Theories about the hierarchies of race in the 19th century (2) Flashcards
Why were the racial ideas developed by the europeans referred to as ‘Pseudo-Scientific’?
Because they were not based on proper science, but rather on prejudice and faulty theories.
Although today these ideas are not seen as scientifically ___, many people believed in the past.
Valid
True or false
Governments banned racist policies and passed racist laws, based on pseudo-scientific theories.
False, Governments PASSED racist policies and passed racist laws, based on pseudo-scientific theories.
Which 2 theories were the result of the government’s passing of racist laws and policies as a result of pseudo-scientific theories?
Scientific Racism
Social Darwinism
What is prejudice?
A fixed opinion formed without knowing the facts.
When were social sciences developed and what are they?
19th Century. The study of human societies and behaviour.
What did social scientists study?
Human societies and their behaviour and customs. They believed that social factors could be analysed and classified in the same way as data in the natural sciences.
Zoologists and ____ had worked out systems to classify animals and plants based on their ____ features. The new social scientists believed that ____ could be studied in the same way.
Botanists
Physical
Humans
What did social scientists begin to classify people by? (4)
- The size of their skull
- The shape of their nose and lips
- The colour of their skin
- Texture of their hair
What theory did social scientists develop?
That humankind was made up of separate types or races, which had distinct physical differences.
What was a result of social scientists classification system?
They made links between these physical features and mental abilities, and reached unscientific conclusions about what were supposed to be the typical characteristics of each race.
Why did scientific racism have such a huge impact?
Racist views were now supposed based on science.
How did europeans use scientific racism when colonising foreign lands?
They applied Scientific Racism when they first came across indigenous people in their new colonial empires.
What did the colonists do to the indigenous people in their colonial empires?
Measured their heads and facial features, and made casts of people which were displayed in museums. At world exhibitions people from the colonies were often put on display in artificially created native village.
What did the display of the indigenous people in their fake native villages emphasise?
Emphasised their simple, primitive way of life compared to the progress of the industrialised world.
