Typhoons: Climate, Society, and History in the Philippines

This book offers an unprecedented and extensive view of the complex interplay of typhoons and Philippine society. Its sweeping coverage of the Philippine landscape that includes the earliest contact with the West, the development of the trans- Pacific trade, incursions of the Catholic religion, integration into the Modern World system, and the extraordinary influences of centuries of typhoons has made for remarkable scholarship.

By placing typhoons and associated hazards at the center of his historical focus, James Francis Warren presents a bold and innovative interpretation of Philippine pasts and futures, whereby the distinctions between natural hazards and natural disasters disappear. He gives a unique and long-term perspective on Philippine environmental and economic-social history through the lens of a recurrent extreme weather event extending all the way to the present, laying down the critical challenges that confront us in a globally warmer and more unpredictable future. A very important reference material for all those interested in multidisciplinary approaches to environmental sciences, social sciences, economic and sociopolitical history, disaster risk management, and sustainable development, Typhoons is astonishing, panoramic, persuasive study of inestimable value.

About the Author

James Francis Warren is emeritus professor of modern Southeast Asian history at Murdoch University, Perth, Western Australia. He is an award-winning historian who has published numerous monographs, journal articles, and book chapters. His books include The Sulu Zone, 1768-1898: The Dynamics of External Trade, Slavery and Ethnicity in the Transformation of a Southeast Asian Maritime State (eds. 1981, 2007, and 2021); Iranun and Balangingi: Globalisation, Maritime Raiding, and the Birth of Ethnicity (2002); Pirates, Prostitutes, and Pullers: Explorations in the Ethno and Social History of Southeast Asia (2008); Rickshaw Coolie: A People's History of Singapore, 1880- 1940 (1986 and 2003); and Ah Ku and Karayuki San: Prostitution in Singapore, 1870-1940 (1993 and 2003). He lives in Perth, with his wife, Carol, an anthropologist, and daughter, Kristin, a wildlife, zoological, and conservation medicine specialist.