Quote:
Originally Posted by Thasaidon
Long before the slave trade between the New World and Africa people were blacking up for all kinds of reasons. The mummers in the UK, whose traditions go back to the time of the crusades, had at least one blacked up character.
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Probably a reference to the Moorish slave trade which Europe did have experience of as victims. There may also be an Italian pun as well - ‘Il Moro’ the black was also an Italian family name; which is why we now have ‘Othello, the Moor of Venice’.
I’d also like to point out that in Eastern iconography devils were traditionally depicted with white skin, red hair and blue eyes. Is that racism against white people?
You have to remember that xenophobia is part of humanity; each tribe was in competition with each other tribe so xenophobia got your tribe ahead of others. Today’s multiculturalism probably hasn’t happened since Imperial Rome.