Queen Elizabeth I: Skin Color In The Nineteenth Century
A young Nigerian girl looks out from her father’s balcony and into the scenery below her. Despite the arid weather, there was a cool breeze that wafted around her. Craning her neck down, she spots a cluster of slaves among the cocoa plants. Men and women alike were socializing, making delight of ancient folktales. These slaves were finished with their work, proud of the day’s accomplishments. The young girl adjusts her pale pink boubou that complemented her caramel, light complexion that wouldn’t dare be compared to the midnight, sun darkened skin of the poor workers. To be “pure white” was prime in fifteenth century Nigeria. Centuries later, one of the largest toxic cream outbreak in Asia occurs with thousands of people seeking out Hong Kong’s
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The year of 1519 marked an official record of skin whitening products found in Horman’s Vulgaria puerorum, his published Latin textbook. When Queen Elizabeth I took reign of the United Kingdom from 1558 to 1603, the kingdom was in a state of widespread prosperity. Britain’s Navy and Exploration were at its prime and country was known for its superior artists. At the heart of this Golden Age was Queen Elizabeth herself. Highly revered, the Queen was an example of beauty in England, and brought about various trends of her time. A popular cosmetic pampering that the “Virgin Queen” took to was the heavy use of white powder to mask her previous facial scars as a result from contracting small pox. This white powder called ceruse consisted of white lead and vinegar. Although poisonous, English women abroad applied this mixture to conceal their aging faces and bring about an unadulterated appearance to them (Elizabethan Makeup 101). It is believed that skin whitening then made its way into the broader parts of the globe ensuing the travels and settlements of European women in the wake of colonialism. With European explorers embedding religion and exerting authority over lesser developed nations, communicated an aesthetically appealing status to the inhabitants of such lands. There was a psychological stigma in the minds of so called “primitive peoples” that pointed that wealth, health, and morality were products of sporting fair skin (Elizabethan
The year of 1519 marked an official record of skin whitening products found in Horman’s Vulgaria puerorum, his published Latin textbook. When Queen Elizabeth I took reign of the United Kingdom from 1558 to 1603, the kingdom was in a state of widespread prosperity. Britain’s Navy and Exploration were at its prime and country was known for its superior artists. At the heart of this Golden Age was Queen Elizabeth herself. Highly revered, the Queen was an example of beauty in England, and brought about various trends of her time. A popular cosmetic pampering that the “Virgin Queen” took to was the heavy use of white powder to mask her previous facial scars as a result from contracting small pox. This white powder called ceruse consisted of white lead and vinegar. Although poisonous, English women abroad applied this mixture to conceal their aging faces and bring about an unadulterated appearance to them (Elizabethan Makeup 101). It is believed that skin whitening then made its way into the broader parts of the globe ensuing the travels and settlements of European women in the wake of colonialism. With European explorers embedding religion and exerting authority over lesser developed nations, communicated an aesthetically appealing status to the inhabitants of such lands. There was a psychological stigma in the minds of so called “primitive peoples” that pointed that wealth, health, and morality were products of sporting fair skin (Elizabethan