Racism
After the invention of human races by naturalists, racism became normal. The idea of colonizing and exhibiting human beings behind barriers seemed to no longer bother. On the contrary:with the effect of propaganda, it was believed that colonization served to educate these "savages" and brought them civilization.
There was a strong rise of racism with the naturalists and their theories, which emphasized the physical differences between black men and white men. In the 19th century, these scientists took advantage of the colonial exhibitions to be able to examine the extras, and prove the superior status of the white man compared to that of the black man.
The exhibition
The exhibit was highly faked; the extras who occupied the Negro village -probably without much connection with their village of origin in Africa- were told to have to dance the belly dance in front of the public to put on a show, and amuse this enthusiastic public to think of discovering new cultures. There were many colonial exhibitions in Europe, especially at the end of the 19th century.
The first idea of exhibiting human beings behind bars came from Carl Hagenbeck:he used to exhibit animals, and with colonization, the initiators thought it would make a good show for Europeans who could not not travel. Natives from Africa, South America and northern countries were brought in, which caused climate problems, but it was above all the living conditions that were difficult to bear. The natives were generally volunteers, but this did not mean that their living conditions were profitable, and that their wages were respected, as well as the agreed length of stay. Most natives were treated no better than animals.
With colonial exhibits, scientists took advantage of having the specimens on hand; the morning was reserved for them, for them and their measurements, while the public came to visit the natives during the rest of the day.
But over time, Europeans got tired of always seeing the same tribes, the same heads, and it is for this reason that the image of Africa and the colonies became even more false. It was necessary to maintain the attention of the public, so we started to strip the women in particular, to ask the extras to be more ferocious, to practice war dances, and the natives even suddenly became cannibals, as in the novel by Didier Daeninckx , where the protagonists tell how they were forced to act, and to undress in front of the public. A false idea of the natives gradually formed, and the colonial exhibition became a constant play.
This false image also served to show the superior status of the white man and compare him with the "others". During the exhibitions, the public showed no mercy to the natives who, when they later returned to their country, transferred diseases, contaminating their home village.
Economic return
Since the inhabitants of Europe did not travel to the rest of the world, the colonists had the idea of bringing the natives to European territories so that people could "know" another part of the world, without having to leave their homes. them. Tourism was doing well, and propaganda was there to reassure Europeans about the good of colonization. They were shown that the settlements were rich in natural resources and beneficial to the country's economy.
The end of colonial exhibitions
It is worth pointing out that during the First World War, the French went to look for their soldiers in the colonies in order to put them in the front line. In the novel Cannibal , an African tells how he escaped death in Verdun. In the trenches, by rubbing shoulders with them, the hairy people have made a good image of them, very different from that which human zoos have shown. The natives have even been called "the adopted sons of France". At that time, it was preferred to show the progress of the natives towards civilization instead of making them ferocious to scare people.
It was during the interwar period that anti-colonialist movements were heard, and that artists and politicians called for a boycott of the colonial exhibition. In the novel Cannibal, the author recounts a form of resistance against human zoos by white people. The result is that in 1931, it is the last colonial exhibition in Paris, and there will be no more.