THE EMPIRE OF NATURE: HUNTING, CONSERVATION AND BRITISH IMPERIALISM.

1988 1st edition. 8vo (160 x 240mm). Ppx,340. B/w photographs, illustrations, maps, bibliography. Red boards, spine titled in gilt.

"Wild animals were a vital aspect of the imperial experience in Africa and Asia. The rich and extensive fauna of Africa facilitated the exploration, conquest and settlement of the continent by offering subsidies to European enterprise, directly through ivory and skins, indirectly through meat. In India the hunting of animals became the chief recreation of military officers and civilian officials, a source of display and a symbolic dominance of the environment". An in-depth study into the development and significance of hunting during the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, exploring the history of laws concerned with conservation and game reserves; the progressively restricted game allowed to indigenous hunters turned poachers; and the trophy hunting of the modern tourist and social elite.