The savage wars of peace : England, Japan, and the Malthusian trap

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Bibliographic Information

The savage wars of peace : England, Japan, and the Malthusian trap

Alan Macfarlane

Palgrave Macmillan, 2003

  • : pbk

Available at  / 20 libraries

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First published in hardback: Oxford : Blackwell, 1997

Includes bibliographical references (p. [391]-411) and index

Description and Table of Contents

Description

This book aims to solve the problem of how parts of mankind escaped from an apparently inevitable trap of war, famine and disease in the last three hundred years. Through a detailed comparative analysis of English and Japanese history it explores such matters as the destruction of war, decline of famine, importance of certain drinks (especially tea), the use of human excrement and the effects of housing, clothing and bathing on human health. It also shows how the English and Japanese controlled fertility through marriage and sexual patterns, biological and contraceptive factors, abortion and infanticide.

Table of Contents

Introduction PART ONE: THE TRAP The Malthusian Trap Two Islands PART TWO: WARS OF PEACE Natural Environment, Culture and Human Labour The Destruction of War The Nature, Causes and Elimination of Famine Food and Nutrition PART THREE: THE BODY Dysentry, Typhoid, Cholera and the Water Supply Drink: Milk, Water, Beer and Tea Two Methods for the Disposal of Human Excrement PART FOUR: ON THE BODY Vector-borne Diseases: Plague, Typhus and Malaria Public Environs: Streets, Fields and Markets Housing and Health Textiles, Clothing and Footwear Bodily Hygiene: Bathing and Washing Changing Concepts of Dirt and Cleanliness PART FIVE: IN THE AIR Air-borne Diseases: Smallpox, Measles and Tuberculosis PART SIX: IN THE WOMB Fertility, Marriage and Sexual Relations Biology and Contraception Abortion and Infanticide Strategies of Heirship PART SEVEN: OUTCOME Design and Chance

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