American Provisioning and the Environmental Impact on Islands in the Indian Ocean

ABSTRACT Studies of Indian Ocean commerce have focused on the role of commodities such as silver or spices in creating and sustaining connections within the ocean and beyond. This emphasis obscures the exigencies that forced captains to visit islands in the Indian Ocean in search of provisions to feed crews during long distance voyages. This provisioning would have unforeseen consequences, particularly environmental ones, by the early nineteenth century when Americans joined European merchants and whalers in traveling through the western Indian Ocean. This paper explores the extent to which the actions taken by US sailors increased political and ecological instability in several locations including Madagascar, the Seychelles, and islands in the southern Indian Ocean. Provisioning demands reshaped local economies and political systems, in addition to contributing to conditions of scarcity on the region’s smallest islands.