Visit Paris's Disturbing Abandoned "Human Zoo"

Architecture and colonialism have a close relationship. The appropriation of local vernacular helped ease the tensions in some colonies, while the imposition of imperial architecture helped to solidify the occupier's cultural control. We have written about how the built environment can be a weapon of ethnic cleansing, as destroying it can effectively play a part in wiping a culture out. Image via messynessychic.com Inversely, architecture can also be stolen to exhibit complete domination and promote colonialism, as was the case in Paris's Jardin d’Agronomie Tropicale ("The Garden of Tropical Agriculture"), a public exhibition of foreign cultures. In 1907 the French built six model villages to show the reach of the empire. It included Madagascar, Indochine, Sudan, Congo, Tunisia, and Morocco. The people came on their own free will and were paid, but they were also treated as specimens for scientists to study as they developed theories of racial superiority. Image via messynessychic.com The recreations were populated with local people brought from their homelands to this "human zoo" in Paris. Everything from agriculture to architecture was simulated for the enjoyment of tourists, and from May ...