The Science Behind Skin Color
During the 17th century, skin color was understood in a different way than it is today. Before Darwin's theory of Evolution, variations in humans were seen as different species all together, rather than different variations of skin pigmentation caused by melanin in the skin. Here are two resources Shakespeare may have been exposed to during his creation of Othello.
Bartholomeus Anglicus or Bartholomew the Englishman (1203-1272), was a scholar of Paris and an appointed Catholic Bishop of Lukow. He wrote De Proprietatbuis Rerum (On the Order of Things) as an encyclopedia for the students of Magdeburg in Saxiona and the general public.
In Chapter 10, titled, “De Colorum mutatione” or loosely translated “The Change of Colors”, Bartholomeus, theorized about skin color and the cause for variation. The idea of evolution and natural selection had not been introduced, therefore variations in the human race led man to believe that there were several different species on man, each with their own set of rights and restrictions.
Although man was ignorant to the true scientific reason behind completion variations, Bartholomeus touched on the idea that the sun was the cause of darker pigmentation. He describes Ethiopia as a very hot land, and the men and women who live there are turned black because of the heat rising under the skin of their bodies. He also compares the heat of the sun to hot desires and passions in deeper complected individuals. This idea in an example of the beast-like stigma Africans were given because of their skin color and culture.
In Shakespeare’s Othello, Venetians viewed their African general still as a beast. While Othello speaks about his horrifying quests and adventures while serving in the military, his white superiors see him as the perfect candidate for an Army general. His dark skin and the culture he was stolen from as a child, made him a killing machine, and the used him as a tool to lead their men in war. Othello was just as human as any other Venetian, but because he had a dark complection, he was viewed as a beast in this horrible perspective.
A Naturall Historie was written by Francis Bacon, a leading scientist and philosopher of England, and was published in 1627. This compilation of information combines scientific knowledge in preparation for awakening the new era of science.
In this work, Bacon begins to recognize that pigmentation of the skin has a scientific explanation. He explains that men living in other countries are subjected to more heat and light from the sun than the men in England who are continually heated with fire. Fire is a harsh heat source, he describes, and as men are subjected to it, they become pale due to their blood and spirit being removed from their body. However, in other countries who receive more sunlight, the sun provides a gentle heat source, and brings the blood and the spirit to the surface of the individual, causing a not only a darker pigmentation of the skin, but the plumping of different features, such as the lips.
Like Bartholomeus Anglicus’s theories in De Propretatbus Rerum, Bacon connected skin color to the heat and intensity of the sun. Black men and women were regarded as property because of their dark skin, and this theory proposed that there was no evolutionary difference between the dark and white race, except for the place of origin.
In Othello, the racial divide between the Moorish General, Othello, and the fair Senator’s daughter, Desdemona, was unmistakable to the characters in the play. Even with Othello’s reputation, it was considered taboo for interracial relationships to occur. Maybe Shakespeare wanted to make the audience gasp with the idea of such a taboo love story, or maybe he was a futuristic thinker of his time. Could it be just for the pure entertainment of the audience, or was he really trying too send a message that love is color blind?