The Wasp — August 30, 1879 — page 8: what you’re looking at

What you’re looking at

# "The Royal Hottentots": A Satirical Burlesque This page presents a Victorian-era theatrical satire subtitled "An Extravagant Burlesque." The play mocks European colonial attitudes by featuring caricatured "Black Hottentots" and "White Hottentots" alongside a slave ship narrative. The satire appears to ridicule both colonial exploitation and European pretension. The dialogue suggests mockery of upper-class European characters encountering African trade and slavery. References to the "Ivory Coast" and slave commerce indicate criticism of contemporary colonial enterprises. The crude racial caricatures and minstrel-style humor reflect Victorian theatrical conventions, though the text's emphasis on European hypocrisy suggests the satire targets wealthy colonizers more than the colonized people themselves—though modern readers will recognize the deeply offensive racial stereotyping throughout.