Turtles, Indians and settlers: Podocnemis expansa exploitation and the Portuguese settlement in eighteenth-century Amazonia

Abstract

During the eighteenth century, Portuguese settlers in Amazonia captured thousands of turtles and crushed millions of their eggs. These turtles, especially the Giant South American River Turtle (Podocnemis expansa), gave these settlers two essential resources: meat and oil. Though there is a rich historiography on turtle hunting, important social and environmental dimensions of the practice in Amazonia during the colonial period have been overlooked. In this paper we focus on how turtles played a key role in the diet and domestic needs of Portuguese settlers in the Amazon rainforest and explore the shape and magnitude of colonialism's impact on these animals. The turtles became prime targets for Portuguese settlers because they were abundant and had characteristics and behavior that made them easy prey. Though P. expansa did not become extinct, Portuguese hunting had enduring impacts on their distribution and abundance that merit consideration.