The illustration, Narrative, of a five years ' expedition, against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, composed by John Gabriel Stedman in 1796 depicts a Dutch soldier who is John Gabriel Stedman, himself, standing over a fallen slave from a Dutch slave colony of Suriname, South America, in 1773. This illustration depicts the empowerment that the Dutch had over the “maroon” people of the Dutch village. Not only do you see the empowerment that the Dutch had embodied, one may see the difference between wealth and poverty when examining this image. This becomes evident when looking at the clothing that they are both wearing. John Gabriel Stedman pictures himself in this portrait and he is fully clothed in his military attire, which covers
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The picture being analyzed shows a perfect interpretation of them being so. The description of the image, Narrative, of a five years ' expedition, against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, states, “He was among hundreds of troops called in to fight against rainforest communities of runaway and insurgent slaves known as Maroons” (Yale Center for British Art). As one can see, the slave was rebelling against and eventually killed by the soldier in an apparent battle between the two. One can imagine the savagery of the slave by looking at the weapon that he had chosen to use. The image also portrays the power that the white man had over the black race. The fact that this man has a gun shows his power and the fact that the slave had an apparent metal rod indicates the reasoning on why he would be labeled as a “savage”. Many slaves feared these men because they knew that they could be beaten or even killed if they were to disobey any rules or task given to them. To these soldiers, anyone black or of dark complexion were looked down upon and thought of as lesser than a human. According to Takaki (2008), “... the color black was freighted with an array of negative images: ‘deeply stained with dirt,’ ‘dark or deadly’ in purpose, ‘malignant,’ ‘sinister’, ‘wicked” (p. 50). To these men, once they see someone of darker complexion they automatically look at them as a threat of some sort. Whereas, when
The picture being analyzed shows a perfect interpretation of them being so. The description of the image, Narrative, of a five years ' expedition, against the revolted Negroes of Surinam, in Guiana, states, “He was among hundreds of troops called in to fight against rainforest communities of runaway and insurgent slaves known as Maroons” (Yale Center for British Art). As one can see, the slave was rebelling against and eventually killed by the soldier in an apparent battle between the two. One can imagine the savagery of the slave by looking at the weapon that he had chosen to use. The image also portrays the power that the white man had over the black race. The fact that this man has a gun shows his power and the fact that the slave had an apparent metal rod indicates the reasoning on why he would be labeled as a “savage”. Many slaves feared these men because they knew that they could be beaten or even killed if they were to disobey any rules or task given to them. To these soldiers, anyone black or of dark complexion were looked down upon and thought of as lesser than a human. According to Takaki (2008), “... the color black was freighted with an array of negative images: ‘deeply stained with dirt,’ ‘dark or deadly’ in purpose, ‘malignant,’ ‘sinister’, ‘wicked” (p. 50). To these men, once they see someone of darker complexion they automatically look at them as a threat of some sort. Whereas, when