The Tragic Life of “Hottentot Venus”

Sarah Bartman, also known as Saki, was born in 1789 in the Camdeoo Valley, located in the eastern part of South Africa, formerly known as the Cape Colony. She belonged to the Koi Koi tribe, a traditionally pastoral indigenous group who herded cattle in the region. Yet with the beginning of colonization in South Africa, this way of life was taken away.

Her parents were enslaved and were put to work on a colonial farm. Sadly, Sarah’s mother died when she was a small infant, aged just two. She was described as being independent and hardworking from a young age, but given her circumstances, that was her only choice. When Sarah was a young teenager, her father was also taken from her, having been killed by bushmen while doing his job as a cattle driver.

The bushmen or san are the oldest inhabitants of southern Africa who to this day live as hunter gatherers. As was common at the time, Sarah married young. Her husband also belonged to the koi koi and he worked as a drummer. Not long after Sarah gave birth to a child. Yet sadly the baby died not long after being born. During the 1800s, a free black trader named Peter Cesars came across Sarah Bartman, later convincing her to move to Cape Town, which was just recently under the control of the British.

Although records state she was persuaded, given the situation at the time, it’s more likely that Sarah was forced to go. She worked in Cape Town for 2 years. First as a nursemaid to Peter and later as a servant to a Dutch man. This was the place where she would be renamed to Saki by her new Dutch masters as it is a dimminionative form of her name in Dutch.

This small detail in changing her name demonstrated the amount of control that the Dutch had over these people. Although legally Sarah Bartman wasn’t enslaved, in a more practical sense she was. She lived in poor conditions while in Cape Town and was treated similarly to others who were enslaved there. It was also around this time that colonists killed her fiance.

Following this, she began to work in the household of Peter’s brother, called Hrik Cesars, which was outside the region of Cape Town, today known as Woodstock. During her time at Hrik Cesar’s house, Sarah worked as a wet nurse. This job consisted of lactating women, breastfeeding the child of another, and was typically done by extremely poor women.

While working for the Cesars, Sarah became involved with a poor Dutch soldier named Hrik Van Jong who lived near Cape Town. Yet, the liaison didn’t last as before long Jong’s regiment left the city, causing Sarah even more heartbreak. For years, she continued working as a servant and wet nurse until one day she made the acquaintance of a Scottish military surgeon called William Dunlop.

As well as having a medical practice, he also supplied British showmen with rare species of animals. After Sarah caught his eye, he presented her with an opportunity to earn money in England by exhibiting her body at the circus. But what was it that he saw that was so fascinating or unusual about her body? Well, Sarah had steopedia which resulted in massive buttocks caused by builtup fat.

In the early 19th century in Britain, crowds became intrigued by the weird and wonderful. And as this condition was something so uncommon and novel in English exhibitions, William Dunlop knew a lot of money could be made. However, Sarah Bart refused at first, but of course, William remained persistent for her to move as he knew her display would make him an even wealthier man.

Nevertheless, this was not an easy decision because in the end she would be exposing herself and her dignity. After much consideration, she decided to go but under one condition that Hrik Cesars came with her. Hrik like Sarah initially refused but after some time he agreed. This decision was in large part due to the debts he accumulated from his bad administration on the loans he had taken out.

Also, he was not getting paid by clients. So, he had to look for another way to generate income. Supposedly, on the 29th of October 1810, Sarah signed a contract in which she agreed to work as a servant as well as exhibit herself for entertainment purposes. Sadly, Sarah was simply being used. First, she was illiterate and secondly, the contract was in English, so she was unable to read the contents of the document.

It’s more than likely that she was forced to sign, and of course, she kept no copy of the contract. This meant that the men intent on exploiting her were able to modify the contract as they pleased. This allowed them to protect themselves if any legal problems arose as they had a solid defense. Despite the men not caring much for her, treating her badly and exploiting her, there were two benefits in the contract that gave Sarah hope.

It stipulated that after 5 years of working with these men, she would be able to return to South Africa while also receiving a portion of the earnings from the show. In the winter of 1810, the party boarded a ship and made their way to London. Whether Sarah went under her own free will is uncertain, but by this time she really didn’t have a choice.

Sarah arrived in London in November 1810, and Dunlop already had things prepared. She was to be exhibited as early as possible. The show was displayed in the Egyptian hall of Picadelli Circus. The show consisted of Sarah being locked in a meter and a half cage with William bringing her to stage and Hendrickk as the master of the ceremony.

