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@magicandgrace
Eight Rainbows! WOW Lehigh Valley, PA [960 x 960]
reblog for good luck
Leprechaun convention.
Leprecon
GODDAMNIT
Death of the Inquisitor Pedro de Arbués, 1664, Bartolome Esteban Murillo
Christopher Plummer as Captain von Trapp THE SOUND OF MUSIC (1965)
Eltham Palace
hey I love your blog, you seem like an awesome patient lovely person :) I was wondering if you had thoughts about/an opinion on the British Museum and their refusal to return... many many things, considering you’re an Egyptologist who lives in the UK, so you’ve probably encountered this? If you just don’t want/cba to talk about it, or start drama or whatever that’s chill, I hope you’re doing well!
I do have opinions, but Tumblr is not a place for nuance and I think that getting people to understand who actually holds current ownership of the objects and how that influences certain discussions would be an exercise in pain.
So here’s a simple list:
Yes I do believe that certain objects should be returned (in particular the Benin Bronzes, the Rapa Nui statue, and the Parthenon marbles)
Yes I acknowledge the museum’s colonial past and I’m absolutely not a fan of it. A lot has been stolen.
No I don’t believe every object should be returned because there are such things as ‘partition agreements’ that used to exist between archaeologists and governments of countries. This split the finds from a dig in half, with the government of country the dig was in taking first pick and the archaeologists being allowed to take the rest back to their own countries. People don’t like hearing this because it conflicts with the ‘everything is stolen’ narrative, but it is a thing that happened. Quite a lot of museum collections are built on partition agreements.
Most of the time, when there are specific repatriation complaints it is in regards to only a handful of objects from a certain part of the collection. Sometimes it is more. It is never the whole collection being asked to be repatriated. Most countries, barring a specific circumstance, do not want everything back.
For the British Museum specifically, the British Government actually holds ownership of many objects, including the Parthenon marbles. When you hear the British Museum say ‘We can’t give these back’ it’s actually not their line but that of the UK Government, even if those in the museum feel differently. Their hands are sort of tied. Take for instance the aforementioned Parthenon marbles. When Elgin took those marbles there was actual outrage in the UK, and 4 years after he stole them the issue was brought before Parliament to decide what to do with his ‘ownership’. Parliament stripped him of the marbles, and instead of giving them back to Greece said ‘yeah they’re ours now’ (which still pissed people off) and then handed them to the BM and said ‘look after these for us’. The BM do not own them, nor do they control if they go back.
The UK Government controls the board of trustees for the museum, and keeps appointing people who will toe the line with regards to this. The Museum actually went against them last year when they appointed Mary Beard, whom the government had rejected as being too ‘liberal’. Mary Beard supports repatriation.
They have been, and still are, repatriating objects! Repatriation takes time, and is incredibly complicated due to the laws that are in place surrounding deaccessioning objects (something museums have no control over, again this is the government and if they don’t want to do it they won’t). Archaeological law was, of course, written to favour us. Museums and Historians are working to undo some of it, but the government doesn’t like budging on laws that benefit it.
This is why you’ll see objects going on ‘permanent loan’ as a means of repatriation because it’s one way to circumvent the laws surrounding deaccessioning objects. Yeah it’s not great, but they’re trying.
I believe it’s the Human Tissue Act of 2004 which makes it difficult to repatriate human remains unless they’re going to a relative/descendant. Makes it a long and difficult process. Again, that’s a government thing not in the museum’s control.
The Rosetta Stone isn’t actually special. It’s only special because it’s the object that was used to decipher hieroglyphs. There are at least 3 other versions of it (to my recollection) that are in better condition that are still in Egypt. Hawass was grandstanding off the back of actual colonial atrocities. I don’t like saying that, but that’s what he was doing.
Believe it or not the British Museum actually has a programme called the International Training Partnership, where interns from all over the world come every year and learn techniques for looking after and studying museum collections. Not only that, but this also builds a network of museum workers with which the BM is familiar with, and in training them allows them to take those skills back to their own countries. In doing so they can work on repatriating artefacts back to these countries, because it negates the tired argument that ‘these people can’t take care of these objects’ because yes they can, we trained them in the latest techniques.
