HSY2601
ASSIGNMENT 2
DUE DATE: 5 SEPT 2025
, HSY2601 Assignment 3 2025
Length: Part 1: 350 words (One paragraph)
Part 2: Two paragraphs (10 lines each)
Due Date: Friday, 5 September 2025, 11:00
Theme: Race
HSY2601 Themes in the 19th Century History: Power and the Western World
Part 1: Primary Source Analysis
The exhibition posters and caricatures of Sara Baartman, popularly known as the
“Hottentot Venus,” were created in Europe between 1810 and 1815 as advertising and
satire. Their purpose was to attract audiences by presenting Baartman as an exotic
spectacle, reinforcing both entertainment culture and colonial dominance. The historical
context of European expansion into Africa and Asia shaped their content: colonised
people were increasingly seen as objects of curiosity, used to demonstrate the reach
and power of empire (HSY2601/1:viii). In this climate, Baartman’s body was displayed
as a symbol of difference, reflecting how European imperialism merged with scientific
discourse and public entertainment.
The perspective and bias of these sources are clear. The promotional poster objectifies
Baartman’s body, presenting her as both primitive and exotic, while claiming that her
exhibition had scientific and royal approval. This reflects the colonial ideology that
Africans were at the “lowest rung of the evolutionary ladder” and needed European
ASSIGNMENT 2
DUE DATE: 5 SEPT 2025
, HSY2601 Assignment 3 2025
Length: Part 1: 350 words (One paragraph)
Part 2: Two paragraphs (10 lines each)
Due Date: Friday, 5 September 2025, 11:00
Theme: Race
HSY2601 Themes in the 19th Century History: Power and the Western World
Part 1: Primary Source Analysis
The exhibition posters and caricatures of Sara Baartman, popularly known as the
“Hottentot Venus,” were created in Europe between 1810 and 1815 as advertising and
satire. Their purpose was to attract audiences by presenting Baartman as an exotic
spectacle, reinforcing both entertainment culture and colonial dominance. The historical
context of European expansion into Africa and Asia shaped their content: colonised
people were increasingly seen as objects of curiosity, used to demonstrate the reach
and power of empire (HSY2601/1:viii). In this climate, Baartman’s body was displayed
as a symbol of difference, reflecting how European imperialism merged with scientific
discourse and public entertainment.
The perspective and bias of these sources are clear. The promotional poster objectifies
Baartman’s body, presenting her as both primitive and exotic, while claiming that her
exhibition had scientific and royal approval. This reflects the colonial ideology that
Africans were at the “lowest rung of the evolutionary ladder” and needed European
