Overview

The first half of the twentieth century was a difficult time for the indigenous people of Africa. Beginning in the late 1880s, the entire continent was in the process of being carved up into colonies by the European countries of Britain, France, Portugal, Germany, and Belgium. The United States, although not outright colonial, enhanced its interests via corporate and scholarly endeavors—the latter through newly established museums funding scientific expeditions collecting specimens from the diverse natural and cultural landscapes of Africa. In the early years of the twentieth century, museums funded by wealthy philanthropists and industrial giants were involved in a race to fill their institutions with specimens of plants, animals, and representations of the cultures of the world. These contacts, while giving...