For only two shillings, crowds of people would enter Piccadilly to watch Sarah Bartman as an attraction where she sang, walked, and displayed the anomalies of her body to the people who visited. People who attended the show could even poke sticks at her. Even wealthier individuals paid a special fee for private shows at their house reunions.

Flies for the show read, “Saki is 22 years old, is 4 ft 10 in high, and has a good capacity. She lived in the occupation of a cook at the Cape of Good Hope. Her country is situated not less than 600 mi from the Cape, the inhabitants of which are rich in cattle and sell them by barter for a mere trifle.

A bottle of brandy or small roll of tobacco will purchase several sheep. Their principal trade is in cattle skins or tallow. Beyond this nation is another of small stature, very subtle and fierce. The Dutch could not bring them under subjugation and shot them whenever they found them. Before long, the African Association, an abolitionist benevolent society, heard about the ill treatment Sarah was receiving and decided to take the case to court.

One of the main people behind the campaign was Zachary McCauley, a hugely influential man in the anti-slavery movement, which led to the 1807 slave trade act in England. He was also one of the founders of London University and earned prestige in the city. The trial took place on the 24th of November 1810 with its main purpose being determining whether Sarah was being exhibited at her own consent or if it was under duress.

Despite strong evidence being presented by the association, Sarah stated that she was not under restraint, did not get sexually abused, and had come to London on her own free will. It should be stated that William Dunlop, her so-called manager, who was more like her owner, was in the room when she made this statement.

Furthermore, the written contract, which had been signed by Sarah, helped their case. In the end, the case was dismissed, meaning William Dunlop and Hrik Cesars ended up with no charges. The contract was amended either way, and as a result, Sarah became entitled to more profits for her show, better clothes, and normal living conditions.

Or was she? Records state that the men moved with Sarah to Manchester after this period of trial. So whether they decided to uphold what was stipulated in the contract remains unknown. Nevertheless, the trial made her shows even more popular. She traveled all over Great Britain and even as far as Ireland. She was even baptized while in Manchester in 1814.

William Dunlop died. After Dunlop’s death, a man named Henry Taylor brought Sarah to Paris. Henry had been hearing about Sarah’s shows for a few years now as word spread fast in Europe, especially when it was someone as unique as Sarah. Henry thought that the French people could not miss this opportunity to enjoy her presence as a celebrity.

She became involved with French society and even had reunions at the famous cafe dear. Despite Henry doing all of this, a few weeks after having arrived in France, she was sold to an animal trainer called S. Rio, who was known in France for being the founder and professor of comparative anatomy at the Museum of Natural History.

In Paris, she was exhibited as if she were a circus animal, being locked in a cage next to other attractions like baby rhinos. During the shows, Sarah was presented almost naked every time. There is even information suggesting that occasionally a collar was placed on her neck. During this time, Sarah Bartman was in essence enslaved, being exploited to an even greater extent than previously in England.

Despite being offered money, she refused to be presented naked, always insisting on wearing a small apron-like garment. There was only one time that she was presented fully naked and she knew that this was beneath her dignity level. Many scientists in France were intrigued by Sarah wanting to study her.

In particular was the naturalist George Kuvier who along with fellow anatomists, zoologologists and physiologists examined Sarah. Allegedly, Kuvia determined that Sarah was a missing link between animals and humans in Europe. This was a time when racial studies started to arise and Sarah Bartman could have been one of the reasons for this.

Her time in France lasted around 15 months. Unfortunately, throughout this time, she lived in terrible conditions, was very miserable, and extremely poor. She was even sexually abused and got impregnated by Esel. The son was named Okuro, but he died very young, aged just five due to unknown causes. After a long period of traveling and living in inhumane conditions, Sarah Bartman died on the 29th of December 1815 in Paris at the young age of 26.

The cause of death remains in debate. Records state that her death was caused by an inflammatory disease derived from a smallox case, but others say she could have died from alcoholism, pneumonia, or syphilis. After obtaining Sarah Bartman’s remains from local authorities, George Kuvier dissected her body trying to discover the cause of death.

He also preserved various parts of her corpse. Following her death, Sarah was described as an intelligent woman for her time and culture. As well as her native language, she could speak Dutch fluently and could hold a conversation in both French and English. Her remains were displayed at the museum dwar don until 1937 and later in the muz until 1974.

Thanks to years of campaigning and a request from South Africa’s former president Nelson Mandela, Sarah Bartman’s remains were finally returned to the native country with a process lasting 8 years on the 9th of August 2002, which is also women’s day in South Africa. Sarah Bartman was buried in the Eastern Cape Province where she belonged.

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