It is difficult to imagine that relatively recently there were zoos in the world where people were not animals in the cages, but people. Believe me, these stories can not leave you indifferent.
Almost every large city has zoos, and people treat them differently. There are those who believe that this is a mockery of animals that should live in freedom. What, then, can be said about human zoos, which several tens of years ago were actively functioning and were popular. They were paraded by people with specific characteristics, which attracted the public. Let's find out about these horrible stories.
1. Saarty Bartmann - 1810
The exotic animal dealer found an unusual exhibit - a 20-year-old girl, whom he offered a highly paid job, without specifying which one. She agreed and went with him to London. Saarty attracted the attention of the merchant with her prominent buttocks, and her genitals had an unusual shape. She was dressed in tight clothes or barely exposed at all, as an exhibit at the exhibition. She lived in terrible conditions and died in poverty, and the skeleton, brain and genitals until 1974 were represented in the Museum of Man in Paris. At the request of Nelson Mandela in 2002, the remains of Saarty were returned to their homeland.
2. The Dying Slave - 1835
In an unusual way he decided to build his career. Barnum, who acquired the African-American slave Joyce Heth. At that time she was 79 years old, and she had serious health problems: blindness and almost complete paralysis (a woman could only talk and move with her right hand). Barnum showed the poor woman as the 160-year-old nurse George Washington. She died a year later.
3. "Negro Village" - 1878-1889
During the World Fair in Paris, the public was introduced to the "Negro Village". The exposition was very popular, and it was visited by approximately 28 million people. At the exhibition in 1889, the village was inhabited by 400 indigenous tribes. People had houses and other conditions for life, they were simply surrounded by a fence, behind which there were spectators watching the life of "exotic exhibits".
4. Indians of the Kaveskar tribe - 1881
From Chile, under unknown circumstances, five Indians of the Kaveskar tribe were abducted. People were illegally transported to Europe and turned into exhibits in the zoo. A year later they all died.
5. Aborigines of the Selk'nam tribe - 1889
Karl Hagenbeck is considered not only the first person who changed animal zoos, making them close to nature, but also the first person to create a moving human zoo. He took with him 11 people from the Selk'nam tribe, closed them in cages and showed them in different parts of Europe. It is striking that this happened with the permission of the Government of Chile. By the way, in time such a fate was waiting for representatives of other tribes.
6. Savage Olympics - 1904
In America, the Olympics of Savages was organized, in which indigenous people of different tribes gathered from different places took part: Africa, South America, Japan and the Middle East. A number of competitions were held and their idea was terrible - to prove that "savages" are not as athletic as civilized "white" people.
7. The African Girl - 1958
Looking at this photo, it's hard not to be outraged, as a little girl is fed from her hands, as animals are treated to at zoos. The snapshot embodies the difference between "white" and "black" people. Such an exhibition was in Brussels and it existed until the advent of cinema, because people could already satisfy their curiosity in a different way. Since that time, the public began to consider human zoos as something disgusting, and in most countries they were banned.
8. Congolese pygmy - 1906 year
At the Bronx Zoo, a parade of 23-year-old pygmies was brought, which was brought from the Free State of the Congo. The exhibition was opened every day during September. A guy named Ota Benga was sure that he was going to a normal zoo to take care of an elephant, but everything turned out differently. He did not just sit in cages, but also wore orang-utan and performed various tricks with him, and even entertained spectators with archery, writhing various grimaces.
About the exhibition even wrote in the well-known newspaper The New York Times with the title: "Bushman shares a cage with monkeys from the Bronx". Several states were indignant about this exhibition, so it was covered up. After that, the pygmy returned to Africa, but could not return to normal life, so again came to America. Ota did not manage to adjust his life outside the zoo, so in 1916 he committed suicide by shooting himself in the heart.
9. Jardin d'Agronomie Tropicale
The French in Paris, to show their power, spent time and money to create an exhibition showing their colonial power. They built six villages, embodying the French colonies: Madagascar, Indochina, Sudan, Congo, Tunisia and Morocco. They were made in view of the real life of these colonies, copying everything from architecture to agriculture. The exposition lasted from May to October. During this time, the human zoo was visited by more than 1 million people.
Since 2006, the territory and pavilions of the former zoo for people have become open to visitors, but they are not very popular, because the past left a huge imprint on this place.
10. Human Zoos Today
In the modern world, there are also some similar "exhibitions". An example is the settlement of the Kharava tribe, which lives on the Andaman island in India. This place is popular with tourists, who are shown not only the wild nature, but also the life of these people. For a day, the people of the tribe dance, show how they hunt, and so on. Although in 2013 the Supreme Court of India has banned similar exposures, according to rumors, they continue to be illegally presented.