About the book
In the wake of a 1952 revolution, leaders of Bolivia’s National Revolutionary Movement (MNR) embarked on a program of internal colonization known as the “March to the East.” In an impoverished country dependent on highland mining, the MNR sought to convert the nation’s vast “undeveloped” Amazonian frontier into farmland, hoping to achieve food security, territorial integrity, and demographic balance. To do so, they encouraged hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Bolivians to relocate from the “overcrowded” Andes to the tropical lowlands, but also welcomed surprising transnational migrant streams, including horse-and-buggy Mennonites from Mexico and displaced Okinawans from across the Pacific.
Ben Nobbs-Thiessen details the multifaceted results of these migrations on the environment of the South American interior. As he reveals, one of the “migrants” with the greatest impact was the soybean, which Bolivia embraced as a profitable cash crop while eschewing earlier goals of food security, creating a new model for extractive export agriculture. Half a century of colonization would transform the small regional capital of Santa Cruz de la Sierra into Bolivia’s largest city, and the diverging stories of Andean, Mennonite, and Okinawan migrants complicate our understandings of tradition, modernity, foreignness, and belonging in the heart of a rising agro-industrial empire.
Editions of Landscape of Migration
- Hardcover
- ISBN 9781469656090
- Paperback
- ISBN 9781469656106
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469656120
- EBook
- ISBN 9798890856449
- EBook
- ISBN 9781469656113
- PDF
- ISBN 9798890856432
Read an Excerpt
In the wake of a 1952 revolution, leaders of Bolivia’s National Revolutionary Movement (MNR) embarked on a program of internal colonization known as the “March to the East.” In an impoverished country dependent on highland mining, the MNR sought to convert the nation’s vast “undeveloped” Amazonian frontier into farmland, hoping to achieve food security, territorial integrity, and demographic balance. To do so, they encouraged hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Bolivians to relocate from the “overcrowded” Andes to the tropical lowlands, but also welcomed surprising transnational migrant streams, including horse-and-buggy Mennonites from Mexico and displaced Okinawans from across the Pacific.
Ben Nobbs-Thiessen details the multifaceted results of these migrations on the environment of the South American interior. As he reveals, one of the “migrants” with the greatest impact was the soybean, which Bolivia embraced as a profitable cash crop while eschewing earlier goals of food security, creating a new model for extractive export agriculture. Half a century of colonization would transform the small regional capital of Santa Cruz de la Sierra into Bolivia’s largest city, and the diverging stories of Andean, Mennonite, and Okinawan migrants complicate our understandings of tradition, modernity, foreignness, and belonging in the heart of a rising agro-industrial empire.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is Landscape of Migration about?
In the wake of a 1952 revolution, leaders of Bolivia’s National Revolutionary Movement (MNR) embarked on a program of internal colonization known as the “March to the East.” In an impoverished country dependent on highland mining, the MNR sought to convert the nation’s vast “undeveloped” Amazonian frontier into farmland, hoping to achieve food security, territorial integrity, and demographic balance. To do so, they encouraged hundreds of thousands of Indigenous Bolivians to relocate from the “overcrowded” Andes to the tropical lowlands, but also welcomed surprising transnational migrant streams, including horse-and-buggy Mennonites from Mexico and displaced Okinawans from across the Pacific.
Ben Nobbs-Thiessen details the multifaceted results of these migrations on the environment of the South American interior. As he reveals, one of the “migrants” with the greatest impact was the soybean, which Bolivia embraced as a profitable cash crop while eschewing earlier goals of food security, creating a new model for extractive export agriculture. Half a century of colonization would transform the small regional capital of Santa Cruz de la Sierra into Bolivia’s largest city, and the diverging stories of Andean, Mennonite, and Okinawan migrants complicate our understandings of tradition, modernity, foreignness, and belonging in the heart of a rising agro-industrial empire.
What core themes, tropes, or subjects are explored in Landscape of Migration?
Technology, Engineering, Agriculture, Industrial processes > Environmental science, engineering and technology
Where can I read a sample of Landscape of Migration?
You can read an official preview of the few pages here https://www.book2look.com/book/9781469656090
How long is Landscape of Migration and how many pages does it have?
Landscape of Migration has 342 page(s)
Is Landscape of Migration part of a series, and can it be read as a standalone?
Yes it is a part of series Flows, Migrations, and Exchanges
Who is/are the Author/s of the book Landscape of Migration?
Ben Nobbs-Thiessen
What are the ISBN numbers for the physical and digital editions?
Landscape of Migration is available as hardcover(ISBN 9781469656090) and paperback(ISBN 9781469656106) and ebook(ISBN 9781469656120) and ebook(ISBN 9798890856449) and ebook(ISBN 9781469656113) and pdf(ISBN 9798890856432)
Where can I buy Landscape of Migration online or support local independent bookshops?
You can buy Landscape of Migration from below
Where can I buy Landscape of Migration?