The natural resources of New Guinea and nearby islands have
attracted outsiders for at least 5000 years: spices, aromatic woods
and barks, resins, plumes, sea slugs, shells and pearls all brought
traders from distant markets. Among the most sought-after was the
bird of paradise. Their magnificent plumes bedecked the hats of
fashion-conscious women in Europe and America, provided regalia for
the Kings of Nepal, and decorated the headdresses of Janissaries of
the Ottoman Empire. Plumes from Paradise tells the story of this
interaction, and of the economic, political, social and cultural
consequence for the island's inhabitants. It traces 400 years of
economic and political history, culminating in the plume boom of
the early part of the 20th century, when an unprecedented number of
outsiders flocked to the islands coasts and hinterlands. The story
teems with the variety of people involved: New Guineans,
Indonesians, Chinese, Europeans, hunters, traders, natural
historians and their collectors, officials, missionaries, planters,
miners, adventurers of every kind. In the wings were the
conservationists, whose efforts brought the slaughter of the plume
boom to an end and ushered in an era of comparative isolation for
the island that lasted until World War II.
General
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