










































The First of its Kind: A Cultural 
History of the Village Nègre

INTRODUCTION

In 1889, all eyes were on the 
city of Paris as it unveiled 

attractions that would be a 
part of that year’s World’s Fair. 
Among its exhibitions were a 
nearly fifteen hundred foot-long 
Gallérie de Machines; exhibits 
from Europe, the Americas, and 
French colonies; and, of course, 
the Eiffel Tower, unveiled in 
commemoration of the centennial celebration of the French Revolution 
(Ibach). One of the Fair’s largest exhibits, however, is one that is rarely 
discussed, and it represents the dark era of colonialism in world history: the 
Village Nègre.
        The Village Nègre, or Negro Village, was a large colonial exhibit which 
displayed over four hundred indigenous people from a host of French 
colonies. Opening on May 5, 1889, the Village Nègre was one of the Fair’s 
most popular exhibitions, drawing over twenty eight million spectators 
in the almost six months it was open. The exhibit’s popularity stemmed 
from its uniqueness as the first of its kind—that is, an ethnological exhibit 
that showcased more than just a small group of individuals. The likes of 
it had never been seen in Europe or America (Dos Santos and Lewino). 
Throughout this paper, we will argue that the Village Nègre was used to 
draw a line between the “civilized” and the “savage,” while it also served as 
a form of propaganda for colonialism and the establishment of European 
dominance in the world.
 The large size of the Village made it impossible for it to be in the 
middle of the Fair; rather, the Village was found on the Esplanade des 

  -  Lauren Cross, Lauren Seitz, and Shannon Walter, Ball State University

Abstract
The Village Nègre, one of the largest exhibits 
in the 1889 World’s Fair, was home to over four 
hundred indigenous people from various French 
colonies. Throughout this paper, the authors 
discuss how the Village Nègre was used by the 
French to draw a line between the “civilized” and 
the “savage.” The Village also served as a form of 
colonialist propaganda while further establishing 
European dominance. 

21

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Invalides, a short walk from the Eiffel Tower, around which the majority of 
the Fair was based (Zeitoun). Though called the Village Nègre, the exhibit 
was actually comprised of six smaller “villages” in which people ate, slept, 
and worked. Although the nationalities of every person exhibited are 
unknown, experts are certain that the exhibit displayed Arabs, Kanaks (who 
are the indigenous Melanesian people of New Caledonia in the Southwest 
Pacific), the Gabonese, Congolese, Javanese (from Java, Indonesia), and 
Senegalese, all of whom were from areas that had been colonized by France. 
The exhibition, however, was not completely authentic; for example, one of 
the smaller villages that was named the Pahouin Village did not even contain 
Pahouin people—they were put in a different area (Dos Santos and Lewino).
        Life in the Village included not only performing daily tasks, such as 
cleaning, eating, and creating art—which was then sold as “authentic” to 
make a profit—but also giving  several theatrical performances. Women 
danced while naked, and men played drums and staged fights, which were 
extremely popular with spectators. Some even performed tribal “rituals,” 
although experts cannot confirm whether these rituals were actually 
representative of cultures presented in the Village (Bancel, Blanchard, and 
Lemaire). Given the disregard by French officials for the differences between 
each culture, it is doubtful that these rituals were grounded in any real 
cultural customs. This disregard demonstrates that the exhibit really was 
intended to display France’s dominance of the “savage” parts of the world.
        As they watched these rituals, spectators were fascinated by the people 
in the Village Nègre. Fairgoers were able to watch exhibited people go about 
their daily lives, which supposedly gave a glimpse of what was believed to be 
the true culture of these “savages.” Visitors to the Village were encouraged to 
touch the people on display and get up close and personal in order to more 
fully understand different cultures. In addition to common folks, scientists 
from all over the world visited the Fair in order to observe and study the 
people exhibited while they carried out their daily tasks (Zeitoun).
        Science was one of the main motivations for bringing colonized 
people to Paris to be put on display. Because the Village Nègre was one of 
the earliest large-scale ethnographic exhibits, people were fascinated with 
learning about the cultures that the people represented—scientists used 
the study of these people to form a so-called “race biology,” which aimed 
to prove “the congenital inferiority of races with ‘depressed or squeezed 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

