Animal diseases and human populations in colonial Zimbabwe : the rinderpest epidemic of 1896-1898
This article analyses the impact of the rinderpest animal disease outbreak on human populations in early colonial Zimbabwe. It is informed by the realisation that, while animal diseases may not infect human beings directly, they may cause untold damage to both the health and the economy of human beings and influence human institutions and policies in a variety of ways. By using the rinderpest pandemic as a case study, this article shows how the depredations of this disease brought severe difficulties to the White settler colonialists and the indigenous populations in colonial Zimbabwe and may have inspired the development of veterinary infrastructure and policies in colonial Zimbabwe. Starting with a brief review of the literature on the history of animal diseases in colonial Zimbabwe, the article briefly examines traditional veterinary medicine and practices and then proceeds to trace the origins and development of the rinderpest pandemic in the country. Thereafter, it analyses the colonial authorities' various attempts to contain and eradicate the disease before, finally, documenting and assessing the disease's impact on both the animal and human populations of Zimbabwe.
Read
- In Collections
-
Zambezia
- Copyright Status
- In Copyright
- Date Published
-
2001
- Authors
-
Mutowo, Maurice K. K.
- Material Type
-
Articles
- Publishers
-
University of Zimbabwe
- Language
-
English
- Pages
- Pages 1-22
- Part of
-
Zambezia. Vol. 28 No. 1 (2001)
- ISSN
- 0379-0622
- Permalink
- https://n2t.net/ark:/85335/m5280818x