The Exotic Animal as a Historic Sign: Trade, Symbolism and Exhibition of Animals in XIXth Century France

Abstract

The objective of this article is to establish the dynamics that led to the constitution of the French Empire in the nineteenth century, the latter understood as a space, as well as a history, from an animal perspective. We will reconstruct the displacements, events, symbols and institutions in which animals were registered and that make them emerge as a historical vector The work will analyze three main axes, the political-diplomatic, symbolic and commercial value of animals. Ultimately, what is sought is to show the active and effective participation of animals in the construction of the notion of Empire and thus restore their role as actors in industrial, scientific and theatrical history, as well as in History itself..