Footnote:
In: Dove, M. R. 1997. The “banana tree at the gate”: Perceptions of production of Piper nigrum (Piperaceae) in a seventeenth century Malay state. Economic Botany 51(4): 347-361
Nach Informationen von SSRN wurde die ursprüngliche Fassung des Dokuments 1997 erstellt
Description:
This study is based on a remarkable seventeenth-century Malay court chronicle, in which the kingdom's rulers issue injunctions on their death-beds against cultivating pepper (Piper nigrum Piperaceae) for the colonial trade. The rulers say that pepper cultivation will lead to expensive food stuffs, malice, government disorder, pretensions on the part of the subject peoples, and inevitably the destruction of the kingdom. The "fatal attraction" of pepper cultivation is likened, in an indigenous metaphor, to having a flourishing banana tree in front of one's gate. Analysis of historic as well as contemporary evidence from Borneo suggests that this is a remarkably astute analysis of the relations of production in pepper cultivation, especially in the transition from small-scale household cultivation to larger-scale production with state involvement. This analysis demonstrates the potential value of historic, indigenous texts for the study of economic plants, and it also shows the value of historical depth for understanding contemporary issues