Who were the moors during Shakespeare's time and how were they viewed?

Answer 1

Moors, which is to say African people, were not often seen in London. Those that were were divided into two groups: Ambassadors from Morocco who wanted to join forces with England in dealing with Spain, and various workers who were originally from sub-saharan West Africa. The former were considered quite dashing and romantic, whereas the latter were considered to be quite ordinary. In times of unemployment, these west african workers had the misfortune to be the most visible immigrants in the workforce which made them the focus of the anti-immigrant feeling that rises whenever unemployment rises, but otherwise were treated the same as white people in the same jobs.

Dark skin was considered ugly in Shakespeare's day, so Moors were looked on as unattractive people. This did not have broader implications.

Shakespeare's three Moors are very different people: one is a villain, one a comic figure and the third a tragic hero.

Answer 2

An embassy from Morocco arrived in England in the late sixteenth century to suggest an alliance against the countries' common enemy, Spain. The ambassadors cut memorable figures, and left an impression of exoticness. There were some people from the Benin coast who worked as servants in England and who were the focus of anti-immigrant sentiment when unemployment rose, being visibly immigrants. Aside from that, they were treated no differently because of their colour, and an attempt to legally enslave one of them was firmly dismissed by the courts.

Both North African and Sub-Saharans were called moors, and Shakespeare's moorish characters could be either except the Prince of Morocco who is obviously Moroccan.

As in modern India, pale skin was a sign of beauty in Elizabethan England, and the queen wore makeup which made her so white that we would nowadays think she looked like a clown. Perhaps this was because being tanned was associated with working outside when the aristos would be inside staying white. In any event, darker skinned people naturally fell afoul of this standard of beauty, so there was a sense that such people were ugly, whatever their other qualities.

Answer 3

Moor was the common term for all African people. A diplomatic delegation from Morocco had arrived in Elizabethan London and had favourably impressed the English people. They were looked on as exotic and somewhat romantic. Some subsaharan Africans had settled in England where they mostly worked in domestic service. They were basically seen as servants, although they attracted a certain amount of bad feeling as immigrant labour. Dark skin was viewed by Elizabethans as ugly.

The Venetians were Italians, of course, who the Elizabethans viewed as temperamental, passionate and romantic. This view was helped by the many stories then current which were set in Italy (which is why so many of Shakespeare's plays are set in Italy). Venetians were especially viewed as subtle, scheming and devious masters of intrigue.

Answer 4

"Moor" in Shakespeare's days meant "African", and included both North Africans and sub-saharan Africans. Not many of these were seen around England in Shakespeare's time, but there were some. Some West Africans were hired as servants in various households where they were apparently treated no differently from other servants. An attempt to sell one by a Portuguese person was firmly squashed by the courts--they were not slaves. In times of short employment, there was the usual complaint about immigrants and these black people, being the most conspicuous immigrants, attracted anti-immigrant sentiment.

North Africans, especially Moroccans, were also known from an embassy sent from Morocco to Britain to discuss whether they might cooperate against their common enemy, Spain. The ambassadors cut a dashing figure and impressed the English people. They were thought to be romantic and were viewed in a very positive light.

Unfortunately the standard of beauty of the time was that light was beautiful and dark was ugly. This is why Queen Elizabeth wore makeup which was white and which made her look like a clown. Blonde or red hair was attractive, whereas dark brown or black hair was not. Unfortunately for the moors, their colour made them ugly (but not bad, or stupid, or ignoble) in the eyes of the English.

Answer 5

There are three Moors in all of Shakespeare: Aaron in Titus Andronicus, The Prince of Morocco in The Merchant of Venice and Othello in Othello. Aaron is a villain, Morocco is a comic character, and Othello is a tragic and powerful character. Shakespeare clearly didn't have only one role in mind for African people. As for how they are treated by other characters, there appear to be some people who mildly dislike them for their colour (including Portia in Merchant), but most people seem indifferent to it. As for Venetians, Shakespeare clearly had the view of Venice as a cosmopolitan place where issues of race relations are likely to arise. And they do arise in the two plays set in Venice, Othello and Merchant of Venice. A lot of the Venetians (but not all by any means) seem to be more intolerant than you would expect residents of such a cosmopolitan place to be.

Answer 6

Othello