THE PIG

This book is proposed as a journey through history from the arrival of the first pigs in America to the present day. Throughout its pages it shows the routes of the pig conquest: how pigs were introduced in the continent which were the most common species and how they adapted to the new environments as well as how the pig became an economic engine and its importance in the subsistence of the settlers its role in trade and its contribution to the formation of new regional economies among the original settlers. As well as the relationships between pigs and different social groups their impact on agricultural practices and their influence on diets and eating habits evidenced in culture: their representations in art literature and popular beliefs as well as their role in the construction of national identities. Its adaptation to diverse American ecosystems its ability to transform forests into pastures and its role in the dissemination of diseases made it a major agent of ecological change.