Pygmies and Evolution

Evolution gained much traction back in the day, and the racism the theory required rolled right along with it. People determined that Orientals had evolved from orangutans and Africans from gorillas, which they deemed the stupidest of the apes, and whites from chimpanzees, which they deemed the most intelligent. Pygmies were seen as an example of an intermediary between the apes and their races and were extremely popular in the fairs, which did not treat them well. The crowds didn't either, and many times the police had to be called in to keep the pygmies from being torn to pieces.