Challenge Trips

Year 9 Students visit The Museum of Archaeology and Anthropometry in Cambridge and discuss the Benin Bronzes with Professor Rob Law!

Fourteen Year 9 students visited Cambridge in January to study the university’s controversial Benin Bronze collection and visit the famous Pembroke College. Please find some of their reflections below:

On Tuesday, I, along with a dozen other Year 9 students, went to Cambridge. Surrounded by ancient artifacts with lots to teach us about history, we were given a tour of the museum. Highlights included a 2 million year old stone axe, a totem pole and some Benin Bronzes. After our visit, the next stop was the 3rd oldest college in Cambridge University, Pembroke. There we walked around the majestic gardens marvelling at the intricate designs on the buildings. After that, we went into the chapel which was built in 1665. It was interesting to see the names of the ex pupils who had carved their names onto the stools, with some dating back to the early 18th century! We had our lunch overlooking the river Cam which Cambridge was named after. Finally, we headed back to the station at the end of a great day. Thank you Mr Magnoff.

Joseph Lynch, 9RU

The museum has truly beautiful artefacts such as the Benin Bronzes. The Benin artefacts refer to thousands of metal and ivory sculptures which were taken from Nigeria in 1897. The British sacked Benin City taking numerous irreplaceable artefacts. We had a brilliant tour guide who also asked us our opinion on whether the artefacts should be returned to Benin. He told us by playing devil’s advocate that some of those artefacts were created from copper and bronze traded the leaders of Benin for slaves and that, therefore, some Civil Rights groups in America thought that they should not be returned to their decendants in Africa today. Personally, my favourite was the Japanese warrior armour or the (Tatami Guosko) Which was a distinctive complete suit of armour worn by the samurai. The whole armour including the helmet folds almost flat to pack for travel. Overall, this experience was great as I had the opportunity to see beautiful artefacts. A massive thanks to Mr Magnoff and Ms Hurley for taking us on this trip.

Matthew Feleke, 9DA

When I went to Cambridge to see the Benin Bronzes I only had one main question which was ‘If the artifacts weren’t made in Britain and if they don't belong to Britain why are they still here and why haven't they been returned?.’ I thought that this was a very straightforward answer but I was obviously wrong because there is an argument as to why people don’t want them to be returned back to Africa and why people want them to be returned to Africa.

The Benin Bronzes were made up of bronze and brass and they were made by professional guilds who worked in the royal court of the Oba (King) in Nigeria, Benin City. They usually contained a commissioned portrait of an ancestor of the Oba. The Benin Bronzes are a significant piece in African History, as they are a piece of evidence that Africa was a civilized place with civilized people way before its colonization.

In the late 1800s the British empire was growing rapidly. The Oba of Benin at the time (Oba Ovonramwen) prevented the Royal Niger Company from forming a monopoly in that area. In 1897 a British Trade Mission, which was apparently a peaceful trade mission, was attacked on its way to Benin City where all but 2 British people died. In February 1897, Britain retaliated leading to the Benin Massacre. So many people died that people weren't able to give an exact figure on the loss of lives. The palaces were all burned to the ground and the bronzes were looted from Benin. They looted over 900 historical artifacts from Benin and proceeded to call it their “spoils of war”. The British also executed and exiled all the chiefs. This was the end of an independent Kingdom of Benin. The British were able to take over the Kingdom of Benin and say that their attack was justified because it was against a “barbarous” kingdom.

Professor Law explained that some people want the Bronzes to stay in European Museums because they were made from the profits of the Transatlantic Slave Trade and that the descendants of African slaves in USA, in particular, don’t think that it’s appropriate to send the objects back to the descendants of the Oba in Nigeria. He also said that by being in European museums they could bring attention to the brutality of colonial Britain. He also explained that the Benin Bronzes in Cambridge are actually have their ownership transferred back to Nigeria and then loaned back to the museum but that the process is being slowed down by paperwork.

However, I think that the British should return everything they stole from Africa along with compensation and an apology because the British did not have the right to steal everything from Benin and make it seem that it was justified as “spoils of war.” Africa is missing a big part of its History and that's because of the British colonization. It’s important that the people of Benin should also be able to engage with these important cultural artefacts.

Osatohanmwen Iyamu Kings, 9DA