Feathers of Empire: Commodifying and Conserving Nature during the 19th Century

01/07/2026 to 31/03/2029

Birds have long occupied a unique place in human history, inspiring art, science, and
imagination. They have been admired for their beauty, intelligence, and flight, while also
serving as commodities in global trade. During the age of high imperialism (1860s–1920s), the
demand for birds and their feathers intensified, shaping scientific exploration, economic
networks, and conservation efforts. This era saw an exponential rise in natural history
expeditions, expanding European empires, and the commercialization of exotic species such as
birds of paradise from New Guinea and ostriches from South Africa. But birds were not simply
passive objects of human exploitation. Their biological traits actively shaped the methods of
trade, hunting, and scientific collection. Historians have extensively studied how empires
extracted and commodified nature, yet the role of animals as active participants in these
processes has often been overlooked. By re-examining the interactions between birds,
scientists, traders, Indigenous communities, and colonial officials, this project challenges
traditional narratives of imperial expansion that focus solely on human agency. Therefore,
“Feathers of Empire” applies Actor-Network Theory to explore the agency of birds within imperial networks. The project juxtaposes two case studies: the trade in birds of paradise and the ostrich industry, to show how these birds shaped economic and scientific practices. Thus, the project reveals the deep entanglements between nature and empire and contributes to broader debates in environmental history, colonial science, and the global history of humananimal relations in transnational contexts.