Weather, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya (Hardcover)

Fiona Clare Williamson

ISBN 10: 0822948427 / ISBN 13: 9780822948421

Published by University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh PA, 2025

About this Item

Hardcover. A Fresh Perspective on the Story of Colonial-era Science and Environment in Malaysia and Singapore. Imperial Meteorology explores the interplay of environment, weather science and colonialism in British Malaya. It looks at the colonial government's myriad, often imperfect, attempts to understand and control the uncontrollable climate and to manage the impacts of its extremes. Drawing from the history of science, especially the history of meteorology, and environmental history, Fiona Williamson uses weather as a lens into government sponsored meteorology and the strategies employed to mitigate extreme weather, be it flood, drought, or heat, through a tapestry of engineered and technological solutions. Central to this narrative is the recognition of the weather as an active agent, catalyzing scientific inquiry for colonial needs in the sphere of environmental governance. Moreover, it underscores how local circumstances influenced the application of global knowledge. This historical exploration into the realm of weather sciences and colonial responses to weather opens new conceptual vistas in the fields of environmental and scientific history. AUTHOR: Fiona Williamson is Associate Professor of Environmental History at the College of Integrative Studies, Singapore Management University. Her research interests fall at the intersection of environmental history and the history of (weather) science, extreme weather and disaster in colonial Malaya and Hong Kong. She has also worked for many years on researching and retrieving historic climate data for long-term climate modelling. She is a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society and Co-President of the International Commission for the History of Meteorology (ICHM). 4 b/w illustrations Drawing from the history of scienceespecially the history of meteorologyand environmental history, it explores the multiple interests, capacities, and capabilities at play, including the state of scientific knowledge and the economy, funding, and importantly, socioenvironmental needs and practicalities. Shipping may be from our UK warehouse or from our Australian or US warehouses, depending on stock availability.

Seller Inventory # 9780822948421

Bibliographic Details

• Title: Weather, Science, and the Environment in Colonial Malaya (Hardcover)
• Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press, Pittsburgh PA
• Publication Date: 2025
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0822948427
• ISBN 13: 9780822948421
• Binding: Hardcover
• Condition: new

About this title

Synopsis

Tropical weather in colonial Malaya presented an unknown atmosphere that manifested in extremes and uncertainties. From 1840 to 1940, the Indigenous landscapes of Singapore and Penang Islands were altered in ways that will never be reclaimed, the natural ecology of much of the peninsula forever changed by the British colonial government. With this book, Fiona Williamson revisits the fraught relationship between climate, weather science, and empire within the Straits Settlements in the long nineteenth century. Her book examines official and scientific responses to local weathers within the multicultural ports and peripheries of Singapore and George Town, Malaysia. The challenges of creating a livable environment in tropical conditions, she explains, frequently pushed the colonial government beyond its capacities, and solutions often came at the expense of nature, which, ironically, made managing the weather more problematic. Imperial Weather offers a deep exploration of various official attempts to understand and apply structure to the previously unknown or uncontrollable through knowledge gathering, institutionalization, and technological and infrastructural change. Drawing from the history of science―especially the history of meteorology―and environmental history, it explores the multiple interests, capacities, and capabilities at play, including the state of scientific knowledge and the economy, funding, and importantly, socioenvironmental needs and practicalities.

About the Author

Fiona Williamson is professor of environmental history in the College of Integrative Studies at Singapore Management University. She is a fellow of the Royal Historical Society and copresident of the International Commission for the History of Meteorology.