22



skulls’” (Zeitoun). In other words, the scientific study of ethnographic 
exhibits, such as the Village Nègre, permitted scientists to develop the 
scientific racism that was accepted and supported by public opinion.    
 It was not only the scientists that promoted racism in the Village. 
Ordinary visitors also used the exhibit to form their own opinions on 
where the “savages” fit on the scale of race. Historian Pascal Blanchard and 
anthropologist Gilles Boëtsch explain that there is a direct link between the 
human exhibits and the general public’s prejudices: 

the shows of anthropological zoology were the essential vehicles 
of the passage of scientific racism to vulgar colonial racism…
for their visitors, seeing populations of people behind bars, 
real or symbolic, sufficed to explain a hierarchy. They quickly 
understood where the power was found. (226)

The way in which these subjects were exhibited communicated to the 
predominantly white audience that Europeans were the ones in power 
and that they should look down on different races. These opinions were 
cemented in the minds of spectators as they visited the Village Nègre. 
 The Village Nègre was just one exhibit in a long list of ethnological 
exhibitions that influenced the larger field of anthropology, which was 
becoming extremely important at the height of colonialism. While the 
Village Nègre was undoubtedly the largest zoo of its kind, human zoos were 
not new to Europe; similar exhibits were common in large cities, including 
Hamburg, Barcelona, London, and Milan. All of these exhibits shared 
the common goal of fitting colonized peoples into categories carefully 
constructed by those responsible for the human zoos. The most important 
goal of these anthropological exhibitions was attempting to draw the line 
between “civilized” and “savage.”
 Though the Village was promoted as an “authentic” representation 
of life in “savage” lands, its decorations, costumes, and accessories created 
caricatures and stereotypes of the people and cultures in the human zoo 
(Dos Santos and Lewino). Therefore, when scholars look back on this exhibit 
for study, it brings up the issue of cultural appropriation. White Europeans, 
while “repulsed” by the indigenous people, were simultaneously fascinated 
by the unknown cultures from whence they came. Dean MacCannell writes 
that tourists, such as those who visited the Village Nègre, “are motivated by 
a desire to see life as it is really lived, even to get in with the natives” (592). 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

23



MacCannell further states, “Touristic consciousness is motivated by its 
desire for authentic experiences” (597).
 Unfortunately, however, the tourists of the World’s Fair did not take 
the time to actually learn about these cultures and instead imposed a culture 
upon the human exhibits. In fact, according to MacCannell, they followed 
the steps of staged authenticity, as the exhibition was “totally set up in 
advance for touristic visitation” (597). Fair organizers did not actually care 
about an authentic representation of cultures but rather focused on staging 
the exhibit so that it would make visitors get the feeling of authenticity. 
The people within the Village Nègre performed the culture that Europeans 
thought they should perform.
 The Village Nègre was one of the main attractions of the Fair, and, 
while it was intended to dazzle spectators with new and unknown cultures, 
the French government had other motives. The Village also acted as 
propaganda for French colonialism: “The power of exhibits of ‘the other’ 
created a strong political context and an historic movement of expansion 
on an unprecedented scale” (Bancel, Blanchard, and Lemaire 16). Each of 
the four hundred people in the Village came from one of France’s many 
colonies. As European colonialism was at its height at the end of the 
nineteenth century, France needed a way to show its own people, as well as 
the world, its colonial prowess and power. Not only could the French show 
that they had a great deal of land, but they also were able to exhibit the 
people who came from those lands—they used the Village Nègre to justify 
their takeover of Northern Africa and parts of Asia by showing the public 
these “uncultured” and “uncivilized” “savages.”
 Not only were the French showing their power, but the exhibit also 
encouraged other nations to pursue colonialist conquests. The portrayal of 
the people in the exhibit as savages created the sense of an urgent need to 
continue colonization in order to help these people become cultured like 
their European and American saviors. These “savages” became novelties 
to their viewers, and they were viewed as uncultured but also delightfully 
simple creatures. The notion of the “noble savage”—“a mythic conception 
of people belonging to non-European cultures as having innate natural 
simplicity and virtue uncorrupted by European civilization” (“Noble 
Savage”)—emerged as early as the previous century, and it was one that a 
great deal of colonizers used to justify their actions. In the colonizers’ eyes, 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

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it was up to European nations—those who were truly civilized—to help 
those from other cultures learn how to fit in to their society.
 One of the earliest ethnographic human exhibits on a large scale, the 
Village Nègre was visited by an enormous amount of people during its time 
at the 1889 World’s Fair, people who were thus forced not only to compare 
themselves to the culture of the savages but also to contemplate their roles 
as the “civilized ones.” This exhibit encouraged cultural appropriation and 
continued colonialism that failed to attempt to understand the cultures 
which Europeans and Americans were taking advantage of. Though over 
a century has passed since the end of the exhibit, the dark connotations of 
the Village Nègre, in which we were unable and unwilling to learn from the 
cultures of others, continues to linger throughout society.

