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“The Races of Man” From Herbert W. Morris. Present Confl ict of Science with the Christian Religion; or, Modern Skepticism Met
on Its Own Ground . Philadelphia: P. W. Ziegler & Co. 1876.

Social Science/Pseudo-Science

CONTEXT

n 19th Century (1800s) Europe, science and as European Americans were engaged in their colonial
social sciences developed as never before. As- expansion, which brought them into brutal contact
Isociations of scientists were created, universities with Native Americans. As a result of colonization,
held conferences and debates, and dialogue between native people around the world were disappearing.
researchers increased dramatically. In England, in The most extreme cases, found in Tasmania (an island
the early 1800s, the Ethnographic and Anthropologi- south of Australia) in the late 18th and early 19th
cal Societies were fi rst established. Not only did the centuries, Tasmanians were literally wiped the off the
amount of “scholars and thinkers” multiply, they face of the earth, while the Maori population of New
were in increasingly in conversation with each other Zealand was reduced by more than half in a period of
and focusing on similar themes, such as what hap- a few decades. Their extinction was in large part due
pens when races meet and mix. Africa, Asia, Austra- to disease. European thinkers were fascinated by this,
lia and the South Pacifi c were rapidly being colonized particularly due to the lack of understanding of the
role of germs, viruses and bacteria. 2

4 The Construction of Race & Racism The Construction of Race & Racism 5