The World of the Play (Venus)

Macro View

Fought in the campaign to abolish slavery. here that the role of Sir William Wilberforce fought in the campaign to abolish slavery, is well known. As a result of such campaigns, the further importation of slaves into South Africa was made illegal in 1808. Laws were passed to grant protection to ...It is here that the role of Sir William Wilberforce fought in the campaign to abolish slavery, is well known. As a result of such campaigns, the further importation of slaves into South Africa was made illegal in 1808. Laws were passed to grant protection to slaves then still in service. However, history shows that there was still a great deal of abuse which persisted for a long time. Rare though the opportunity may have been, slaves did have the right to proceed to the nearest . www.info.gov.za/speeches/1997/060311797.htm

Explanation : During this time Saartjie Baartman a.k.a Venus, was a young Khosian slave woman in South Africa.

Discovery of gold in South Africa .

1808 - The discovery of gold in South Africa has brought great changes, as among the mountains in the arid section of western United States. Thi> metal is found scattered through a conglomerate rock in the Transvaal, near the city of JOHANNESBURG, which on that account has hecome the largest city of South Africa. This district has become the most important ii gold production in the world ; in 1808 more gold mined here than in the entire United States. books.google.com/books.

Explanation: Venus is a menial worker during this huge gold production in south africa.

Federal Constitution, the importation of slaves from Africa

In 1808, according to a provision of the Federal Constitution, the importation of slaves from Africa was prohibited by law, so that henceforth cotton-planters could only obtain slaves by buying them in such border states as Virginia and Kentucky.books.google.com/books

Explanation: Venus was only 21 years old, when she is smuggled from Cape town in South Africa to London.

European-origin population

1809 - Policies of the European-origin population served as the basis for racial identity and the system of apartheid in South Africa in the twentieth century.8 For example, pass laws were first utilized in the Cape Colony in 1809, and a reserve, or quasi-reserve, system ...Policies of the European-origin population served as the basis for racial identity and the system of apartheid in South Africa in the twentieth century.8 For example, pass laws were first utilized in the Cape Colony in 1809, and a reserve, or quasi-reserve, system, was initially used in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries to minimize conflicts between Boers on the frontier and various groups of Africans. books.google.com/books?id=q65Sx_lIDFgC&pg=PA9

Explanation: Venus is a sideshow attraction in 19th century in Europe under the new name "Hottentot Venus".

Earthquake

Dec 4, 1809 - Earthquake risks are slight in the Cape Province, South Africa, though the most alarming earthquake ever experienced there occurred in Cape Town. That was on December 4, 1809, and the scenes included the famous naked parade of startled soldiers.penandspindle.blogspot.com/2008/01/earthquake.html

Explanation: Saatjie Baartman is persuaded, to come to England for potential as a huge entertainer and eventually become rich.

The Ad

Sep 20, 1810 - The ad, which first appeared in the city's Morning Post on 20 September 1810, read:. 'The Hottentot Venus —just arrived (and may be seen between the hours of One and Five o'clock in the evening atNo.22$ Piccadilly)from the Banks of the River Gamtoos, on the ...The ad, which first appeared in the city's Morning Post on 20 September 1810, read:. 'The Hottentot Venus —just arrived (and may be seen between the hours of One and Five o'clock in the evening atNo.22$ Piccadilly)from the Banks of the River Gamtoos, on the Borders of Kaffraria, in the interior of South Africa, a most correct and perfect Specimen of that race of people. books.google.com/books

Explanation: London was overtaken by Saartjie mania. Within a week, she went from anonymous immigrant one of the city's most talked about celebrity.

Infectious diseases

1808 - of loss was due to infectious diseases, while in previous wars, notably in South Africa, and in Cuba and the United States in 1808, infection, or the taking of filth into the body through air, water, or food, was the chief cause of disease. In Manchuria, the sites ...Only 3.51 per cent. of loss was due to infectious diseases, while in previous wars, notably in South Africa, and in Cuba and the United States in 1808, infection, or the taking of filth into the body through air, water, or food, was the chief cause of disease. In Manchuria, the sites of camps were inspected before tents were pitched, and the sources of liquid supply were tested and labelled. All water drunk was first boiled, hospital nourishment and refreshment were sterilized. http://books.google.com/books?id=z0FodNmT4l4C&pg=RA2-PA692&sig=UDfSjOFu5yaO7akSwPvFEztie0Q

Explanation: An Autospy report of Venus Hotttentot is conducted, it showed she died of a disease called smallpox.

