Audiobook12 hours
Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes
Written by Barnaby Phillips
Narrated by Michael Page
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
()
About this audiobook
In 1897, Britain responded to the killing of a group of officials by razing an empire to the ground. The men had been travelling to the ancient Kingdom of Benin, in what is now Nigeria, when they were ambushed and killed by local soldiers. Just six weeks later, the British had exacted their revenge, set Benin aflame, exiled the king and annexed the territory. They also made off with some of Africa's greatest works of art.
This is the story of the "Benin Bronzes", their creation, theft, and what should happen to them now. When first exhibited in London they caused a sensation and helped reshape European attitudes towards Africa, challenging the prevailing view of the continent as "backward" and without culture. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like "visiting relatives behind bars". In a time of fevered debate about the legacies of empire, loot, museums, and history, what does the future hold for the Bronzes themselves?
This is the story of the "Benin Bronzes", their creation, theft, and what should happen to them now. When first exhibited in London they caused a sensation and helped reshape European attitudes towards Africa, challenging the prevailing view of the continent as "backward" and without culture. But seeing them in the British Museum today is, in the words of one Benin City artist, like "visiting relatives behind bars". In a time of fevered debate about the legacies of empire, loot, museums, and history, what does the future hold for the Bronzes themselves?
Author
Barnaby Phillips
Barnaby Phillips spent over twenty-five years as a journalist, reporting for the BBC from Mozambique, Angola, Nigeria and South Africa before joining Al Jazeera English. He is the author of Another Man’s War: The Story of a Burma Boy in Britain’s Forgotten African Army and Loot: Britain and the Benin Bronzes. He grew up in Kenya and now lives in London.
Related to Loot
Related audiobooks
Zimbabwe under the British Empire: The History of Great Britain’s Colonization and Decolonization Before the Country’s Independence Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Staying Power: The History of Black People in Britain Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsModern Zimbabwe: The History of Zimbabwe from the Colonial Era to Today Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Black Tudors: The Untold Story Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Forgotten Slave Trade: The White European Slaves of Islam Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Spectacle Rating: 0 out of 5 stars0 ratingsPatrice Lumumba: The Life and Legacy of the Pan-African Politician Who Became Congo's First Prime Minister Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Golden Rhinoceros: Histories of the African Middle Ages Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Formation: The Making of Nigeria from Jihad to Amalgamation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Africa’s Origin Stories: The History and Legacy of the Ancient African Stories that Sought to Explain Life Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Haile Selassie: The Life and Legacy of the Ethiopian Emperor Revered as the Messiah by Rastafarians Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Mansa Musa and and Timbuktu: The History of the West African Emperor and Medieval Africa’s Most Fabled City Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Christopher Columbus and the Afrikan Holocaust Slavery and the Rise of European Capitalism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black and British: A Forgotten History Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5African Origin of Civilization: The Myth or Reality Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How Europe Underdeveloped Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5China's Second Continent: How a Million Migrants Are Building a New Empire in Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Kingdom of Kush: The Civilization of Ancient Nubia Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Modern Jamaica: The History of the Caribbean Island from Christopher Columbus to Today Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5African Mythology and Folklore: The Origins and History of Legends and Myths across Africa Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Travelling While Black: Essays Inspired by a Life on the Move Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Born in Blackness: Africa, Africans, and the Making of the Modern World, 1471 to the Second World War Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Looting Machine: Warlords, Oligarchs, Corporations, Smugglers, and the Theft of Africa's Wealth Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Of This Our Country: Acclaimed Nigerian writers on the home, identity and culture they know Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Politics For You
The 48 Laws of Power Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5You Can't Joke About That: Why Everything Is Funny, Nothing Is Sacred, and We’re All in This Together Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Jesus and John Wayne: How White Evangelicals Corrupted a Faith and Fractured a Nation Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Cobalt Red: How the Blood of the Congo Powers Our Lives Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Righteous Mind: Why Good People Are Divided by Politics and Religion Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Behold a Pale Horse Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Son of Hamas: A Gripping Account of Terror, Betrayal, Political Intrigue, and Unthinkable Choices Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Prince Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5How to Hide an Empire: A History of the Greater United States Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5All the Sinners Bleed: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Small Mercies: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Kingdom, the Power, and the Glory: American Evangelicals in an Age of Extremism Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5The Nazi Conspiracy: The Secret Plot to Kill Roosevelt, Stalin, and Churchill Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Elon Musk Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Black AF History: The Un-Whitewashed Story of America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5How to Do Nothing: Resisting the Attention Economy Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Razorblade Tears: A Novel Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5While Time Remains: A North Korean Girl's Search for Freedom in America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The White House Plumbers: The Seven Weeks That Led to Watergate and Doomed Nixon's Presidency Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Overstory Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Manufacturing Consent: The Political Economy of the Mass Media Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Cult of Trump: A Leading Cult Expert Explains How the President Uses Mind Control Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The Radium Girls: The Dark Story of America's Shining Women Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An American Marriage: A Novel Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Leave the World Behind: A Novel Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Dragonfire: Four Days That (Almost) Changed America Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5
Related categories
Reviews for Loot
Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
5/5
3 ratings0 reviews