Anderson has given us a very thorough examination of the
mahogany trade and the commodity web. This book is definitely about mahogany
but it does an excellent job of defining many of the actors engaged in the
identification, harvesting, distribution [exporter, importer and shipper], the
finisher of the product made of the commodity and the consumer, which I feel is
only done as well in Lanes book on emeralds.
I found he section on the life of the “huntsman” and slaves
that worked on mahogany cutting crews interesting. I concur with Kirsten on
this point Andersons description of their lives was “improved” [better may be true
but is a stretch, after all they were still slaves] over the lives of other
slaves we have read about.
It is interesting that Lineaus is mentioned in multiple
monographs, A Perfect Red, True History of Chocolate and now here
in Mahogany. To me this supports the
intertwining [commodity web concept] of the early commodities and the value
they represented to nations as a “Thing” that could be used as a means to
generate wealth.
Mahogany resembles emeralds in that they are scarce and take
a significant amount of time to be created or grow to a size worth harvesting. Mahogany
also, lives on as a finished product like an emerald and in fact can grow in
value because of its age. [For example there is a settee in the official
residence of the Chief of Naval Operation that was once owned by John Paul
Jones and it is made of mahogany. This is a testament to its durability, and in
case you are wondering no one sits on it].
It is unfortunate that early harvesters of mahogany did not
recognize the by-product of deforestation of fields to grow sugar cane and the
side business of selling the beautiful trees would eventual cause the demise of
and entire species of plant. But as Kirsten points out there are consequences
for modernity and environmental issues is only one of them. Now lets not just blame the harvesters
for the demise of the mahogany tree, consumer demand too was a contributing
factor and the fetishism that we have often discussed.
Mahogany is an excellent book to follow the Colour of
Paradise, but I must say they are both dense and deserve more time to
contemplate. There are lingering questions for me. Mahogany is a book and I
will most likely read it again.
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