In the late 1800s, the Benin Empire in Africa was a hotbed of artistic skill and the British wanted a piece of it - as many pieces as they could steal, in fact. But what were the beautiful Benin Bronzes and did the current Queen of England really fence stolen goods.
Find out more about the Benin Bronzes
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Art, Loot and Empire: The Benin Bronzes
Watch now to access more details of Art, Loot and Empire: The Benin BronzesHow did the West African artworks known as the Benin Bronzes end up in European museums? And why does it matter?
Level: 1 Introductory
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The Arts Past and Present: the Benin Bronzes
Listen now to access more details of The Arts Past and Present: the Benin BronzesAre ancient sculptures ethnographic artefacts or works of art? How can objects like these throw light on the relationship of our culture to other cultures, both in the past and in the present? This album explores some of the issues surrounding interpretation and display of bronze sculptures originating in Benin in West Africa. The video ...
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[Thanks to the commenters who pointed out the typo - as the video says, the incidents took place in the late 19th century; the 1800s, not the 1900s. Apologies for the mistake.]
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You people do realise this is just a small snippet of what you will be learning on this subject should you choose to enroll.
So no, they obviously aren't going to go into detail about the part the UK played in the destruction/looting of Benin on this tiny extract of information.
I find you're all nitpicking. Especially those of you commenting on the fact that what they are saying is either unreasearched, or you believe they're leaving details out to make the UK look good. If you actually do the module, if you actually read the material, you are shown an impartial view of the events, no opinons, no persuasive text, only history the way it should be.