Description
Book SynopsisThe Malagasy possess a profound religious, socio-political and economic attachment to land which connects individuals and kinship groups with the ancestors. International stakeholders value Madagascar for its biodiversity, minerals and agricultural potential, while the Malagasy state views land as the necessary platform for its economic development. This collection presents original research by established and rising scholars across a broad spectrum of disciplines, including Human Genetics, Anthropology and History. Authors focus on land as the pivotal factor underlying the economic, social and religious structures of Malagasy society and its relationship with outsiders, aiming to provide new insights into the issues underlying Madagascar’s ongoing economic and political malaise.
Table of ContentsCONTENTS List of Illustrations List of Contributors Introduction: Land Competition and Human-Environment Relations in Madagascar Sandra J.T.M. Evers, Gwyn Campbell and Michael Lambek The Genetic Trail to Madagascar Himla Soodyall, Bharti Morar and Trefor Jenkins Don’t we all Want a World Filled with “Bright Faces” and “Fat-Cheeked Babies”? Creating the State and Crafting Ideology in Eighteenth Century Imerina Victor Raharijaona and Susan Kus Forest Depletion in Imperial Madagascar, c.1790–1861 � 63 Gwyn Campbell Solving Madagascar: Science, Illustrations, and the Normalizing of Fauna of Nineteenth Century Madagascar Tom Anderson Lex Loci meets Lex Fori: Merging Customary Law and National Land Legislation in Madagascar Sandra J.T.M. Evers Land Rights and Alien Plants in Dryland Madagascar Karen Middleton Parenting through Boom and Bust in a Northern Malagasy Mining Town Andrew Walsh Discourse, Development and Legitimacy: Nature/Culture Dualism of Mining Engagements in Biodiversity Offsetting and Conservation in Madagascar Caroline Seagle How the Daewoo Attempted Land Acquisition Contributed to Madagascar’ Political Crisis in 2009 Venusia Vinciguerra Index