They’ve actually been helping Syrian and Iraqi archaeologists repair sites like Palmyra and Nineveh. Money from exhibits like the Ashurbanipal exhibit, contributed to the efforts to rebuild these sites. This is part of the work of the museum that most people don’t know happens. But it does.
The British Museum has, since it reopened after lockdown, relocated the statue of Hans Sloane, the guy that gifted his collection to the ‘British Nation’ (i.e. the government), a collection he built on the back of slavery and colonialism. The statue now sits in a display about the exploitative effects of the British Empire and Colonialism. The Museum has also created a tour of the museum that includes objects that have been stolen, explaining how the came to be in the collection and the the people that were behind the theft. It’s a start, and not enough yet, but they’re acknowledging it. Also they’ve had a ton of grief for this from people who don’t believe in BLM...so...they’re angering the right people in this instance.
Repatriation happens quietly and behind the scenes since it takes so long. They don’t make a big deal out of it because it’s 100% guaranteed that they’ll get grief for ‘needing praise for something that ought to be done’ and they’d be right. So it happens quietly, and people complain because they can’t see it happening. Kinda a vicious circle.
So yeah, those are some bullet points about it. Do I think the museum is perfect? No I don’t. Do I think they’re trying to right some of the wrongs of their past? Yes I do. Do I think they’ve got a long way to go? Absolutely yes. Again, a lot of the time it’s not the Museum itself, it’s actually the British Government who say ‘no’ to things and laws put in place by said government, so I can’t always fault the museum for it since it’s often not their decision to make. They’re just the convenient scapegoat for government to sidestep responsibility for this country’s colonial past. It truly sucks, but that’s what it is.
One final thing I should mention, because in these discussions it irks me, is that the BM, and many other European countries/museums, get rightly pilloried by the internet for their colonial past and stolen objects within their collections, but US museums do not. Sure I’ve seen them get blasted for being disrespectful and racist towards Native American collections, but not for the colonial looting of other countries. The US may not have had an Empire like Britain’s, but they definitely had slavery and US sure as hell benefitted from that and from wealthy americans financing illegal digs in places like Egypt and stealing the artefacts which ended up in US museums. So while it is absolutely ok to lambast European museums for their colonial past, that argument should also include US museums. Also the Hobby Lobby, because...wow.
This was longer than I thought it was going to be, but I had to work through some frustrations with the narrative that’s so often presented. It’s not as nuanced as I’d like, but I hope I’ve presented some things that make it clearer as to why things happen the way they do. People are free to disagree with me on this, but all I ask is that it’s done respectfully.
Judith Butler absolutely wiped the floor with this New Statesman interviewer.
I thought I would share some portraits/info about notable black men and women who worked and lived in Georgian Britain. This is not an extensive list by any means, and for some figures, portraits are unavailable:
1. Olaudah Equiano (1745-1797) was a writer, abolitionist and former slave. Born into what would become southern Nigeria, he was initially sold into slavery and taken to the Caribbean as a child, but would be sold at least twice more before he bought his freedom in 1766. He decided to settle in London and became involved in the British abolitionist movement in the 1780s. His first-hand account of the horrors of slavery 'The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano' was published in 1789 and it really drove home the horrors of slavery to the general British public. He also worked tirelessly to support freed slaves like himself who experienced racism and inequality living in Britain's cities. He was a leading member of the Sons of Africa, an abolitionist group, whose members were primarily freed black men (the Sons of Africa has been called the first black political organisation in British history). He married an English woman, Susannah, and when he died in 1797, he left his fortune of roughly £73,000 to his daughter, Joanna. Equiano's World is a great online resource for those interested in his life, his work, and his writings.
2. Ignatius Sancho (1729-1780) was a bit of a jack-of-all-trades (he's described as an actor, composer, writer, abolitionist, man-of-letters, and socialite - truly the perfect 18th century gentleman). He was born in the Middle Passage on a slave ship. His mother died not long after they arrived in Venezuela and his father apparently took his own life rather than become a slave. Sancho's owner gave the boy to three sisters living in London c. 1730s (presumably as a sort of pet/servant) but whilst living with them, his wit and intellect impressed the 2nd Duke of Montagu who decided to finance his education. This was the start of Sancho's literary and intellectual career and his association with the elite of London society saw him ascend. He struck up a correspondence with the writer, Laurence Sterne, in the 1760s: Sancho wrote to press Sterne to throw his intellecrual weight behind the cause of abolition. He became active in the early British abolitionist movement and be counted many well-known Georgians amongst his acquaintance. He was also the first black man known to have voted in a British election. He married a West Indian woman and in 1774, opened a grocer's shop in London, that attempted to sell goods that were not produced by slave labour. Despite his popularity in Georgian society, he still recounts many instances of racist abuse he faced on the streets of London in his diaries. He reflected that, although Britain was undoubtedly his home and he had done a lot for the country, he was 'only a lodger and hardly that' in London. His letters, which include discussions of domestic subjects as well as political issues, can be read here.
