Human zoos, also known as ethnological expositions, were public displays of people, usually in a so-called natural or primitive state. They were most prominent during the 19th and 20th centuries.
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It wasn't until 1958 that the United Nations condemned human zoos, recognizing them as a violation of human rights. The last human zoo was hosted in Brussels, Belgium, and it closed its doors that same year. This means that human zoos were in operation as recently as 60 years ago, which is a shocking fact to consider.
1945-1958. The exoticism that gave 'human zoos' their appeal would disappear with the Second World War. It would no longer be possible to hold such racist events in the wake of Nazi war crimes, the presence of colonial troops in the war, and increasingly vocal anticolonial sentiment.
Whilst the last human zoo on record was at the World's Fair is Brussels in 1958, there continues to be echoes of human zoos in many parts of the world to date.
The first modern zoo, built in 1793, opened in Paris, France. The menageries of French aristrocrats, including the king and queen, were taken by leaders of the French Revolution and relocated to the Ménagerie du Jardin des Plantes. The facility is still a busy and popular zoo in downtown Paris.
As zoos became more popular in the 1920s and 30s, monumental buildings were built to house their burgeoning animal collections. Many of the conditions for the animals in those early years were appalling. Cages were small, and animals were treated as objects of amusement.
While Philadelphia claims the first zoo chartered in the United States (1859), New York's own Central Park Zoo began as an ad hoc menagerie at the same time, and while Philadelphia's zoo opened in 1874, the menagerie at Central Park was fully institutionalized long before then.