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Racism: A History

The Color of Money

A documentary which is exploring the impact of racism on a global scale, as part of the season of programmes marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Beginning by assessing the implications of the relationship between Europe, Africa and the Americas in the 15th century, it considers how racist ideas and practices developed in key religious and secular institutions, and how they showed up in writings by European philosophers Aristotle and Immanuel Kant.

Looking at Scientific Racism, invented during the 19th century, an ideology that drew on now discredited practices such as phrenology and provided an ideological justification for racism and slavery. These theories ultimately led to eugenics and Nazi racial policies of the master race. Some upsetting scenes.

The third and final episode of Racism: A History examines the impact of racism in the 20th Century. By 1900, European colonial expansion had reached deep into the heart of Africa. Under the rule of King Leopold II, The Belgian Congo was turned into a vast rubber plantation. Men, women and children who failed to gather their latex quotas would have their limbs dismembered. The country became the scene of one of the century’s greatest racial genocides, as an estimated 10 million Africans perished under colonial rule. Contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.

Fatal Impacts

A documentary which is exploring the impact of racism on a global scale, as part of the season of programmes marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Beginning by assessing the implications of the relationship between Europe, Africa and the Americas in the 15th century, it considers how racist ideas and practices developed in key religious and secular institutions, and how they showed up in writings by European philosophers Aristotle and Immanuel Kant.

Looking at Scientific Racism, invented during the 19th century, an ideology that drew on now discredited practices such as phrenology and provided an ideological justification for racism and slavery. These theories ultimately led to eugenics and Nazi racial policies of the master race. Some upsetting scenes.

The third and final episode of Racism: A History examines the impact of racism in the 20th Century. By 1900, European colonial expansion had reached deep into the heart of Africa. Under the rule of King Leopold II, The Belgian Congo was turned into a vast rubber plantation. Men, women and children who failed to gather their latex quotas would have their limbs dismembered. The country became the scene of one of the century’s greatest racial genocides, as an estimated 10 million Africans perished under colonial rule. Contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.

A Savage Legacy

A documentary which is exploring the impact of racism on a global scale, as part of the season of programmes marking the 200th anniversary of the abolition of slavery. Beginning by assessing the implications of the relationship between Europe, Africa and the Americas in the 15th century, it considers how racist ideas and practices developed in key religious and secular institutions, and how they showed up in writings by European philosophers Aristotle and Immanuel Kant.

Looking at Scientific Racism, invented during the 19th century, an ideology that drew on now discredited practices such as phrenology and provided an ideological justification for racism and slavery. These theories ultimately led to eugenics and Nazi racial policies of the master race. Some upsetting scenes.

The third and final episode of Racism: A History examines the impact of racism in the 20th Century. By 1900, European colonial expansion had reached deep into the heart of Africa. Under the rule of King Leopold II, The Belgian Congo was turned into a vast rubber plantation. Men, women and children who failed to gather their latex quotas would have their limbs dismembered. The country became the scene of one of the century’s greatest racial genocides, as an estimated 10 million Africans perished under colonial rule. Contains scenes which some viewers may find disturbing.

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  1. The Great Famine of 1876–78 (also the Southern India famine of 1876–78 or the Madras famine of 1877) was a famine in India that began in 1876 and affected south and southwestern India(Madras, Mysore, Hyderabad, and Bombay) for a period of two years. In its second year famine also spread north to some regions of the Central Provinces and the North-Western Provinces, and to a small area in the Punjab. The famine ultimately covered an area of 670,000 square kilometres (257,000 sq mi) and caused distress to a population totaling 58,500,000. The death toll from this famine is estimated to be in the range of 5.5 million people.

  2. It makes you angry and sad but proud and determined..how could you let those of the pass down…in Harriet Tubman words…IF YOU HEAR THE DOGS KEEP GOING…IF YOU SEE THE TORCHES IN THE WOODS KEEP GOING….IF THERE’S CALLING OUT KEEP GOING…NEVER STOP KEEP GOING!!!IF YOU WANT TO TASTE FREEDOM KEEP GOING……

  3. I found this documentary both interesting and informative. Thank you.
    The main thing that stuck in my mind watching all 3 of these documentaries,  were the extraordinary acts of cruelty, manipulation committed by the so called “civilised” colonialist against people to get more land and more economic wealth. Greed!!!
    was it really really worth it!

  4. i’m from ireland, from galway in the west, where there are patches of only irish speaking people. and i hear this old woman with her crying grandchild and in irish i hear her tell him- be quiet or cromwell will steal him 😛

  5. It was the French revolution that freed the slaves in Haiti. The british had nothing to do with it.

    •  hati had to buy its freedom from france and the french and all the other empires employed boycots on hati and there has been poverty there ever since

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  7. Usually I don?t write-up on blogs, but I need to say that this post quite forced me to do so! Thanks, very nice article.

  8. Yeah, go Portugal! They started it all, good for my portuguese ancestors.

  9. The commenter above is referring to the Trans-Saharan slave trade which predates the Portuguese/Spanish/English one by several centuries.
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Trans-Saharan_slave_trade

    But I agree that the commenter is obviously racially biased and grossly oversimplifies the history of slavery to further a borrowed agenda.

    Sub-Saharan Africa had a history of serfdom similar to what Europe had at the time but it was not slavery in the sense we came to see with the European slave trade to the Americas. However, it can’t be denied that Muslim Arabs played a pivotal role in establishing the systematic exploitation and enslavement of black people. But with this as with the European slavers, economic factors drove the movement and racial ideology was only instituted after the fact. Religion was used to excuse what was essentially a tragic and horrific business venture in both cases.

    In this light, it is interesting how the civil rights movement of the 60s came to flock under the banner of Islam (such as the Nation of Islam and by extension The Nation of Gods and Earths) but I’m not coming anywhere near that hornet’s nest as a white European with a limited understanding of those Islamic organizations.

    I would like to add how much I appreciate this beautifully made and informative documentary.
    And Barnor Hesse is absolutely brilliant; lucid, knowledgeable and charming.

  10. Frist I’ll say great documentary, gonna watch the rest of it. Black and White as reguard to race is rooted in the US, to White Liberal; White people did not enslave black people, but europeans enslaved africans. Where you get this idea the Muslim Arabs had something to to with it I don’t know. I won’t go as far as saying that they did not take part in it (as this video clearly states Slavery started as an economic gold mine and was later justified with religion), however I will say that that your claim of 17 million is false and to make that claim shows a true taste that you have for Muslims.

    Aside from that I would like to say again this is a very insightful seires that shows more of what Britains role than any other, but when you look at history that is where the people who colonized this country come form, so it’s American history as well. Oh and besides the Caribbeans America was the last to abolish slavery smart guy!

  11. Few people know true history of slavery. White people did not enslave black people. Muslim Arabs and blacks enslaved blacks. Most of the black slaves (about 17 million) were sold to Muslim Arabs. Very few of them survived extremely cruel treatment by their Arab masters. The rest (about 12 million) were sold to American countries, mostly Brazil. About half a million were sold to white people living in North America. White people abolished slavery first in the West, then in Africa and Muslim countries, and yet they are blamed for slavery. Many Muslims believe today that slavery is desirable because it helps convert black people to Islam.