The Trans-Atlantic Trade And
TURTLEIZING MARINERS –THE TRANS-ATLANTIC TRADE AND CONSUMPTION OF LARGE TESTUDINES IN 16TH- TO 18TH-CENTURY MARITIME COMMUNITIES A Dissertation By MEGAN C. HAGSETH Submitted to the Office of Graduate and Professional Studies of Texas A&M University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Chair of Committee, Kevin Crisman Committee Members, Cemal Pulak Daryl de Ruiter Evan Haefeli Head of Department, Daryl de Ruiter August 2020 Major Subject: Anthropology Copyright 2020 Megan C. Hagseth ABSTRACT Turtle, tortoise, turpin, and terapen (terrapin) are just a few of the wide variety of terms found in primary documents of the maritime world to refer to reptiles belonging to the order Testudines. These animals were a heavily exploited resource during the 16th through the 19th centuries as a commodity for Europe and a convenient shipboard food. Throughout the Age of Sail, the green sea turtle was a vital food source for mariners, mentioned across a wide array of historical sources, from ship logs and sailors’ journals to newspapers, letters, art, and literature. Cross-referencing and comparing these works with archaeological data identifies patterns of culture in shipboard and coastal community life that contrast with trends identified in urban consumer centers, which were often a destination for this commodity. This study seeks to reconstruct more than merely a nutritional narrative but to identify the cultural contexts of Testudines meat use by maritime communities and how this relates to larger societies. This work will create a better understanding of sailor life during this period by providing an insight into the intersection between daily maritime life and larger forces such as economics and ideology.
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