Species Extinction, Infrastructure Development and Epidemics: The Changing Ecology of African Horsesickness in the Cape Colony, c.1653-1900.
Abstract: The virus that causes African horsesickness does not affect any indigenous species, but produces high mortality among horses, a species introduced by the Dutch East India Company in 1653. While the insect-borne disease did not occur in the immediate vicinity of the Cape Peninsula, horsesickness could have constituted an endemic disease barrier to the horse-based expansion of the colonial sphere into the hinterland, where it was seasonally prevalent. That it did so to only a limited extent is due to a substantial alteration of the ecology of the disease that largely resulted from inadvertent side effects of anthropogenic modifications of the environment concomitant to the socio-economic development of the colony. This epidemiological transition evolved in two phases that overlapped chronologically but were clearly distinct regionally. It had started in the south-west of the Cape Colony in the later part of the 18th century and, in correlation with, first, the progressive extinction of quagga and zebra populations and, second, the economic intensification of pastoral and agricultural production and accelerated horse travel, gradually shifted over the following century toward its northern and eastern boundaries. During the earlier phase of this process, the area in which horsesickness was seasonally prevalent contracted steadily. However, the subsequent intensification of the utilisation of horses in transport and farming facilitated the recurrence of ever more frequent and economically devastating large-scale epidemics of horsesickness. The history of African horsesickness in the Cape thus provides an instructive example illustrating the unexpected consequences of human modifications of the environment.
© 2025 The Author(s). Published by Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.
Publication Date: 2025-07-15 PubMed ID: 40755545PubMed Central: PMC12312739DOI: 10.1080/03057070.2024.2508570Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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The research article explores the changing dynamics of African horsesickness (a virus-based disease affecting horses) in relation to factors like species extinction, infrastructural development and epidemics. It discusses how alterations in environment caused by human activities have influenced the spread and impact of the disease over time in the Cape Colony from approx. 1653 to 1900.
Introduction and Historical Context
- The study begins with introducing African horsesickness, a disease that had a considerable mortality rate among horses which were introduced to the Cape Colony by the Dutch East India Company in 1653. Despite not affecting any indigenous species, this epidemic had the potential to hinder the colony’s expansion due to its prevalence in the hinterland.
- However, the research suggests that the disease served as a limiting factor only to an extent, reflecting the significant changes made to the disease ecology attributed to human-induced environmental modifications which happened along with the socio-economic advancement of the colony.
Phases of the Epidemiological Transition
- The evolution of the disease outbreak and its relation to anthropogenic environmental changes transpired in two overlapping but geographically distinct phases, initiating in the south-west of the Cape Colony in the later part of the 18th century before gradually moving to its northern and eastern edges.
- During the first phase, a correlation is noted between the shrinkage of areas seasonally affected by the disease and the extinction of quagga and zebra populations. The regions affected by horsesickness reduced steadily with the lessening of these species.
- The second phase of epidemiological transition signalled an increase in horsesickness epidemics with the intensified utilization of horses in agriculture and transportation. Economic intensification of farming and increased horse travel exacerbated the frequency and severity of the disease outbreaks.
Conclusion and Lessons Learned
- The article posits that understanding the historical trajectory of African horsesickness in the Cape Colony could serve as a beneficial example. It illustrates the unanticipated consequences that human-mediated environmental changes can have on disease ecology, particularly how they can modify disease prevalence, impact and progression over time.
Cite This Article
APA
Andreas C.
(2025).
Species Extinction, Infrastructure Development and Epidemics: The Changing Ecology of African Horsesickness in the Cape Colony, c.1653-1900.
J South Afr Stud, 50(6), 1037-1057.
https://doi.org/10.1080/03057070.2024.2508570 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- University of Vechta.
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