The Transatlantic Route of Blackface Minstrelsy: The Cultural Transfer of American and British Minstrelsy to Dutch Culture in the Mid-Nineteenth Century

Abstract

This study will examine the cultural transfer process of American and British minstrelsy to the Netherlands in the early nineteenth century. The following question will be centered in this research: In what ways can processes of cultural transfer and Americanization in the US-inspired minstrelsy shows of the Lantum Negro Singers in the Netherlands between 1847 and 1849 illuminate the development of black stereotypes in Europe? This historical and cultural study of the transfer of minstrelsy will use theories on cultural transfer and Americanization as to analyze the transfer of cultural and racial minstrel elements. It will also apply newspaper advertisements and reviews to examine the activities of the Lantum Negro Singers in the Netherlands.