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MosasaursInteractions between armies and ecosystems in the Meuse Region, 1250-1850Govaerts, S.W.E.

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Citation for published version (APA):Govaerts, S. W. E. (2019). Mosasaurs: Interactions between armies and ecosystems in the Meuse Region,1250-1850.

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Download date: 20 Feb 2021

 

UNIVERSITY OF AMSTERDAM

MOSASAURS Interactions Between Armies and Ecosystems

in the Meuse Region, 1250-1850

Sander Govaerts

 

 

MOSASAURS

Interactions Between Armies and Ecosystems

in the Meuse Region, 1250-1850

ACADEMISCH PROEFSCHRIFT

ter verkrijging van de graad van doctor

aan de Universiteit van Amsterdam

op gezag van de Rector Magnificus

prof. dr. ir. K.I.J. Maex

ten overstaan van een door het College voor Promoties ingestelde

commissie, in het openbaar te verdedigen in de Agnietenkapel

op 21 mei 2019, te 14.00 uur

door

Sander Wies Emiel Govaerts

geboren te Sint-Truiden, België

 

Promotiecommissie:

Promotores:

Prof. dr. W.D.E. Aerts, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Prof. dr. G. Geltner, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Copromotor:

Dr. M.J.M. Damen, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Overige Leden:

Prof. dr. J.W.J. Burgers, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Dr. C. Deligne, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Prof. dr. P.C.M. Hoppenbrouwers, Universiteit Leiden

Prof. dr. G.H. Janssen, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Prof. dr. W. Klinkert, Universiteit van Amsterdam

Dr. C.V. Weeda, Universiteit Leiden

Faculteit der Geesteswetenschappen

 

Preface  'Mosasaurs. Interactions Between Armies and Ecosystems in the Meuse Region, 1250-1850'

adopts an alternative approach to military history by considering the ecological aspects of

armed forces from a holistic perspective. It combines themes that have always been

considered distinct, such as logistics, military architecture, horse breeding, and disease

prevention, and emphasizes long-term continuity between the High Middle Ages and Early

Modern Period in a region that is generally ignored because it does not fit well into national

histories. By transgressing traditional political, chronological and linguistic boundaries this

thesis wants to encourage exchanges between different specialisms, between scholars

interested in military history, environmental history, social history, history of science and

medicine, archaeology, art history and ecology. It also hopes to stimulate future generations

of history students to remain criticial towards established concepts and ideas.

This dissertation is in fact the result of a life-long interest in biology as well as

military history. I have always been fascinated by two themes: knights-medieval warfare, and

nature-animals. Although I am particularly interested in the social aspects of armies and

warfare, I never thought about studying armed forces from an ecological point of view until

the summer of 2009. At that time I visited the military domains known as the 'Kamp van

Beverlo' with other members of an environmentalist youth movement, the Jeugdbond voor

Natuur en Mileu (JNM), and observed to my astonishment that military training exercises

made the survival of rare animal and plant species possible.

I started studying history at the Vrije Universiteit Brussel in September of that same

year, and initially focussed on eighteenth-century military personnel records as well as the

concept of a 'professional soldier'. I continued this analysis after enrolling in the research

master programme at the University of Amsterdam in 2012. I am very grateful to prof. dr.

Georges Declercq and prof. dr. Guy Vanthemsche for supporting my decision to continue my

studies in the Netherlands. The research master had a very demanding curriculum, but it also

provided the necessary basis for the current PhD thesis. During a class on 'Historical Classics,

organized by prof. dr. Guy Geltner and prof. dr. Mieke Aerts, I first wrote down my idea to

study 'armies and nature', and learned to examine medieval administrative sources under the

supervision of dr. Mario Damen. When an opportunity presented itself to submit a proposal

for a PhD thesis I took this chance to finally study the 'environmental impact of war' in the

medieval and early modern period. I am very obliged to the selection committee of the

Faculty of Humanities for allowing me to pursue this rather ambitious project.

  Conducting and writing down this thesis proved to be much more challenging than I

first imagined. Just a few months after I began working on this dissertation, all staff members

received a message that the budget of Faculty of Humanities would be severely restricted, and

 

we had to leave the P.C. Hoofthuis and move to a new building. This provoked massive

protests from both professors and students, and resulted in a major conflict that has at the

final submission of this thesis still not been satisfactorily solved. I am proud to say, however,

that writing a PhD dissertation in such a turbulent time has convinced me once and for all that

nothing is more stimulating and rewarding than historical research.

During this research I have benefitted from the help, advice, and support of many

people. I would to thank Leon Engelen, Paul and Colette Magotteaux-Monier, Mathieu

Kunnen, Marc Philippe, and Steven Vandewal for sharing their archival research, and Jop

Mijwaard for making three original maps of the historical Meuse Region. I am grateful to

Gabriël and Remar Eerens for introducing me to the unique grasslands of the Sint-Pietersberg,

and to the many researchers and teachers at the University of Amsterdam, the Huizinga

Institute and the Research School of Medieval Studies, especially prof. dr. Jan Burgers and

prof. dr. Geert Janssen, for their helpful advice and critical remarks. I really enjoyed

organising the Reading Group Medieval Latin with Louk Meijer en dr. Claire Weeda, first at

the University of Amsterdam and later at Leiden University, and I hope that we may continue

to do so for a long time. I would like to thank my supervisors, prof. dr. Mieke Aerts, prof. dr.