3. Francis 'Frank' Barber (1742-1801) was born a slave on a sugar plantation in Jamaica. His owner, Richard Bathurst, brought Frank to England when Frank turned 15 and decided to send him to school. The Bathursts knew the writer, Samuel Johnson, and this is how Barber and the famous writer first met (Barber briefly worked as Johnson's valet and found him an outspoken opponent of the slave trade). Richard Bathurst gave Frank his freedom when he died and Frank immediately signed up for the navy (where he apparently developed a taste for smoking pipes). In 1760, he returned permanently to England and decided to work as Samuel Johnson's servant. Johnson paid for Frank to have an expensive education and this meant Frank was able to help Johnson revise his most famous work, 'Dictionary of the English Language.' When Johnson died in 1784, he made Frank his residual heir, bequeathing him around £9000 a year (for which Johnson was criticised in the press - it was thought to be far too much), an expensive gold watch, and most of Johnson's books and papers. Johnson also encouraged Frank to move to Lichfield (where Johnson had been born) after he died: Frank duly did this and opened a draper's shop and a school with his new wife. There, he spent his time 'in fishing, cultivating a few potatoes, and a little reading' until his death in 1801. His descendants still live at a farm in Litchfield today. A biography of Frank can be purchased here. Moreover, here is a plaque erected on the railings outside of Samuel Johnson's house in Gough Square, London, to commemorate Johnson and Barber's friendship.
4. Dido Elizabeth Belle (1764-1801) was born to Maria Belle, a slave living in the West Indies. Her father was Sir John Lindsay, an English naval officer. After Dido's mother's death, Sir John took Dido to England and left her in the care of his uncle, Lord Mansfield. Dido was raised by Lord Mansfield and his wife alongside her cousin, Elizabeth Murray (the two became as close as sisters) and was, more or less, a member of the family. Mansfield was unfortunately criticised for the care and love he evidently felt for his niece - she was educated in most of the accomplishments expected of a young lady at the time, and in later life, she would use this education to act as Lord Mansfield's literary assistant. Mansfield was Lord Chief Justice of England during this period and, in 1772, it was he who ruled that slavery had no precedent in common law in England and had never been authorised. This was a significant win for the abolitionists, and was brought about no doubt in part because of Mansfield's closeness with his great-niece. Before Mansfield died in 1793, he reiterated Dido's freedom (and her right to be free) in his will and made her an heiress by leaving her an annuity. Here is a link to purchase Paula Byrne's biography of Dido, as well as a link to the film about her life (starring Gugu Mbatha-Raw as Dido).
5. Ottobah Cugoano (1757-sometime after 1791) was born in present-day Ghana and sold into slavery at the age of thirteen. He worked on a plantation in Grenada until 1772, when he was purchased by a British merchant who took him to England, freed him, and paid for his education. Ottobah was employed as a servant by the artists Maria and Richard Cosway in 1784, and his intellect and charisma appealed to their high-society friends. Along with Olaudah Equiano, Ottobah was one of the leading members of the Sons of Africa and a staunch abolitionist. In 1786, he was able to rescue Henry Devane, a free black man living in London who had been kidnapped with the intention of being returned to slavery in the West Indies. In 1787, Ottobah wrote 'Thoughts And Sentiments On The Evil & Wicked Traffic Of The Slavery & Commerce Of The Human Species,' attacking slavery from a moral and Christian stand-point. It became a key text in the British abolition movement, and Ottobah sent a copy to many of England's most influential people. You can read the text here.