Farming community

In 1810, a major breakthrough was made in transforming the farming community: a type of sheep called the Merino, was imported from the then growing White settlement in South Africa. Bred especially for the harsh hot climate, it thrived in Australia and soon developed into the Australian farmers' major economic activity and export to Britain. www.white-history.com/hwr57.htm

Explanation: Saartjie was a slave of Dutch farmers near her home of Cape town in South Africa.

War (Boers vs. Transvaal)

1809 - This discussion of South Africa would hardly be complete without some further consideration of the South African Republic, or the Transvaal, and the Orange Free State, espe- cially after the important things that happened there in 1809. For in that year the ...Therefore, though its growth is slow, its future seems assured. This discussion of South Africa would hardly be complete without some further consideration of the South African Republic, or the Transvaal, and the Orange Free State, espe- cially after the important things that happened there in 1809. For in that year the animosity that had long existed between the Boers of the Transvaal and the English residents of South Africa caused the outbreak of a most unfortunate war. www.archive.org/stream/outlineofpolitic00sear .

Explanation: Her Father and the rest of her family were killed during this violent war.

Pass Laws

Beginning in 1809 pass laws were introduced and amended frequently across South Africa. The purpose of these laws was to control the movement of blacks and to obtain their labor in both rural and urban areas. The mining industry became a major force behind demands for pass law controls. http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761584097/pass_laws.html

Explanation: Abolitionist is convinced that she was brought to England against her will to perform without pay.

World of the play" Micro View

Time : The year was 1810, three years after the Bill for the Abolition of the Slave- Trade had been passed in Parliament.

Location : South Africa to Europe and little bit in Paris

White South Africans

the white south Africans are the white population of Africa, that are also known as European Africans or Africans of European Descent. These individuals are mostly of Dutch, British, French, Portuguese, German, and to a lesser extent.://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_Africans

Explanation : Saartjie as slave, worked for white south africans as a menial worker.

Khosian Family

Culturally the Khoisan are divided into the hunter gatherer San (originally a derogatory term used by the Khoi) or Bushmen, and the pastoral Khoi (also known historically as Hottentots, a term now considered obsolete and sometimes offensive). The various Khoisan languages, which are not all related to each other. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Khoisan

Explanation: Venus Hottentots was a khoikhoi young women, which is part of the Bush family and Khosian family.

Cape town the tip of the continent the British found an established colony with 25,000 slaves, 20,000 white colonists, 15,000 Khoisan, and 1,000 freed black slaves. Power resided solely with a white élite in Cape Town, and differentiation on the basis of race was deeply entrenched. Outside Cape Town and the immediate hinterland, isolated black and white pastoralists populated the country.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cape_Town

Explanation : Cape town is the place where her life changes. Suggested that she travel to England for her riches and being entertainer.

Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman, businessman, and entertainer, remembered for promoting celebrated hoaxes and for founding the circus that became the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus. His successes may have made him the first "show business" millionaire.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum

Explanation: England, is where sara meets mothershowman .This is the time circuses are starting to become successful and making a name for it self.

Napoleonic Wars were a series of conflicts involving Napoleon's French Empire and changing sets of European allies and opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Napoleonic_era

Explanation : At this time Hottentot Venus and displayed at circuses, fairs, private parties and public exhibitions, Saartjie Baartman, satisfied all the wildest fantasies of the European conqueror.

st Anglo-Boer War

first Anglo-Boer War, known to Afrikaners as the "War of Independence", broke out in 1880. The conflict ended almost as soon as it began with a crushing Boer victory at Battle of Majuba Hill (27 February 1881). The republic regained its independence as the Zuid-Afrikaansche Republiek ("South African Republic"), or ZAR.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/First_Boer_War

Explanation : During the time of the war, Baartman is sold to Mothershowman, who took her to France with her as the main attraction in her show.

Racisim

How can a Racism Conference be held for the first time in Africa and fail to debate .... In 1810, the British Parliament declared slave trading a felony, punishable by 14 ... affirmative action racial quotas in South Africa.http://www.frontline.org.za/articles/racism_slavery_terrorism.htm

Explanation :A court battle waged by abolitionists to free her from her exhibitors failed.

Treaties of Tilsit

Treaties of Tilsit were two agreements signed by Napoleon I of France in the town of Tilsit in July, 1807 in the aftermath of his victory at Friedland.http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treaties_of_Tilsit

Explanation :Sara Baartman remained an object of scientific investigation, in France and Britian.

Radama I "the Great" (c. 1793-1828), the first king of Madagascar, united the island under his rule.
In 1810, he succeeded his father Andrianampoinimerina as king of Merina, a small area in the central plateau of the island, around Antananarivohttp://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Radama_I_of_Madagascar.

Explanation : Sara B. who was a young woman who was taken from South Africa, and then exhibited as a freak across Britain.

