Historical context of race in Othello

Venice & Cyprus 

• Cyprus was inherited as part of the Venetian trading network in the 1400s, but then captured by the Turks in 1571. 
• 'Othello' depicts the conflict between the Turks and Venetians over their possession of Cyprus. 
• Venice was seen as a center of commerce and international trade, so its mercantile openness was lauded by England, but it also acted as a model of civility, which the character of Othello is depicted to have threatened (Loomba). Brabantio warns that 'if such actions shall have passage free, then Bondslaves and pagans should our statesmen be.' 
  
• The English became increasingly hostile towards foreigners, and the play may have been a warning of the danger of the diversity of culture and art which Venice represented. 

'Moors' and 'blackamoors'

• Terms used by Elizabethans to describe anybody with dark/black skin but more accurately referred to Muslims from Morocco (North Africa) who had conquered Spain in the seventh century and settled there since, until the defeat of Granada (known as the 'Moorish Kingdom') by the Christian Spanish Kings. 
• Moors initially allowed to retain their religion after defeat but by 1526 forced to convert to Christianity.
• The two distinct ethnic groups involved in the  Islamic conquest of Spain were Berbers and Arabs (Berbers were inhabitants of the Barbary coast in the northwest coast of Africa.) 
• Berbers had darker skin than Arabs did but not as dark as Negroid Africans.

It is indistinct which ethnic group the character of Othello originated from; many contend that he was most likely a very dark-skinned Berber, but the binary black and white paradigm repeatedly depicted in the play…