HON 205 Women of Color

Representations of Black women in Victorian England were varied, and cultural attitudes surrounding race and colonialism were complex. With slavery officially abolished in England decades before the American Civil War began and literary works like Uncle Tom’s Cabin popular among English progressives, England was in many ways ahead of America in terms of combating systemic racism. During the early nineteenth century, black activists would travel to England in order to advocate for abolition safely, and the country was known by some as “the land of appeals” (Dickerson 58). However…

Elsewhere in the collection, a photograph of Sarah Forbes Bonetta speaks to a unique relationship between Queen Victoria and colonization. Bonetta was adopted by the Queen as a goddaughter, and her daughter, Victoria Davies, was subsequently adopted by Queen Victoria as well. The photo above is an image of Victoria in her adulthood and highlights fascinating intersections of colonialism, Victorian ideals of womanhood, and the ways in which class impacted Victorian depictions of Black women.

The photo of Victoria, taken sometime in 1901 (Royal Collection), presents an image of…

In this photographic portrait, Princess Victoria Gouramma is seated with her hands resting on her lap. Her right foot sits atop a cushioned footrest because of the chair’s height, while her left foot hangs behind it. Her body is directed slightly to the right of the photographer. Her ornate white dress contrasts sharply with the neutral, dark backdrop. Any detail in the rug is blurred, because the image is entirely focused on the Princess. Like the backdrop behind her, Princess Victoria Gouramma’s face is blank and expressionless, looking directly into the camera. However, this unemotional…

During the Victorian era, womanhood was closely linked with civilization. For this reason, notions of women’s capacity for moral influence carried over into imperialist ideology. With this moralizing force at the core of British society, Britain could rightly claim superiority over other nations. Within the colonial project, the British projected their notions of proper femininity and moral uprightness onto Indian society, looking down on traditional Indian styles of clothes and cultural practices. As a result, British notions of women’s respectability informed many of the judgments and…

         India was already under British crown control after 1858 but the relationship between Great Britain and India became even more significant when Queen Victoria was proclaimed the “Empress of India” on April 27, 1876. This title showcased Britain as a dominant world power and allowed the monarchy to be further linked to the Indian empire (Taylor 264). At first, Queen Victoria did not show much interest in the country, but later on she helped facilitate diplomatic matters. In 1852, Queen Victoria hosted the visit of Chikka Virarajendra and his 11-year old…

      The painting showcases a portrait of Princess Victoria Gouramma which was one of the numerous royal paintings created by Franz Xaver Winterhalter in the year 1852. This portrait was created using oil on canvas, which is when the artist usually starts by sketching the subject onto the canvas with charcoal or thinned paint. This method of painting allows for pigments to be bound together to a canvas using drying oil, which is typically made of linseed or other solvents. This was a common technique he followed in many of his paintings, including his 1843…

There have been many strong, independent rulers who identified as women of color throughout history, however, a lot of their stories have been lost to time. Despite this, one tale that has not been forgotten is that of Omoba Aina, otherwise known as Sarah Forbes Bonetta. While she may not be as well-known as Queen Victoria or Queen Elizabeth, her story is just as important and interesting. In 1843, Sarah was born into the Egbado clan of the Yoruba people (Braimah). She was the young princess of the Egbado clan, which resided in the African country that is now known as Nigeria. One night,…

The photograph above was captured by the renowned photographer Camille Silvy, and it displays Sarah Forbes Bonetta in her wedding dress at St Nicholas Church in Brighton, England (“Sarah Forbes Bonetta (Sarah Davies).”). Camille Silvy began photography midway through his life after he already studied law to become a diplomat, and eventually he became so successful in the photography business that he became a part of the French Société Française de Photographie as well as the London Photographic Society (“Camille Silvy (French, 1834 - 1910) (Getty Museum).”). His success came from his…