Beating a dog to death: resource management, food scarcity, and Mexico City's canine massacre during the Enlightenment, 1790–1821.
From 1790 to 1821, the authorities of Mexico City led an extensive campaign to rid the streets of the presence of dogs. They ordered the guardafaroles (watchmen) to kill any canine they encountered at night, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs. Historians have often explained these...
| Publicado en: | Colonial Latin American Review Vol. 34; no. 3; pp. 269 - 293 |
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| Formato: | Artículo |
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Taylor & Francis Ltd
Sep2025
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| Acceso en línea: | Ver este registro en EBSCOhost |
| Sumario: | From 1790 to 1821, the authorities of Mexico City led an extensive campaign to rid the streets of the presence of dogs. They ordered the guardafaroles (watchmen) to kill any canine they encountered at night, leading to the slaughter of tens of thousands of dogs. Historians have often explained these early animal control campaigns as an offshoot of the hygienic and policing reforms enacted by the Bourbon state. This article draws from posthumanism theory and Critical Animal Studies to examine this event from a more materialistic and less anthropocentric approach. It argues that these dog slaughters and the resistance they provoked among different sectors of colonial society were also grounded in a discussion about resource management and defining what constituted an economically productive body. |
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