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The category of species has remained largely understudied in mainstream gender scholarship. This edition of the Yearbook of Women’s History attempts to show how gender history can be enriched through the study of animals. It highlights that the inclusion of nonhuman animals in historical work has the potential to revolutionize the ways we think about gender history. This volume is expansive in more than one way. First, it is global and transhistorical in its outlook, bringing together perspectives from the Global North and the Global South, and moving from the Middle Ages to the contemporary world. Even more importantly for its purposes, a range of animals appear in the contributions: from the smallest insects to great apes, and from ‘cute’ kittens to riot dogs and lions. The articles collected here reflect the variety of the animal kingdom and of the creative approaches enabled by animal history.

In the Netherlands, the Indonesian War of Independence has long been referred to in veiled terms such as ‘police actions’. In reality, it was a proper war fought with modern weapons. The Dutch armed forces wielded an iron fist in order to crush the Indonesian ‘rebellion’, widely deploying artillery, attack aircraft and naval guns. What were the consequences of such bombing and shelling in a war fought amongst the population? In what situations did the Dutch deploy these means and to what extent did they attempt to minimize civilian casualties? Now, for the first time, the use of artillery and air power in the struggle for independence has been systematically researched. Iron Fist offers both statistical overviews as well as analyses of battles where heavy weapons were used on a large scale. The relation between the deployment of fire support and the use of force in general is also examined. This book embodies a vital contribution to our knowledge of the nature and extent of violent transgressions by Dutch forces in the Indonesian War of Independence.