A circus was and still is a source of entertainment consisting of people and some trained animals displaying a sort of unusual skill, LaVahn Gerry Hoh and Robert Lewis Parkinson (2018).
Origins
The first recorded circus was designed in 1768 due to the man Philip Astley, who was also previously a calvary sergeant major that served in the 1756 war. There is still some debate whether he “created” the circus as this sort of entertainment can also date back to the Romans. His idea emerged form horse riding and horse riders would have to perform tricks whilst on the animal; considering that he had previous training in the field, he shortly became a successful showman in Europe after he added other stunts such as: clowns, jugglers, rope dancers and acrobatics to the stunts. These tricks can also be traced back to other cultures such as Africans that did acrobatic routines, Chinese jugglers and the Greeks demonstrated an impressive skill with rope dancing. The word “circus” actually roots from the English word “circle” Wensjoe (2019).
The expansion of circus culture in America
When the circus concept reached America, it had a dramatic altercations. Although it imitated everything English circus’ had but with additional performances. Later on, showmen would utilise exotic animals such as horses and train them to perform in big crowds of people Wensjoe (2019).
New circus era
Then, the entire circus concept was formed in the 1960s and in the 1970s, one of the most renowned circuses, Cirque du Soleil was inspired by a contemporary circus called the Pickle Family Circus. By using different effects such as light and sound, prompts and colourful costumes in different shows whilst travelling cities, they have amazed the world with their unique form of entertainment.
Did kids really join the circus?
This video explores how circuses would’ve worked back in the 19th century. These two women set up an interview in Wisconsin, a state that has deep roots with the circus culture:
In the late 1800s, the best way to advertise an event was to stick posters everywhere, this greatly favored circuses. Sometimes thousands of these posters would be shipped in advance and workers would have spent an entire day sticking the posters on any surface they could find with thick brushes and wheat paste glue. Before technology advanced and trains were invented, the main form of transport were horse carriages, but because the horses needed to sleep during the night, it sometimes made the entire crew late to certain performances.
The golden ages of circus life began a couple years after the civil war in America and not too long after slavery was abolished. Due to it being now illegal for people to own slaves, this meant that black people were free to find their own lines of work; Some had even joined the circus. Although black people were allowed to join the circus, it didn’t mean that they were free from being treated radically different from their white crew mates. They would also not be allowed to perform in the main acts, instead, they would perform the side shows, more often than not, they would be racist performances to appeal to the white audiences at the time. This gave black people a very complex relationship with the circus as they were treated less than human most of the time, but on the other hand, it gave them opportunities to connect with other black Americans and spread their culture and music.
Kids would also join the circus (teenagers), but because some of them were so young, they couldn’t perform in any of the acts. Instead, they would do smaller tasks such as: selling popcorn, selling tickets, cleaning up in the tent. It was only the older ones that were allowed to practice stunts. PBS Wisconsin Education (2024)
Why did people run away and join the circus?
There are an array of answers that can range from person to person, some of the reasons are as follows: For their self-esteem and confidence, because someone has the physical skills to engage in such work, some may also seek fame and recognition amongst the crowd and it offers a form of escapism. The images below showcase why some people chose to join the circus.
