European travel literature up until the end of the nineteenth century adhered to a series of legitimizing conventions, both in text and illustration, which sought to portray non-Europeans as the antithesis of European civilization, hence as savage, primitive and the "Other." The recurrence of stylized representations, such as the "drums and dancers" motifs, the processional motif, the neoclassical depictions, and geographic tableaux served to blend all non-European cultures and peoples into the same mold whether African, New World or the Pacific. Images were interchangeable; borrowing and copying were commonplace. Accuracy based on direct observation was less important than creating the image of the exotic, and this was being rendered by illustrators most of whom had never seen the places and peoples they were depicting. Ultimately this kind of representation of the "Other" served to legitimize European conquest, slavery and colonization.
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Stereotypes (Social psychology) in literature Search this
