Nagai, Kaoro (Hrsg.) Maritime Animals. Ships, Species, Stories

This volume examines the involvement of animals in human maritime activities in the age of sailing ships, as well as the diverse connections between different species that have formed across different geographical locations throughout the long history of global shipping. Far from viewing the ship as a space bounded by the sea, Maritime Animals explores the ship's connections to a larger context and network, covering a wide range of locations from the Canadian Arctic to the Pacific Islands. Each chapter focuses on the experiences of a particular species at sea, from ship pests, animals transported on board for food, and animal specimens for scientific study, to livestock, companion animals and working animals, deep-sea animals that find refuge in shipwrecks, and land animals that settle on flotsam and flotsam. Drawing on the latest research in animal studies, marine science, environmental science, and a variety of other perspectives and narrative approaches, Maritime Animals challenges an anthropocentric understanding of maritime history. Instead, this book shows how animal species tell stories and make history in meaningful and often surprising ways through their interactions with the oceans.