1. What were the effects of colonialism on human zoos?
The capture and exploitation of these people is a direct result of colonialism. Their colonization sparked a
fascination among their captors. Suddenly, everyone had a desire to understand race and culture. While these
are not necessarily poor intentions, the execution was horrific. The colonizers felt as if they had an
entitlement to these people and their land. Had their homes not been seized and destroyed by European
nations, human zoos would likely not exist.
Human zoos were used as a device to perpetuate prejudice and racism. These zoos caused a rejection of African native immigrants coming to France. The “savage African stereotype” rose to its prime. This stereotype still exists today. The race hierarchy theory became popular among many anthropologists. We can see these effects around us today.
3. Why did human zoos begin?
It originally began as an anthropologist’s desire to understand race at the World Exhibitions. Thousands of natives were put on display in a primitive setting. There was a Dutch pavilion that would draw attention to the East Indies. Jan Pietersz Coen had captured the Indonesian archipelago previously. Many natives from there would be taken and put into exhibitions in the Dutch pavilions.
The International Colonial and Export Exhibition was held in Amsterdam. 28 nations presented pavilions. This event was inspired by the success of the East India pavilions at the World Exhibition. There was a selection of natives in this event. This would mark the beginning of human zoos.
4. How has native culture been affected by human zoos?
Another purpose of Human zoos was their use to show “cultural differences.” When these “differences” were
shown, they were proclaimed savages, and therefore deemed unfit to assimilate into society. This further prolonged
the suffering among American natives and the native people of other countries. While America was not directly
affected by early human zoos, the attitude of entitlement that rose in this era would be continued during the further
settling of America.
5. Will we see a rise in human zoos in the future?
While there are not any technical human zoos today, there are still some variations. In 2014, 2 artists made a recreation of the Congo Village. Many found this inappropriate and there was a lot of backlash. Other examples are the Jarawa Tribe. Tourists would throw food at them and expect a performance, but local authorities shut this down.