Representing the Black Subject and Racialized Peoples: Racism and Agency through the Gaze of the Travelers in Nineteenth Century Colombia

Abstract

This article analyzes how the travel literature, through literary and visual resources, made a representation about black individuals during Nineteenth-century Colombia based on notions of geography, race, and civilization. The leading ideologies at the time, such as geographical determinism and scientific racism, led the people of African descent to be represented as savages, insubordinate, and inferior beings and to be deemed as obstacles to the country’s progress. European travelers in particular made these representations to justify the imperial adventures necessary within the context of the Industrial Revolution. Therefore, they helped to establish a new relationship of colonial domination between Europe and the new American republics. Despite the uneven relation between travelers and locals, the latter was able to negotiate the terms of the interactions and used to challenge the travelers’ framework of interpretation. To unveil the local’s agency, this article proposes a methodological turn that emphasizes the moments where natives acted against standing pre-concepts and socio-racial hierarchies