Race

During the Elizabethan era, there were two primary types of racism:

• Racism that discriminates (cultural, institutional).
This form of racism was common in the workplace as well as in public places all over England.

• Racism that kills mainly as a result of extreme poverty. This type of racism is generally referred to as paternalistic racism. Paternalistic racism implies that white people have the right to interfere in the lives of blacks for their own good and the power to define that good.

A number of ethnic groups were subjected to racism and suffered as a result. These include:

• Racism against towards the presence of Moorish, Black and Asian immigrants coming into England

• These ethnic groups were disadvantaged as they were given limited employment opportunities/entitlements and forced to take some form of domestic service. They were paid below the minimum wage which did not give them an adequate income to support themselves and their families

• They were seen as second-class citizens, often treated with little respect and value.

• They were perceived and treated as lesser beings and brutally persecuted for minor offences.


Elizabethan Racism, All Free Essays.com, http://www.allfreeessays.com/essays/Elizabethan-Racism/28486.html (12.10.09)


Laws to support these attitudes:

There were no laws against racism but society in the Elizabethan Era were predjudice against other races. This meant that they did not have the same privlidges such as wages and respect as the Elizabethans did.