Guy Geltner, and dr. Mario Damen, for their backing of the initial research proposal, for

helping me to bring this project to a successful conclusion, and for introducing me to the

unique research environment known to the outside world as the Department of History of the

University of Amsterdam.

I would like to express my gratitude to my mother and brother, for their help, advice,

and support on innumerable occasions, for being the best reviewers and strongest supporters I

will ever have, and for being just who they are. Without them doing this research would

simply not have been possible.

Last but not least, I feel obliged to mention the miniature zoo that has provided me

with so much comfort and welcome distraction during these four years. I especially wish to

mention our dog Tobie, who is always by my side, for better or worse, our two bucks, Guy

and Mario, who have almost put an end to my attempts to recreate a medieval garden, and

Wolf, the most vigilant watch goose in the world.

 

T A B L E O F C O N T E N T S

1. Introduction 1.1 The Mosasaur Genus and the Military 1 1.2 Ecological Conservation Before Modernity 5 1.3 The Meuse Region, 1250-1850 10 1.4 Historiography 21 1.5 Sources: Selection and Problems 25 1.6 Thesis Outline 27 PART I: LANDSCAPES 2. Frontiers Introduction 29 2.1 Constructing Natural Frontiers 2.1.1 An Agricultural Origin: Gardens and Wilderness 31 2.1.2 Military Perception of Frontiers 35 2.1.3 The Meuse River as a Symbolic Frontier 41 2.2 Managing Frontiers 2.2.1 Strongholds and Linear Defences 46 2.2.2 Road Networks versus Wilderness 50 2.2.3 Providing Garrison Services 55 2.3 Military Training 2.3.1 From Martial Games to Military Drill 60 2.3.2 Weapon Handling as an Event 63 2.3.3 The Adoption of Permanent Training Grounds 68 Conclusion 75 3. Fortifications Introduction 77 3.1 Defence Systems 3.1.1 Fortifications: A Reappraisal 79 3.1.2 Cooperation and Communication 85 3.1.3 A Struggle for Basic Maintenance 91

 

3.2 Imposing Military Perceptions 3.2.1 Gunpowder and Stone Fortifications 96 3.2.2 The Rise of Military Engineers 101 3.2.3 Political Change and Abandonment 105

3.3 Conserving Fortifications

3.3.1 A Question of Proper Use 109 3.3.2 Fortifications Under Siege 113 3.3.3 Military Garrisons and Naturalists 120

Conclusion 126

PART II: BIOTIC COMMUNITIES 4. Disturbances Introduction 129 4.1 Armies: An Ecological Disaster ? 4.1.1 The Pressing Need for Wood 133 4.1.2 Grasslands as Food and Forage 139 4.1.3 From Livestock Raiding to Poaching 141 4.1.4 Abandoned Settlements and Refuge Flows 144 4.2 Wolves and the Creation of Wilderness 4.2.1 The Agency of Wolf Populations 148 4.2.2 An Ecology of Fear, or Wartime Recovery 156 4.2.3 Restoring Law and Order 160 4.3 Long-term Consequences 4.3.1 Financial Distress and Climate Change 164 4.3.2 Arms and Gunpowder Production 169 4.3.3 Supplying Timber for Shipbuilding 174

Conclusion 176 5. Policing . Introduction 178 5.1 Safeguarding Natural Resources 5.1.1 From Law Enforcement to Organized Violence 180 5.1.2 The Significance of Guard Duty 184

 

5.1.3 Preserving Early Modern Fortresses 188 5.2 Controlling Migration 5.2.1 Deserters, Vagrants, and Passports 192 5.2.2 Recruiting Military Labour 195 5.2.3 The Issue of Horse Supply 201 5.3 Notions of Military Professionalism 5.3.1 Disarming the General Population 207 5.3.2 Military Justice and Environmental Laws 210 5.3.3 Veterans and State Formation 214 5.3.4 The Expansion of the Military Police 217 Conclusion 220

PART III: PATHOGENS 6. Army Health Introduction 223 6.1 Armies as a Public Health Hazard 6.1.1 Weather and Climate 226 6.1.2 Susceptibility to Pathogens 229 6.1.3 Spreaders of Disease 233 6.1.4 Biological Warfare 237 6.2 Vulnerable Bodies 6.2.1 Selecting the Perfect Recruit 239 6.2.2 Physique as Military Identity 245 6.2.3 Food and Nutrients 250 6.3 Disease Prevention 6.3.1 Miasmas and Fortifications 256 6.3.2 Improving General Hygiene 259 6.3.3 From Foraging to Natural History 266 Conclusion 270 7. Conclusion 273

 

8. Bibliography

8.1 Manuscript Sources 279 8.2 Printed Sources 284 8.3 Literature 296 8.4 Digital Sources 343

9. English Summary 344

10. Nederlandse samenvatting 348