The Proposed Hierarchy of Mankind Illustration from Types of Mankind (1854), written by prominent ethnologists Josiah Clark Nott ( ) and George R. Glidden ( ). 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.

16 th Century Depictions of Americas

19 th 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,

Shoemaker and Assistants, Brazil,

Gold Production, Colombia, 1826

Barber Shop, Brazil,

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