Bedrock of European

ideas about black female sexuality. http://www.ask.com/bar?q=History+of+Saartjie+Baartman&page=3&qsrc=6&ab=2&u=http%3A%2F%2Fscientificaesthetic.com%2F2009%2F03%2F03%2Fsaartjie-baartman-the-hottentot-venus.html.

Explanation : Saartjie Baartman was considered a South African sexual freak by Caucasian culture.
Images

engraving of Khoikhoi pastoralists at today's Mossel Bay in the Western Cape. The Khoikhoi, otherwise known as Hottentots, and the San Bushmen lived on the southern tip of Africa for thousands of years http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/history.htm

European settlement of South Africa began with the arrival of Dutch. http://www.southafrica.info/about/history/history.htm

The Bushmen Era

First Boer War http://www.pinetreeweb.com/13th-boer-war-cavalry.jpg

Phineas Taylor Barnum (July 5, 1810 – April 7, 1891) was an American showman. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/P._T._Barnum

Napoleonic period http://www.culture24.org.uk/asset_arena/2/34/06/160432/v0_master.jpg

Racisim & Slaveryhttp://www.frontline.org.za/articles/racism_slavery_terrorism.htm

Treaties of Tilsit http://serieamania.net/napoleon/wp-content/uploads/2008/07/tilsit.jpg


King Radama http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.ancestry.com/~royalty/pix/radama1.jpg





bedrock of European http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d2/South_Africa-Hankey-Sarah_Baartmans_grave.jpg


Statement
Saartyre Baartman
A.K.A.
“Venus”


Saartyre Baartman was born in 1789 in South Africa. Her short lived life endured horrific displays, torture and persecution. Saartyre’s story was forgotten for many centuries because it was buried under mounds of dusty racist documents by the South African Government. Her genitals were found floating in a jar of formaldehyde in a museum in Paris. After her remains were discovered South African, England and women in the U.S. have worked tirelessly to have her remains returned to her home land. Currently, her torturous past is being written in books.
In the early 19th Century, Saartyre was convinced by Khoi women to leave her home to become a dancer. Instead, she was promised money for the shows she performed that could be sent back to her family to support them. But instead, she was treated like a freak, an animal on display in a circus. .
In the early 1800’s, the Venus Hottentots (as she is dubbed) a young black woman with an enormous posterior is lured away from her menial job in South Africa to tour the world and make lots of money. Once in England, however, she is sold to a freak show and becomes a star. She shows off her attributes, bringing in crowds and raking in money for the side show owners. Quickly becoming adept at showing herself, and figuring out what the people wanted, she even tries to break out on her own, but can’t quite master that in those social times. Eventually, she is procured by a white doctor who is more than fascinated with her. He falls in love with her and keeps her as his mistress until he is in danger of losing his medical reputation and social standing. Venus who journeyed to Europe with high hopes, at the end of her short life, was dissected by the man she loved.
Venus Hottentots left South Africa because she envisioned her life to be enhanced by making lots of money and becoming famous. Instead, she finds her no more than a slave to another white man. After realizing side show owners and the public were finding her posterior as something abnormal, Venus decided to make it on her own, eventually to survive she found herself prostituting her body for food and alcohol.
This story could be viewed as a documentary or short feature narrative. During the 1810’s silent movies and documentaries were used as a form of Theatre entertainment. While Venus life story may be amazing to some and entertaining to others, it probably would not be shown on a theatre stage today; however, it would create a great documentary. Venus story could have been shown with an independent touring company that travels and shows different theatres in each city.
The branch of the performing arts defined by “Bernard Beckerman” (when one or more persons isolated in time and space) most likely would have considered Venus under the genre of both drama and tragedy.
Non-traditional casting may not be applied to this story due to the fact; it could be viewed as a documentary, independent theatre piece or a short story. Casting for this story would involve someone who can relive what Venus lived during the times of her feeling inadequate and used by the public. Casting would require an actor to live and think within the mind of Venus. I would cast a person or persons that closely fit the look, sound and imagination of the doctor, the side show owners and Venus. The setting would begin with an African background and eventually develop into a science lab where the doctor would dissect Venus body for personal satisfaction and fear. The doctor would eventually be portrayed as a mad scientist in fear of the world about to take his beloved Venus away from him. In his mind the only way to save her would be to dissect her body and discard it in a respectful place.
This piece would not be considered traditional because this is simply not a traditional story. I could also cast it as a love story filled with a cast of the public, Venus, the doctor, the side show owners and people of color. While I could also select it to be a drama, tragedy or comedy, somehow I find it to be a lost lonely soul who finds the love of her life but doesn’t live happily ever after but instead in solitude. This would be a very interesting piece of work because there is so many directions a writer or director to take this story.