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We examine the curious historical phenomenon: suddenly, at the start of the twentieth century, dogs suddenly began to matter to the colonial state. To find out why, we examine the role of dogs and the dog-tax in Southern Rhodesian by exploring the larger power struggles over the living landscape of people and animals. We examine a six decade period from the early to mid-twentieth century to delineate shifts under a changing colonial regime. We trouble the dominant historiographical narrative that ties dog tax policies to colonial labour policies, arguing that Southern Rhodesian authorities used the dog tax to preserve the grasslands for white commercial cattle farmers. We analyse the contending political interests that pitted officials in different institutions against each other, and show how this exacerbated racial, class, generational and gender conflicts. We trace the operation of the ordinance and the changing strategies of African dog-owners dealing with it, explaining the important role of dogs in the socio-economic milieu. The varied uses that people had for dogs reveals how these animals mapped onto the Africans’ social worlds – of pastoralism, and mutable but enduring ideas about the spiritual world. Essentially, we ask how we might take dogs seriously in thinking about the history of Southern Rhodesia to extend our understanding of African-settler interactions. In doing so, we make a case for a social and political history through the stories of Africans and their dogs.

the journal of imperial and commonwealth history

‘Today We Will Milk Dogs!’ ( Nhasi tinokama imbwa )* – A Socio-political History of African-owned Dogs and the Dog Tax in Southern Rhodesia, c.1900–1950