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Jacobean England

1. Race

   • Other plays had shown black characters as the villains: the Battle of Alcazar, The Jew of Malta, Lust's Dominion or The Lascivious Queen
   • religion was a larger factor than race in Jacobean society
   • Black people lived in England in the 16th century and were often musicians, footman or servants for wealthy people
   • in 1596 Queen Elizabeth tried to remove as many 'blackmoors' as she could from London

2. Christians and Turks

3. Women's Limited Rights

4. customs in the theatre

   • 1981 is the last time a classic version of Othello was performed with a white actor as the title role
   • for the first 200 years Othello was always played by a white man, using blackface, which was seen as racist even then
   • in the late 17th century, a woman first played Desdemona