INDIGENOUS HISTORY

Indigenous History

Task 1 - Orientalism

These images were produced by Luigi Mayer who travelled through the Ottoman Empire since 1776 up to 1794. He was well known for his paintings and sketches of ancient buildings, sceneries, and landscapes. These two pictures depict the living conditions of the people. The first picture portrays a woman, most probably a mother, with her two children. The woman is dressed with her face entirely covered except her eyes. This is most probable because of her religious beliefs which strictly have to be followed. It portrays an image that the people living in this region are quite poor and belonged to the lower working class. This is evident from that fact the woman and her children are walking bare footed. Another important feature to note in this picture is that the roof of the house in the background seems to be made from leaves. The women in the background are sitting on the stairs portraying that they too belong to the lower income group.

The second picture depicts a ship at port with a naked man overlooking it. Looking at the condition of the area, it seems that the ship does not fit the picture as being local. The design of the ships shows that it is a European ship that most probably brought foreigners to the region. The difference in the social status of the locals and foreigners is so vast that the locals most probable have been kept as servants or worse even slaved (www.informaworld.com).

These images create the perception that the people in the East are poor and backward compared to the people in the West. Being poor, these people were exploited by keeping them as slaves or low-paid servants (Morrisroea, 2011; Chandler, n.a.).

Task 2 - The Colonial Imagination

Image set B - Prisoners - Punishment

These images were produced in the late 18th to early 19th century. They portray an image that most of the locals in the east were kept prisoners and slaves by the British colonists. Apart from locals, even British convicts were transported to the colonies to be kept as slaves. These images were produced to show the way locals and convicts were kept in order to work for the British people who colonized the region.

The people of this area age were treated as slaves. Even the innocent were kept as slaves in order to develop the region. They were made to work long hours and were severely punished if they did not perform their duties. Such was the extent of the punishment that many slaves even died. They were even tied with chains in order to prevent them from escaping (www.convictcreations.com).

There can be two reasons for publishing these photos. The first reason might be to show everyone the power of the British that they can control almost everyone and every place on earth. The second reason might be to call for support for these people who were being maltreated for the benefit of the ...