Humans and Aquatic Animals in Early Modern America and Africa

“In this recent book, biologist and environmental historian Cristina Brito explores the early-modern Atlantic spaces of cross-cultural interspecies interactions from a global Portuguese perspective. In her account, aquatic animals were at once resources, partners, and symbols in the context of early American-European and African encounters and clashes, when Iberian conquerors crossed the Oceans and set in communication continents that had been previously separated. Her aim is to contribute to Anthropocene humanities’ multidisciplinarity by looking at the many agencies of history-making […] Indeed, extinction and the extirpation of future generations – human and nonhuman alike – marks the tragedy of the Anthropocene. But since human relations with their environments and other species are not only destructive, as they are revealing of strong ties of care and empathy as well, Brito’s retrospective glance on historical water-cultures also opens up the possibility to imagine a different, more sustainable future.” -- Pietro Daniel Omodeo, in Lagoonscapes, no. 1 (21 July 2025)