CULTURAL ANALYSIS
 The display of these human beings in their “savage” habitats served 
as a way to prove how advanced European cultures were in comparison to 
their seemingly uncivilized counterparts. But what strategies were used in 
order to display them in an entertaining fashion? In order to persuade the 
audience to believe these indigenous people were, in fact, uncivilized, the 
organizers of the World’s Fair disguised themselves as anthropologists and 
presented these displays in so-called “authentic” settings. While an observer 
of this tactic may feel appalled, the organizers of the fair felt more credible 
by telling the public that they were anthropologists who displayed these 
cultures rather than people whose goals were centered on fiscal prosperity.
 These displays presented the impression of savagery in exotic 
nations, and, by juxtaposing the middle-class fair-goers alongside “savage” 
individuals, the fair organizers were able to emphasize contrast between 
“civilization and barbarity” as well as “progress and primitivism” (Munro 
81). By doing so, the so-called “savages” who represented their respective 
cultures “accentuated” the colonial power of European nations over those 
deemed more uncivilized. This gave a false depiction of those who were 
exhibited. While they may have used handcrafted tools in their normal 
lives, they were not completely incompetent, as the mock anthropologists 
deemed them to be. As a result of the inaccurate depictions of the 
indigenous people put on display, the visitors returned to their “normal” 
lives in their “civilized” communities under the impression that these 

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25



people lived in a barbaric and crude manner.
 Fair visitors treated the products of these barbaric displays as trophies 
and souvenirs. The organizers who acted as anthropologists arranged 
false artifacts around the displays in order to reenact their own vision of 
the world, and they also explained national histories to suit their political 
purposes through the use of imposed narrative structures (Munro 81). While 
these artifacts seemed natural to the viewers, many were fictitious depictions 
of the real artifacts used in their home cultures. Yet viewers were given the 
impression that they could purchase original artifacts from “uncivilized” 
cultures. 
 Human exhibitions largely led to the creation of national museums 
not only in European countries but in the United States as well. For 
example, a similar American display occurred shortly after the 1889 World’s 
Fair in Paris. At the 1904 World’s Fair in St. Louis, over one thousand 
different people from at least ten different countries were put on display 
(Allen). The ethnographic items left behind from these human displays 
found homes in spectacles within many of the new museums, in which they 
served to falsely portray the life and cultures of those who were exhibited 
(Munro 81). The problem of false representation lingers today, since these 
artifacts are still being exhibited in museums. Not only can people still see 
the deceptive relics, but they can also still observe the larger political issues 
underlying these displays.
 While audiences could compare their own progress to the barbarity 
portrayed within such human displays, they also gained a greater sense 
of their relationship to their own countries. Even though the people 
visiting these exhibits may not have possessed a physical or even mental 
relationship with one another, the exhibits created an imaginary bond by 
increasing the spectators’ national identity (Munro 82). By accentuating the 
differences between these “savage” peoples and their viewing counterparts, 
the organizers were able to emphasize the colonial power of European 
nations over “uncivilized” colonies (Munro 84). The viewers were given the 
impression that their own countries possessed a greater hold over their 
international properties than “savages” did.
 While giving the viewers a chance to witness their own nation’s hold 
over other countries certainly was a result of the fair, the human exhibits 
also prompted other realizations. In these displays, a bridge formed 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

