The British Museum is full of stolen artifacts
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Published 2020-08-05
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Some of the world’s greatest cultural and historical treasures are housed in London’s British Museum, and a significant number of them were taken during Britain’s centuries-long imperial rule. In recent years, many of the countries missing their cultural heritage have been asking for some of these items back.
Benin City in Nigeria is one of those places. They've been calling for the return of the Benin Bronzes, hundreds of artifacts looted in 1897 when British soldiers embarked a punitive expedition to Benin. Many are now housed in the British Museum.
And it's just the beginning. As the world reckons with the damage inflicted during Europe’s colonial global takeover, the calls for these items to be returned are getting louder and louder.
To dig deeper into the 1897 Benin Punitive Expedition and the Benin Bronzes check out this book by Staffan Lunden:
www.academia.edu/28886529/Displaying_Loot_The_Beni…
And this article in the Journal of African History by Philip A. Igbafe:
www.jstor.org/stable/180345?read-now=1&refreqid=ex…
For more information on the two Benin Bronzes returned by Mark Walker, check out this piece by The Guardian:
www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2019/dec/17/soldiers-g…
Here are some links to learn more about the other contested items on the British Museum’s “Don’t Miss List” we reference in the video:
Greece seeks return of Parthenon Marbles amid restoration project
www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/07/greece-seeks-return…
Egypt called; it wants its Rosetta Stone back
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=1313…
Easter Islanders call for return of statue from British Museum
www.theguardian.com/culture/2019/jun/04/easter-isl…
Tajik leader wants treasure from British Museum
uk.reuters.com/article/uk-tajikistan-britain/tajik…
Lastly, here is an opinion piece by prominent lawyer Geoffrey Robertson arguing why the pieces should be returned:
www.theguardian.com/world/2019/nov/04/british-muse…
And here is another opinion piece by author Tiffany Jenkins arguing why the pieces should stay in Western museums:
www.theguardian.com/culture/2018/nov/25/benin-bron…
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All Comments (21)
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You know the old saying, "never ask a woman her age, a man his salary, or a British museum how it got its historical artifacts."
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Tourists visit this foreign museum to see their own cultural history
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In India,we often refer to this museum as "Chor bazzar" or "Market of theives"
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In honesty,secretly appreciating others artifacts while calling them uncivilized is the most European thing ever
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"The British Museum is full of stolen artifacts" pretends to be shocked
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The only reason why the Great Pyramids of Giza are still standing is because it was too big to ship it back to a British Museum
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Someone said "Egypt doesnt know the true value of the stone". Its like breaking into someones house and take things from them because they rarely use it
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Maybe I can find my lost childhood bicycle there
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"Disputed ownership" is a typically British way of saying something is stolen.
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Rock: 'exist' British: that's mine
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When anyone tells you that the British Museum should keep the items because it's the best place to preserve them, just remind them that the museum used corrosive chemicals and metal tools in the 30s to "clean" the Parthenon marbles (from all the smog that accumulated on them in London), making them lose much of their original detailing.
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"The British Museum‚ The only museum that has nothing British"
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''Most Nigerians will never see them'' that's really heartbreaking.
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7:40 “You cannot claim to be an encyclopedic collector of stolen objects.” ☝🏾
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I'm a brazilian of mixed race, a descendant from the Benin people. Last year, i got a free scholarship on England and managed to visit the British Museum 6 times - which wasnt nearly enough to get to see half of it -, and the moment i saw the Benin bronzes i just. cried. my ancestors, stolen from their land, taken to Brazil as slaves, their beautiful culture stolen and taken to England, and somehow I managed to unite both of these things and get to see them. It was an emotional roller coaster!
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"British museum still behaves like a colonial museum" That was some line😅
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Imagine robbing someones house and displaying their stolen stuff in your house
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As a Sri Lankan it's sad to see our artifacts in British museum 😞 Those artifacts are not just things. It's our heritage. Our history 😢
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I’m Iraqi and some of our stuff is at the British museum, even tho I might never get to see it face to face and that the British (army, rulers, etc) who divided us are the ones to own it but I’m still glad they have it. I know my government would never be able to take care of anything which is honestly sad
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Probably didn't steal the pyramid because it was too heavy
