he Violence of Decay. The (after-)life of maritime fauna collected in the 19th century South Pacific

The Violence of Decay. The (after-)life of maritime fauna collected in the 19th century South Pacific

This dissertation project focusses on fish and mollusks from the Southwest Pacific that were located, captured and killed in the 19th century to be sent to museums in Europe during a time of intensive colonial extraction and accumulation. As part of the SNF-Project Killing to Keep, this studyconsiders the maritime animals that can be found in European collections today not only as natural history objects, but also as actors within colonial trade and scientific networks. Their particularly mobile behavior, their impermanence once they deceased and the threat of the Climate Crisis today make these animals elusive actors. How did decay influence the practices of killing and preserving maritime animals and how does it affect practices today?

Everyday practices of collecting and preserving maritime fauna in the 19th century involved multiple perspectives and knowledges. Collecting wet specimens took place in the geographically wide historical context that included indigenous strategic use of wayfinding competences and other nature knowledges in their encounter with imperial intruders. European trading firms, that specialized in natural history collecting usually combined with the hunt for ethnographica, were motivated by economic and scientific interest to accumulate specimens of species that were yet to be described by Western science. The boundaries between their different trading goods that ranged from consumer goods and ethnographic objects to dead animals and human remains cannot be clearly drawn. This insight poses a challenge and an even greater opportunity for an interdisciplinary approach to writing a history of colonial science and violence. 

The historical and contemporary practices surrounding the contact between humans and marine animals can reveal overlooked connections and entanglements between scientific disciplines, natural history collections, and contemporary environmental challenges. Overall, this project will highlight the obligations that arise from being part of a world interconnected in the past and the present, creating a dialogue between collections, practices, archival sources and contemporary perspectives.