“Exploration belongs to the Renaissance, travel to the bourgeois age, tourism to our proletarian moment.” -Paul Fussell
Background
Whether we are discussing exploration, travel, or tourism, man has always been fascinated with stories of faraway lands. There is something dreamy about locations outside of what one calls home. Europeans have conquered and explored various parts of North America, as well as Asia, and the tales of these journeys have painted these distant places in both better and worse light.
European’s View of Indigenous People
The late 15th and 16th centuries saw an increase in the desire of Europeans to voyage into the unknown. Infamous explorers like Columbus, Magellan, and De Gama started an era of exploration and wonder for places unknown. The discovery of the “new” continents of the Americas as well as new routes in the Indian and Pacific oceans brought with it great tales of how the people lived in these new places. Europeans enjoyed in fantasizing about the strange and interesting lives lived by these new people. During one of Captain Cook’s voyages to the Pacific islands, he brought back a native Tahitian prince named Omai to London. The English marveled at what they called the “noble savage” and the customs by which he was chosen as a ruler. But, even though Omai was esteemed as a wonder, the Europeans viewed him as exotic and backwater compared to themselves. The stories shared among Europeans about the native people in the newly discovered lands instilled ideas of awe and wonder toward the unknown cultures, but this awe and wonder was only to be given at a distance.
European's View of Asia
Romanticism is all about extremes of emotion in the human experience. This led to gothic terrors and fantasies about nature. It also brought us a very romanticized view of Asia. The Norton Anthology of Literature observed that, “Pleasurable terror and pleasurable exoticism are kindred experiences, with unreality and strangeness at the root of both.” This collection of beliefs, termed “orientalism,” allowed people in Europe to skew reality about the peoples of Asia and effectively ‘other’ them. This motivated many to write great poetry and make art which made Asia into both a European love affair and also a new ‘noble savage’ that wouldn’t be viewed as human in the same way as a European.
Conclusion
In both the newly discovered worlds of the Renaissance and the rediscovered Orient of the Romantic period, the European’s exotic view of “other” people placed unfamiliar cultures into fantastic, but inferior social spheres. The Europeans would continue to conquer and colonize without feelings of remorse for these “exotic” cultures for the next few centuries. To those living in the Renaissance and Romantic periods, however, these exotic cultures were pieces of beauty worth observing given to them by the world.
-The Humanists
-The Humanists
This is interesting to me, because I haven't been aware of Europe's relationship with Asia during this time period. It is neat how the Europeans were fascinated with exploring the world and learning about new cultures. Yet, it is also sad that they treated others from different racial backgrounds as inhuman. Even though the Asians inspired the Europeans, they still were not seen as a European's definition of a "human."
ReplyDeleteThanks for your comment and great insight! It is interesting to look back at how fascinating these different cultures were to the Europeans. Although they were fascinated, they always went back to thinking of them as inferior or in need of guidance.
DeleteI would agree that the European romanticized view of other cultures was also coupled with the idea that these cultures were inferior and in need of being educated and enlightened. A slightly different take on the concern is Mark Twain's "A Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court", where a modern (industrialized American) is placed in medieval Camelot. He proceeds to industrialize the kingdom, but also brings with it the problems of the modern world, and comes to regret doing so. This is an interesting dilemma, as all cultures have their benefits and problems, so one is not necessarily better than another.
ReplyDeleteI find it very interesting why people are so judgmental when they see someone that isn't the "norm." Because of their difference, in order to label/mark them, the Europeans called them "savages." When you hear the word "savage," the Europeans probably saw them with disgust, chaotic, and barbaric. What's really interesting is that the Europeans acknowledged that there was a hierarchically structure that the savages were living by calling them "noble savages." Living in a hierarchically society as well, they understood that social standing between theirs and them were not different. Great post. I do think that you need to make the font bigger. It is a bit to small.
ReplyDeleteSo my question is how can we learn from these people? How can we respond more humanely when we meet people who are different from us? It is easy to say, "Treat them like their equal." How does that look in practice though?
ReplyDeleteI didn't realize that Europeans had this view of the people of Asia. I wonder what really caused them to think this way of a people they really didn't know much about and just assumed they knew. It makes me reflect on the things I think of other cultures and how that may skew how I treat or react to others.
ReplyDeleteI think your post makes really good points about the dehumanization of different cultures that the Europeans participated in. It's important for us to remember that people who are different from us are still different, and to not assume we know other people when we don't. The indigenous people and the people of Asia were advanced in ways Europe wasn't, but because the Europeans saw themselves as better, they weren't willing to learn from those people.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that stood out to me in this post was the word used to describe explorers like Columbus, Magellan, and De Gama. While they certainly made choices and perhaps had motives we disagree with or wouldn't support today, it set the stage in my mind for considering how we still do what this post describes today. Are we still fascinated by (or interested in talking about) foreign or unfamiliar things, yet don't truly understand them enough to see and give them the respect they deserve? Does curiosity plus limited understanding lead to blindness?
ReplyDelete