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The domestication of animals is today the subject of a broad debate at the intersection of the natural sciences and the social sciences. This dialogue, however, is far from new: the present article aims to trace its history in the nineteenth century, when the concept of “domestication” was first introduced into the French language. At that time, the familiarization of animals with humans emerged as a major scientific and moral concern. Zoological theses and anthropological theories converged around this issue, as did utopian visions and imperial agendas. Domestication came to be understood as decisive evidence of species variability, reinforcing the monogenist hypothesis that attributed human morphological diversity to the migration of peoples (and their animals) across the globe. As well as contributing to the formulation of a natural history of humankind, the concept played a central role in a moral history of humanity: different stages of civilization were associated with specific modes of animal appropriation, ranging from predation to pastoralism and animal husbandry. But the link between domestication and civilization was not confined to the study of the past. Rooted in the manipulation of animal instincts and behaviors, domestication was conceived as a form of soft power, relying on the voluntary cooperation of animals. It thus gave rise to a utopian vision of peaceful domination over nature. For both naturalists and social theorists, the domestication of animals represented a crucial nexus between natural and social order. The present article explores these debates within the broader context of the political transformations and colonial ambitions of the time, which by the mid-nineteenth century had made the domestication of new species a very concrete utopia.