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"ABSTRACT Due to the absence of the tsetse fly and the existence of large areas of pasture and fertile river valleys, bovine cattle have historically been central in the lives of African agro-pastoral societies in southern Mozambique. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Portuguese officials became interested in the expansion of the livestock economy to supply internal and external markets. But various diseases, irregular rainfall, and periodic drought posed numerous challenges. Echoing familiar tropes, colonial officials perceived local animal husbandry practices as backward and uneconomic, and argued that Landim cattle, the indigenous breed, was mostly useless. Debates ensued on whether the Landim breed could be improved or popular imported breeds successfully acclimatised to local conditions. This article discusses the evolution of official livestock policies for southern Mozambique between the 1910s and the 1940s. It investigates the way zootechnical debates concerning cattle improvement were influenced by popular scientific theories, economic aspirations, and a specific regional context, but also by perceptions of African and exotic breeds and attitudes towards the local environment. The article sheds light on how Africans, the main cattle owners in the region, responded in significant ways to these developments.","PeriodicalId":45116,"journal":{"name":"South African Historical Journal","volume":null,"pages":null},"PeriodicalIF":0.4000,"publicationDate":"2022-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"‘A Livestock Country Cannot Be Improvised’: Cattle Improvement, Economic Ambitions, and the Environment in Southern Mozambique, 1910s–1940s\",\"authors\":\"Bárbara Direito\",\"doi\":\"10.1080/02582473.2022.2064909\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"ABSTRACT Due to the absence of the tsetse fly and the existence of large areas of pasture and fertile river valleys, bovine cattle have historically been central in the lives of African agro-pastoral societies in southern Mozambique. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Portuguese officials became interested in the expansion of the livestock economy to supply internal and external markets. But various diseases, irregular rainfall, and periodic drought posed numerous challenges. Echoing familiar tropes, colonial officials perceived local animal husbandry practices as backward and uneconomic, and argued that Landim cattle, the indigenous breed, was mostly useless. Debates ensued on whether the Landim breed could be improved or popular imported breeds successfully acclimatised to local conditions. This article discusses the evolution of official livestock policies for southern Mozambique between the 1910s and the 1940s. It investigates the way zootechnical debates concerning cattle improvement were influenced by popular scientific theories, economic aspirations, and a specific regional context, but also by perceptions of African and exotic breeds and attitudes towards the local environment. The article sheds light on how Africans, the main cattle owners in the region, responded in significant ways to these developments.\",\"PeriodicalId\":45116,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"South African Historical Journal\",\"volume\":null,\"pages\":null},\"PeriodicalIF\":0.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2022-04-03\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"South African Historical Journal\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"98\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://doi.org/10.1080/02582473.2022.2064909\",\"RegionNum\":3,\"RegionCategory\":\"历史学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"HISTORY\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"South African Historical Journal","FirstCategoryId":"98","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1080/02582473.2022.2064909","RegionNum":3,"RegionCategory":"历史学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"HISTORY","Score":null,"Total":0}
‘A Livestock Country Cannot Be Improvised’: Cattle Improvement, Economic Ambitions, and the Environment in Southern Mozambique, 1910s–1940s
ABSTRACT Due to the absence of the tsetse fly and the existence of large areas of pasture and fertile river valleys, bovine cattle have historically been central in the lives of African agro-pastoral societies in southern Mozambique. In the beginning of the twentieth century, Portuguese officials became interested in the expansion of the livestock economy to supply internal and external markets. But various diseases, irregular rainfall, and periodic drought posed numerous challenges. Echoing familiar tropes, colonial officials perceived local animal husbandry practices as backward and uneconomic, and argued that Landim cattle, the indigenous breed, was mostly useless. Debates ensued on whether the Landim breed could be improved or popular imported breeds successfully acclimatised to local conditions. This article discusses the evolution of official livestock policies for southern Mozambique between the 1910s and the 1940s. It investigates the way zootechnical debates concerning cattle improvement were influenced by popular scientific theories, economic aspirations, and a specific regional context, but also by perceptions of African and exotic breeds and attitudes towards the local environment. The article sheds light on how Africans, the main cattle owners in the region, responded in significant ways to these developments.
期刊介绍:
Over the past 40 years, the South African Historical Journal has become renowned and internationally regarded as a premier history journal published in South Africa, promoting significant historical scholarship on the country as well as the southern African region. The journal, which is linked to the Southern African Historical Society, has provided a high-quality medium for original thinking about South African history and has thus shaped - and continues to contribute towards defining - the historiography of the region.