Culture 2

Africa

The Americas

Oceania

1500-1780

Culture and Contact

• Last time we looked at cultures that had some history of contact with the rest of the world

• Today we turn to cultures that had little (or no) contact with the rest of the world

• The cultures of Africa, the Americas and Oceania were profoundly transformed by contact with Europeans as they borrowed freely and had cultural forms imposed upon them

West Africa

• The most intense zone of contact in Africa was in the West

• Like the rest of the world, elites in these societies commissioned artists to produce works that reflected the elite view of the world

• Cultural production centred around making statues, masks, jewellery and the like

The Oyo Empire produced some of the world’s most intricate bronze work

The Asante (or Ashanti) had access to gold for their art production

Benin had a long tradition of producing pottery and bronze art

The Slave Trade

• The revenue from the slave trade was concentrated among small groups of elite traders who had translated their wealth into political power

• The increase in wealth also meant that more money was being put into cultural production, leading to a flourishing of West African arts and crafts

The Asante had access to large gold deposits – which was associated with royalty. The trophy head was made of gld; the carved box and fertility doll were made out of wood.

Culture in the Americas

• Many cultural traditions of the Americas were eradicated as Christian missionaries and colonists converted natives to Christianity

• However, many of these traditions survived (despite Christian opposition) and formed part of a hybrid culture made up in large part by people of mixed ethnic or backgrounds, called mestizos

Many Spanish and Portuguese colonists married indigenous wives to secure their place in the new world.

Many native Americans converted to Christianity and incorporated those beliefs and practices into a unique hybrid

Culture in Oceania

• The many different cultures of the Pacific Ocean had lived in relative isolation from the rest of the world until the eighteenth century when European explorers arrived and brought them into the global trade system

• While some island cultures were able to maintain their autonomy, others were brutally taken over and had European culture imposed upon them

Scientific imperialism

• One of the driving forces of exploring the Oceania and the South Pacific was the quest for a scientific understanding of the world that developed during the enlightenment

• The search for scientific knowledge went hand-in-hand with the search for commercial opportunities and territories to populate with European colonists

Captain James Cook (1728-1779) was the quintessential enlightened scientist – mixing scientific curiosity with a spirit of adventure.

His voyages were widely publicised and he and his scientific crew made detailed records of plants and animals and precise maps. Popular literature about the voyages captured the European imagination.

Cook’s voyages served as vehicles for conquest in Australia, pressing much of the large continent into service of British control.

Captain Cook in Hawaii

• When Cook and his ships reached Hawaii in 1778 Cook was believed by the natives to be a representative of Lono, the god of feasts and harvests

• When Cook’s ship returned damaged from a storm the natives no longer believed that he was a divine figure

• A misunderstanding led the natives to kill Cook and his crew

Conclusion

• Cultural production in West Africa experienced a boom – funded in large part by the profits from the slave trade

• A hybrid culture developed in the Americas that would eventually be at odd with the mostly white settlements of the British

• In the Pacific, European exploration was fuelled by scientific inquiry and the desire to find new territory to conquer