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between entertainment and conceptions of race based on Social Darwinism 
(Munro 81). Viewers already felt their entitlement magnified by witnessing 
the false, but seemingly accurate, depictions of other cultures. The exhibits 
inadvertently unveiled the visions of the elite. They thus brought white 
privilege to the forefront—all at the expense of the humanity of those from 
colonized cultures.
 As the World Fair’s popularity increased, so did the prestige of 
the government of France. This occurred because the Village Nègre was 
grounded in assumptions about the correct social order and the distribution 
of power within society (Munro 86). Such exhibits made the middle class 
more aware of how they themselves were perceived in relation to their 
own societal values. Witnessing the seemingly accurate depiction of other 
cultures could make spectators more conscious of how they themselves were 
depicted within society.
 Spectators trusted the view of other cultures that they were given 
by the World’s Fair, in part because of its aid in boosting the French 
economy, which was struggling before the World’s Fair began. Millions 
of people constructed and found employment within the World’s Fair, 
while volunteers also spread the word to relatives and friends, resulting 
in heightened popularity for the fair (Munro 81). Because of the fair’s 
popularity, increased job openings allowed those who had been struggling 
to find work to prosper at the expense of those who remained locked behind 
bars in human displays.
 The French World’s Fair was not unique in presenting a human zoo; 
other countries hosted smaller fairs in which they also displayed human 
exhibits. Countries such as Australia, Brazil, Guatemala, Indonesia, Jamaica, 
New Zealand, and South Africa created human exhibitions but did so in 
ways to suit their own economic needs (Munro 87). While France presented 
their exhibits in ways that showed their dominance over their international 
colonies, other countries, some the same ones featured in the Paris displays, 
imitated European exhibits in ways that matched their own political, 
economic, social, and cultural needs.
 The Village Nègre explicitly encompassed aspects of colonialism in 
its exhibits. This allowed fairgoers to leave with the impression that France 
provided a great deal of help to those who lived in different sectors of the 
world, when, in reality, the French were colonizing them. The exploitation 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

27



of the indigenous people at the 1889 Paris World’s Fair illustrated France’s 
need for both economic expansion and a sense of entitlement over the 
“barbaric savages” on display.

ARTIFACTS

Exposition Poster:
This is a poster that was used to advertise the Parisian World’s Fair in 1889. 
It does a good job of painting Paris in a positive light, with bright colors and 
a well-executed design, while also communicating important information 
like ticket prices, times, etc. On the main part of the poster, it reads, “World 
Exposition 1889 of Paris: Opening of the Exposition.” This relates to our 
argument in that it shows the importance France placed on this exposition. 
It gives you a great mental image of the Parisian streets covered in these 
posters, advertising this outstanding and 
monumental event, and allows you to place 
yourself in that time and feel more a part 
of that culture. We would also argue that 
this poster is displaying the exposition as 
an important cultural event, and, while in 
many ways it was, the human exhibition that 
occurred at this exhibition was cruel and 
inhumane towards all the human beings 
that were exhibited. The French strove to 
emphasize growth in technology (i.e., the 
Eiffel Tower); the Village Nègre added to the 
sense of cultural superiority that came along 
with that growth.

Map of Villages:
This map, much like the exposition poster, 
allows you to become more acquainted with 
the actual World’s Fair that took place in Paris. You can actually see where 
each exhibition was placed and how a good chunk of the exposition was 
arranged. We believe that this map lets you place yourself into the fair and 

Cross, Seitz, Walter

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https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/Paris_1889_plakat.jpg
http://www.worldfairs.info/paris89/pavillons/bigplanesplanadeinvalides.jpg


get a good sense of what it was like to be walking around and witnessing 
a human zoo firsthand. While it is impossible to fully understand what 
transpired at this World’s Fair, this map gives you a better idea of the 
exposition itself. This relates to our argument in that it shows how much 
time and effort went into putting this World Exposition together, as is to 
be expected. But more specifically, it shows how much time went into 
exhibiting the human beings that were on display in The Village Nègre. This 
map is a good example of the manner in which these large quantities of 
people were exposed for the world to see, touch, and gawk at.

The Village Nègre included: 
The Algerian Palace, The Tunisian Palace, Senegalese Village; Loango (now 
Congo) Village, Pahouin (central Africa) Village, Tonkin (now Vietnam) 
Village, Indonesian Village, Indian Village; buildings for Annam and Tonkin 
(now Vietnam), Madagascar, Guadeloupe, French Guniea, and Kanak (now 
Malaysia); the Pagoda of Tonkin gods, Anatomy Theater, and multiple 
bazaars, boutiques, and restaurants.

