From W. W. Reade 1 February 1871
11 Saint Mary Abbot’s Terrace, | Kensington. W.
Feb. 1.– 71
My dear Sir
I saw Sir Andrew Smith to day, & asked him your question about the tears.1 He said he had certainly seen both Hottentots & Caffres laugh till they cried especially the women.. It seemed to be recalled vividly to his mind by the ludicrous appearance created from the tears running down the painted cheeks, and so forming streaks.2
I do not like to assert anything theoretical about the Africans—we really know so little of them—but I am quite persuaded in my own mind that the Caffres are identical with the West Africans erroneously called negroes.3 There is I believe no difference in their hair: and it is in the hair alone that the West Africans do not differ inter se. It is the one constant character—in contour & complexion there is great variety. When we consider how different are the climates of the healthy South Africa & those of West Africa & low lying Central Africa; & moreover that the Caffres live on milk & meat, & the others chiefly on vegetables it wd. be odd if there were no difference in physique.
Yours very truly | Winwood Reade
Footnotes
Bibliography
Correspondence: The correspondence of Charles Darwin. Edited by Frederick Burkhardt et al. 29 vols to date. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. 1985–.
Dubow, Saul. 1995. Scientific racism in modern South Africa. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Expression: The expression of the emotions in man and animals. By Charles Darwin. London: John Murray. 1872.
Gould, Stephen Jay. 1997. The mismeasure of man. Revised and expanded edition. London: Penguin Books.
Stocking, George W., Jr. 1987. Victorian anthropology. New York: The Free Press. London: Collier Macmillan.
Summary
Sir Andrew Smith says Hottentots and Kaffirs laugh till they cry.
Letter details
- Letter no.
- DCP-LETT-7473
- From
- William Winwood Reade
- To
- Charles Robert Darwin
- Sent from
- Kensington
- Source of text
- DAR 176: 45
- Physical description
- ALS 2pp
Please cite as
Darwin Correspondence Project, “Letter no. 7473,” accessed on 1 September 2024, https://www.darwinproject.ac.uk/letter/?docId=letters/DCP-LETT-7473.xml
Also published in The Correspondence of Charles Darwin, vol. 19