The Forgotten Story of Human Zoos – Crimes of the Colonial Era

Thread!!!!

Humans have been taken from their native lands and taken to be exhibited in human zoos for more than a century. Alongside animals, they were displayed before fellow humans. This little known and profoundly troubling aspect of colonial history played a crucial part.

Between 1810 and 1940, in Europe, America and Japan, almost 35 thousand people were exhibited in world fairs, colonial exhibits, zoos, freak shows, circuses and relocated ethnic villages.

These activities were attended by some 1,5 billion visitors. This documentary traces how racism in these so-called ‘human zoos’ was constructed and disseminated using previously unpublished archive material.

Children, women and men were exhibited as exotic animals, and ordered in a “race” hierarchy. In a way that served to justify colonialism, they were cast as “other” and described as “savage.”