The cause of colour among races : and the evolution of physical beauty / by Wm. Sharpe, M.D.

  • Sharpe, Wm. (William) (Physician)
Date:
1879
Catalogue details

Licence: Public Domain Mark

Credit: The cause of colour among races : and the evolution of physical beauty / by Wm. Sharpe, M.D. Source: Wellcome Collection.

    15/32 (page 11)
    black are found to exist everywhere within the tropics. In India, for example, in the same city or locality many may be met almost as dark as the ordinary negro; many, again, of a light olive colour; while a few show by their pale white complexions that they have practically passed the line which separates the coloured from the uncoloured individual. Diversity of colour can only be accounted for by taking into consideration the different modes of life which have acted for centuries upon the various classes or castes of the country. Take, for instance, the Coolie classes which follow outdoor employment, labouring daily on public works or in the fields, with merely one narrow strip of cotton about the loins. They are, as must be expected, rude, illiterate, very uncultured, and deeply coloured. On the other hand, the better classes, including merchants, traders, and others who follow indoor employment, are many de- grees fairer. The latter are, as a rule, fairly educated, and never appear out of doors without being tho- roughly and suitably clothed. Among these classes, which comprise Brahmins and Parsees, individuals may be met with, especially among the Parsee priest- hood, as fair as Europeans. It is not uncommon, moreover, to meet a few persons with light-coloured eyes and brown, or even sandy, hair and beard. It is also a very curious fact that as a rule, unlike the European, the face is fairer in colour than the other parts of the body. This peculiarity is very obvious and striking in some Hindoo children. It will thus be seen the question of intensity of colour partly resolves itself into one of exposure, for we shall find that the deeply-coloured skin can best resist the burning effects of the direct rays of a tropical sun. This power of the coloured skin to resist the parching effects of the elements is not due