POC in Medieval Europe

kawaiimon:

cvsa:

disneyforprincesses:

“There were no POC in Europe during the medieval ages!!/they probably never interacted with the whites!!”:

The last one is actually during 16th century I believe,but you get the idea. Most of these are Moors who traveled to many of countries in Europe including, GASP Scotland.

Considering that Africans Muslims conquered most of the Iberian peninsula in the early 8th Century CE, and ruled there for nearly 800 years, until the Reconquista finally overcame the last Muslim state in 1492, I’d say it’s more than just fairly likely that people of color were frequent visitors to Europe.

Also, Marco Polo’s journey’s to Asia took place in the 13th Century CE. Given what we know of cultural dissemination (look at the history of India, for one thing), there is no reason to suspect that there were no travellers in the other direction, as well.

Trade, of course, has been taking place between Europe and other lands for a very, very long time. It is well-known, for example, that gunpowder and firearms were invented in China, and gradually made their way west to Europe. The Arabs acquired the knowledge of gunpowder in the mid 13th Century CE, and around the same time, European forces found themselves facing cannon and guns for the first time.

We know that Arabs were quite proficient with sailing, and by the medieval period had established themselves throughout most of the known world in the Eastern hemisphere.

Clearly, the idea that the people of Europe rarely, if ever, encountered or interacted with people of color from Africa, Asia, the Indian subcontinent, and/or Arabia, perhaps even the archipelagoes of Southeast Asia/Oceania is ludicrous.

Yet, whenever a story is told that includes people of color where white people have been led to believe there were none, we hear creys of historical inauthenticity or anachronism.

More info to add – the Silk Road has been in use since 1st century BCE, and there were many precursors of that trade route that go back as far as prehistoric peoples. To quote wikipedia “Trade on the Silk Road was a significant factor in the development of the civilizations of China, the Indian subcontinent, Persia, Europe and Arabia.”

Notable points of contact earlier than the middle ages are Alexander the Great’s empire spreading into Asia (and the greeks remained in asia for three centuries), and Chinese contact with the Roman empire in late BCE early CE.