Book contents
- Feral Empire
- Feral Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Equine Imprint in Iberian History, Tenth to Fifteenth Centuries
- 2 A Politics of Horses
- 3 The Paradox of Abundance and Illusion of Control
- 4 Indigenous Equestrianism
- 5 Ferality and Breed in “New World” Horses
- 6 Defining Casta and Raza
- Conclusion
- Works Cited
- Index
2 - A Politics of Horses
Scarcity and Colonization in the New World
Published online by Cambridge University Press: 30 May 2024
- Feral Empire
- Feral Empire
- Copyright page
- Dedication
- Contents
- Illustrations
- Acknowledgments
- Introduction
- 1 The Equine Imprint in Iberian History, Tenth to Fifteenth Centuries
- 2 A Politics of Horses
- 3 The Paradox of Abundance and Illusion of Control
- 4 Indigenous Equestrianism
- 5 Ferality and Breed in “New World” Horses
- 6 Defining Casta and Raza
- Conclusion
- Works Cited
- Index
Summary
Horses represented an expensive and logistically challenging aspect of early expeditions, as they had to be brought by boat and then bred in colonial settlements to aid in expansion. This scarcity only elevated the cultural and political significance of horses, evident in the narratives of early Spanish or Indigenous chroniclers and also in strategic efforts to breed horses in colonial settlements, despite the challenging and varied new environments. Beyond the military lore of conquest, horses literally and materially served as the measure for establishing social status, access to political office, and territorial control by colonial representatives, shaping the structure and strategy of colonial expansion in powerful ways.
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- Feral EmpireHorse and Human in the Early Modern Iberian World, pp. 45 - 73Publisher: Cambridge University PressPrint publication year: 2024