Watch: An Abandoned ‘Human Zoo’ Near Paris From 1907

Video Editor: Sandeep Suman

Just outside Paris stands an abandoned complex. The Jardin D'Agronomie Tropicale displayed rare and mysterious plants from 1899 to the late 1910s. But from May to October 1907, it displayed humans as well.

The exhibition constructed five villages so that visitors could come and view people from the French colonies – Tunisia, Congo, Sudan, Indo-China, etc. The human zoo showcased these communities’ ways of living. Reportedly, over a million people visited the Jardin D'Agronomie Tropicale during the exhibition period. After the exhibition ended, the residents of the villages returned to their former colonies.

After World War I, the space was rarely used for exhibitions. The complex stands abandoned now, a dark reminder of France’s colonial past.

(With inputs from AP)