Sarah Baartman

Sarah Baartman (born 1789, near the Gamtoos River, Xhosa kingdom [now in Eastern Cape, South Africa]—died 1815, Paris, France) was an African woman who was enslaved and taken to Europe, where her body was put on display for paying audiences. Such mistreatment was allowed to take place because the white society of the time regarded African people—and African women in particular—as inferior. Such exploitation was part of the “human curiosities” movement of the 19th century that gave rise to P.T. Barnum, carnival freak shows, and displays of the “Elephant Man,” Joseph Merrick.

Sarah Baartman was a member of the Khoekhoe people. She was born in Southern Africa, in what is now the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Her original African name is not known. Both of Baartman’s parents died while she was still young, and she was married to a Khoekhoe man as a teenager.

Baartman had unusually large buttocks, possibly caused by a condition called steatopygia. An English doctor noticed her when he visited the Cape about 1810. He and the brother of the man to whom she was enslaved decided they could use Baartman’s body to make money. Though she could not read, she signed a contract written by the doctor that required her to travel to England and Ireland as an “indentured servant.” However, the terms of the contract were false, and Baartman remained enslaved for life.

In England the doctor set up exhibitions of Baartman’s body. Baartman was made to appear with very little clothing on. Many members of the public paid to see her, but Baartman received little money. Some English people who were sympathetic to Baartman’s plight filed a lawsuit to stop the exhibitions, but they lost their case when shown the contract that Baartman had signed. Baartman also testified that she was not being mistreated.

In 1814 Baartman was sold to S. Réaux, an exhibitor in Paris, France, where the public showings continued. Réaux allowed patrons to sexually abuse Baartman, making a significant profit off her mistreatment. She also was examined by scientists. Baartman died in Paris in 1815 at about the age of 26. After Baartman’s death, scientists preserved parts of her body. For many years, her remains were displayed in a museum in Paris to support racist theories surrounding those of African ancestry. In 1994 Nelson Mandela, the new president of South Africa, asked France to return Baartman’s remains to South Africa. In 2002 France agreed, and Baartman’s remains were buried near her birthplace in Eastern Cape province.