Research:2026-02-02/Journal article/cannabis-et-al-the-portmanteau-biota-concept-applied-to-an-enslaved-central-african-migration

ResearchJournal article2 February 2026

Cannabis et al.: The Portmanteau Biota Concept Applied to an Enslaved Central African Migration

Chris S. Duvall

Itinerario

Applies Alfred Crosby's concept of the portmanteau biota, the organisms that travel with a human migration, to the Central Africans whom slavers called "Congoes". Duvall identifies five organisms that accompanied them: cannabis, manioc, cattle, the tsetse fly and the trypanosome that causes sleeping sickness. He sorts such organisms into novel and familiar antagonists and mutualists according to their effect on social-ecological resilience, and argues that the role is set by context: cannabis supported resilience within African social-ecological systems but also helped overseers extract labour under plantation capitalism. The article continues the author's work on the African history of cannabis.

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DOI10.1017/s0165115326100461

Record created 15 October 2026maintained by landrace.wiki editorspage history

2026-02-02 2026-10-15 Cannabis et al.: The Portmanteau Biota Concept Applied to an Enslaved Central African Migration Journal article History Chris S. Duvall Itinerario 2026 10.1017/s0165115326100461 https://doi.org/10.1017/s0165115326100461 https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/074064C5AF9DBEE9B4A0514F71181F68/S0165115326100461a.pdf/div-class-title-span-class-italic-cannabis-span-et-al-the-portmanteau-biota-concept-applied-to-an-enslaved-central-african-migration-div.pdf Applies Alfred Crosby's concept of the portmanteau biota, the organisms that travel with a human migration, to the Central Africans whom slavers called "Congoes". Duvall identifies five organisms that accompanied them: cannabis, manioc, cattle, the tsetse fly and the trypanosome that causes sleeping sickness. He sorts such organisms into novel and familiar antagonists and mutualists according to their effect on social-ecological resilience, and argues that the role is set by context: cannabis supported resilience within African social-ecological systems but also helped overseers extract labour under plantation capitalism. The article continues the author's work on the African history of cannabis.