Race: The Creation of an Idea

One of the earliest examples of race placing no emphasis on physical appearance came from John Foxe. In Acts and Monuments (1570), Foxe began to weave together and create the first notion of race in England and Western Europe by writing a book based on "records", rather than a " fable about the past," (Hannaford 155). John Foxe's theory of race was based on an order of royalty, noting nothing of biology and/or the color of skin. Foxe, in his research, looked to the Bible for some direction. From the Bible, Foxe described the 7 kingdoms of Saxons, but not in the sense that many people today would think. According to Hannaford:.
             " Foxe stated that Ofricus Deirorum and Eaufridus Bernicia "are put out of the race of Kings because they revolted from the Christian faith." His long description of the history of these often "unchristian and infidel" kingdoms concludes: And thus standeth the order and race of the Saxon Kings reigning together with the Britains in this realm," (155).
             Nowhere in this passage does Foxe claim that race is based on biology, appearance, or anything other than royalty. Foxe used race as a way of dealing with the order of kings and royalty, making it so not everybody belongs to a race. Therefore, technically, a person could be eliminated from the race if they participated in any unchristian actions, disgracing themselves and their religion. If you look at the theory of race that we have today, you see nothing of royalty or a possibility of being eliminated from the race. Therefore, the idea of race has obviously undergone a huge formation throughout the years, going from Foxe's theory in 1570 to the theory that we now live by today. Another early theory that had no basis on appearance was put together by a man named Pierre Charron. .
             Charron formulated a theory of race in his book De la sagesse (1601) based on noble families, mentioning nothing of color.