Animal Perspectives: Nonhuman Creatures’ Roles in Modern Latin America

Abstract

In the national era of Latin American history, animals played various and significant roles. The 19th century brought to bear forces of industrialization and urbanization that altered how humans and animals interacted. While humans continued to rely on animals through the 20th century, the changes spurred during the 19th century Anthropocene (the period during which human activity has been the dominant influence on climate and the environment) led to new human–animal relations and reshaped traditional ones. Animals represented a driving economic force as a commodity, as transport, as labor, and as raw capital in the growing national republics. In and of themselves, they embodied the nation as symbols and as a part of the broader discourses that marked rural lifeways. As companions and pets, they enjoyed human protection and care, yet as prey and props, they also faced cruel destruction through hunting, blood sports, and vermin control. They caused disease and carried vaccines. And so, from the deepest wilderness of the region to the busiest city boulevard, the human history of Latin America took form in venues inhabited by fauna whose uses, and presence, shaped human life. A better understanding of these nonhuman animals’ histories changes our focus and situates animals as a vital element in Latin American societies.