The Human Zoos of Europe & America
The dark unforgotten part of colonialism
We’ve all visited a zoo at some point in our life. Either your parents or your school took you there. It doesn’t matter how old you are, seeing a zebra or a lion in its simulated habitat is always entertaining. But that fun is lost when some gruesome facts unfold. These animals are kept in captivity and cannot be released into the wild since they lack the ability to hunt or defend themselves.
What if I told you that there was a period when zoos were comprised entirely of humans? Yes, you read that correctly, and it wasn’t long ago. These were famous tourist destinations, particularly in Europe.
They consisted of people with deeper skin tones, especially those from Africa, who were sold to slave dealers for ethnographic spectacles. Most of these zoos closed down in the 1950s and 1960s, although the most recent one remained until the mid 1990s.
History
There were shows in the late 19th and early 20th century called the “freak shows”. These freak shows exhibited unusual people in ways that exaggerated their differences. These shows were held across major European cities like Paris, London, Oslo, Hamburg, and Milan. In the late 20th century, these shows became pretty popular in the United States as well.
