The Proposed Hierarchy of
Mankind
Illustration from Types of
Mankind (1854), written
by prominent ethnologists
Josiah Clark Nott (18041873) and George R.
Glidden (18091857). The book's theory
was to prove that the
African race as wholly
separate from the
Caucasian, or white,
race. The book was
embraced by slavery
sympathizers as scientific
proof that the African race
was inferior.
Evolutionary Demotion Leads to Inhumanity
The British Perfect the Spanish
Practice
The study of British colonial propaganda is instructive.
What can be more effective, while preparing an
aggressive war, than to proclaim the purity of one’s
intentions and sanctity of one’s cause, while ascribing
atrocities or heathenism to the enemy? Throughout
history, the enemies of the British Empire, portrayed as
aggressors, cruel, inhuman and often heathen were
annihilated while the British preserved their image of a
caring, ‘gentlemanly’ nation. By mastering the art of
negative attributions, Great Britain started more wars
than any other nation resulting in the deaths of millions
of people, subjugated millions of others by sanctioning
piracy, the drug trade, the slave trade, and yet,
maintained an image of a cultured nation.
Anglo-Normans had justified their
wars of conquest
by denigrating the Irish over successive
centuries:
In 1183 a monk named Giraldus Cambrensis, a
member of one of the main Norman families
colonizing Ireland, wrote a book entitled The
History and Topography of Ireland. It was a work
of fiction designed to justify the Norman
Conquest in Ireland. Accordingly, Cambrensis
accused the Irish of various vices, including
laziness, treachery, blasphemy, idolatry,
ignorance of Christian beliefs, incest and
cannibalism.
Accusations of Cannabilism
Accusation of Canibalism
Throughout history, accusations of atrocities have been
one of the most effective tools of attitude change and
have often preceded hostilities between people or
nations. A prototypical form of atrocity attribution is the
accusation of cannibalism. The term cannibal was
coined during Columbus’ times after the name of Caribs,
a West Indian tribe with a reputation for eating their
enemies. Following Columbus’ discoveries, the Spanish
monarchy adopted a policy prohibiting the enslavement
of natives in the new territories. However, the royal
mandate for the West Indies contained a clause
excluding cannibals from royal protection. Repeatedly,
this clause was invoked to derive an economic
advantage from human bondage.
16th Century Depictions of
Americas
19th Century Maritime Commerce in
the Caribbean
Sugar Boiling House, Cuba, ca.
1850
Sugar Boiling House/Refinery,
Martinique, 1835
Sugar Cane Cultivation, Antigua,
West Indies, 1823
Working in Sugar
Cane Fields, 19th
cent. West Indies
Manioc (Cassava) Processing,
Brazil, 19th cent.
Rum Distillery, Antigua, West
Indies, 1823
Cotton Gin, U.S. South, 1860s
Tobacco Production, French
West Indies, early 18th cent.
Cattle-Driven Sugar Mill, Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, 1798
• Indigo Production,
South Carolina,
1757
Indigo Manufacture, French West
Indies, 18th cent.
Weeding Rice Field, U.S. South,
19th cent
Turpentine Making, North
Carolina, 1855
Sponge Fishermen and Houses,
Cuba, ca. 1850
Carters, Paramaribo, Surinam,
1839
Hauling a Loaded Truck, Brazil,
1853
Porters Carrying Coffee, Brazil,
1853
Slave Sale, Richmond, Virginia,
1861
•
Diamond Mining,
Brazil, ca. 1770s
Sawing Wood Planks, Brazil,
1816-1831
Shoemaker and Assistants,
Brazil,1816-1831
Gold Production, Colombia, 1826
Barber Shop, Brazil,1816-1831
Rural House, Sant Domingo,
1873
Stone House, Barbados, n.d.
Thatched Houses, Barbados,
1898
Slave Quarters, Kingsley Plantation,
Duval County, Florida, ca. 1870
Wood Plank House, St. Vincent,
West Indies, ca. 1898
House of Plantation Workers,
U.S. South, 1880s
Slave House, Rock Hall,
Maryland, 1936
Slave Coffle, Near
Paris, Kentucky,
1850s