Africans on Stage

Ethnological show business has a very long history in Europe. It became increasingly common after advances in navigational technology had put Europeans in touch with human communities all over the globe. In the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, some of the most interesting individuals and groups exhibited in Europe and America came from Africa. What did the average spectator think of such representatives from the "Dark Continent"? If the display was a dramatic one--that is, if the Africans sang, danced, or acted out events--what opinions did observers form of them as performers and as human beings? How was the spectacle staged, and who organized and managed the show? How authentic were these performances? Where did the performers actually come from? What notions about Africa and Africans were these exhibitions meant to convey?