New York Times article, “Scientific Religion”:
This newspaper article from the year of the Parisian World’s Fair discusses 
St. George Mivart, Ph. D.’s opposition to Charles Darwin’s theory of 
evolution. Mivart does not completely oppose Darwin’s theory; he adds 
“certain details which might be used as the basis for important differences 
from the results otherwise drawn from Darwin’s presentment of the 
question.” Specifically, he adds the idea of religion and “Divine Energy” to 
Darwin’s theory. This article correlates well with our argument by showing 
the importance of Charles Darwin even to those scholars still holding firm 
beliefs in regards to their religious values. By making the statement that 
“the reconcilement of evolution and religion has been undertaken by many 
besides Dr. Mivart, but few have written with such fullness and gone into 
the question to a like depth,” this article emphasizes the importance and 
influence of Darwin’s writing on the society at this time. This could explain 
the inherent curiosity about the people believed to be more “primitive” 
than the citizens of Paris at this point in time. We believe this to properly 
illustrate the allure of human beings who seemed close to the “missing link” 
side of Darwin’s theories to those attending the exhibition.

Cross, Seitz, Walter

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New York Times article, “Paris and the Great Show”:
This newspaper article discusses the economic unrest that was occurring in 
Paris around the time that the World’s Fair was taking place. While France 
was in the middle of a financial crisis, the headline still read, “A Cheerful 
Welcome in Spite of the Unrest.” The article goes on to discuss the great 
lengths that the Parisian government is willing to go to in order to make 
the summer of 1889 (beginning of the World Expo.) be a “happy” summer 
by stating, “It must also be thoroughly understood that, in spite of money 
losses and political apprehension, strangers will not frown on the smiling 
and welcoming face of their Parisienne hostess. The sun will shine and 
music will play.” This relates to the argument that is threaded throughout 
our cultural history project because it gives a great tidbit of background 
information that helps place our research about the 1889 World’s Fair and 
what was happening in Paris at the time that this exposition was taking 
place. This article supports our claims that the Village Nègre was partially an 
offensive and exploitative way to generate capital for the Parisian economy 
that was faltering at the time.

ARTIFACTS WORKS CITED

“Paris 1889”. Wikipedia. commons.wikipedia.org, 1889. Web. 20 Apr. 2016.

“Paris and the Great Show.” New York Times (1857-1922): 9. 24 Mar. 1889. 
ProQuest. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

“Plan Esplanade des Invalides.” World Fairs Info. worldfairs.info, 2016. Web. 
20 Apr. 2016.

 “Scientific Religion.” New York Times (1857-1922): 19. 7 Apr. 1889. ProQuest. 
Web. 15 Nov. 2015

Cross, Seitz, Walter

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Cross, Seitz, Walter

WORKS CITED

Allen, Greg. “‘Living Exhibits’ at 1904 World’s Fair Revisited.” National Public 
Radio. 31 May  2004. Web. 20 Mar. 2016.

Bancel, Nicolas, Pascal Blanchard, and Sandrine Lemaire. “Ces zoos 
humains de la République coloniale.” Le Monde Diplomatique. Aug. 
2000: 16-17. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. 1

Blanchard, Pascal, and Gilles Boëtsch. “Spectacles ethniques et culture de 
masse au temps des colonies.” Revue d’Histoire des Sciences Humaines, 2.7 
(2002): 223-232. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Dos Santos, Gwendoline and Frédéric Lewino. “5 mai 1889. La France 
expose fièrement ses ‘nègres’, Kanaks et Annamites à l’Expo 
universelle.” Le Point. 5 May 2015. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Ibach, Marilyn. “Paris Exposition of 1889.” Prints and Photographs Division. 
Library of Congress, 28 Mar. 2011. Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

MacCannell, Dean. “Staged Authenticity: Arrangements of Social Space in 
Tourist Settings.” American Journal of Sociology, Vol. 79.3. Nov. 1973. 
Web. 26 Feb. 2016.

Munro, Lisa. “Investigating World’s Fairs: An Histography.” Studies in Latin 
American Popular Culture, Vol. 28. 2010. Web. 15 Nov. 2015. 

“Noble Savage.” Merriam Webster Dictionary. Encyclopaedia Britannica. 2015. 
Web. 15 Nov. 2015.

Zeitoun, Charline. “À l’époque des zoos humains.” CNRS Le Journal.  Le 
Centre national de la recherche scientifique. 25 Aug. 2015. Web. 15 
Nov. 2015.

1 All articles written in French were translated by Lauren Seitz

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