6. Ann Duck (1717-1744) was a sex worker, thief and highwaywoman. Her father, John Duck, was black and a teacher of swordmanship in Cheam, Surrey. He married a white woman, Ann Brough, in London c. 1717. One of Ann's brothers, John, was a crew-member of the ill-fated HMS Wager and was apparently sold into slavery after the ship wrecked off the coast of Chile on account of his race. Ann, meanwhile, would be arrested and brought to trial at least nineteen times over the course of her lifetime for various crimes, including petty theft and highway robbery. She was an established member of the Black Boy Alley Gang in Clerkenwell by 1742, and also quite frequently engaged in sex work. In 1744, she was given a guilty verdict at the Old Bailey after being arrested for a robbery: her trial probably wasn't fair as a man named John Forfar was paid off for assisting in her arrest and punishment. She was hanged at Tyburn in 1744. Some have argued that her race appears to have been irrelevant and she experienced no prejudice, but I am inclined to disagree. You can read the transcript of one of Ann Duck's trials (one that resulted in a Not Guilty verdict) here. Also worth noting that Ann Duck is the inspiration behind the character Violet Cross in the TV show 'Harlots.'
7. Bill Richmond (1763-1829) was a prize winning bare-knuckle boxer of the late 18th and early 19th century. He was born a slave in New York (then part of British America) but moved permanently to England in 1777 where he was most likely freed and received an education. His career as a boxer really took of in the early 19th century, and he took on all the prize fighters of the time, including Tom Cribb and the African American fighter, Tom Molineaux. Richmond was a sporting hero, as well as fashionable in his style and incredibly intelligent, making him something of a celebrity and a pseudo-gentleman in his time. He also opened a boxing academy and gave boxing lessons to gentlemen and aristocrats. He would ultimately settle in York to apprentice as a cabinet-maker. Unfortunately, in Yorkshire, he was subject to a lot of racism and insults based on the fact he had married a white woman. You can watch a Channel 4 documentary on Richmond here: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5
8. William Davidson (1781-1820) was the illegitimate son of the Attorney General of Jamaica and a slave woman. He was sent to Glasgow in Scotland to study law at the age of 14 and from this period until 1819, he moved around Britain and had a number of careers. Following the Peterloo Massacre in 1819, Davidson began to take a serious interest in radical politics, joining several societies in order to read radical and republican texts. He also became a Spencean (radical political group) through his friendship with Arthur Thistlewood and would quickly rise to become a leading member of the group. In 1820, a government provocateur tricked Davidson and other Spenceans, into being drawn into a plot to kill the Earl of Harrowby and other government cabinet officers as they dined at Harrowby's house on the 23rd February. This plot would become known as the Cato Street Conspiracy (named thus because Davidson and the other Spenceans hid in a hayloft in Cato Street whilst they waited to launch their plan). Unfortunately, this was a government set up and eleven men, including Davidson, were arrested and charged with treason. Davidson was one of five of the conspirators to not have his sentence commuted to transportation and was instead sentenced to death. He was hanged and beheaded outside of Newgate Prison in 1820. There is a book about the Cato Street Conspiracy here.
9. Ukawsaw Gronniosaw (1705-1775) was born in the Kingdom of Bornu, now in modern day Nigeria. As the favourite grandson of the king of Zaara, he was a prince. Unfortunately, at the age of 15, he was sold into slavery, passing first to a Dutch captain, then to an American, and then finally to a Calvinist minister named Theodorus Frelinghuysen living in New Jersey. Frelinghuysen educated Gronniosaw and would eventually free him on his deathbed but Gronniosaw later recounted that when he had pleaded with Frelinghuysen to let him return to his family in Bornu, Frelinghuysen refused. Gronniosaw also remembered that he had attempted suicide in his depression. After being freed, Gronniosaw set his sights on travelling to Britain, mainly to meet others who shared his new-found Christian faith. He enlisted in the British army in the West Indies to raise money for his trip, and once he had obtained his discharge, he travelled to England, specifically Portsmouth. For most of his time in England, his financial situation was up and down and he would move from city to city depending on circumstances. He married an English weaver named Betty, and the pair were often helped out financially by Quakers. He began to write his life-story in early 1772 and it would be published later that year (under his adopted anglicised name, James Albert), the first ever work written by an African man to be published in Britain. It was an instant bestseller, no doubt contributing to a rising anti-slavery mood. He is buried in St Oswald's Church, Chester: his grave can still be visited today. His autobiography, A Narrative of the Most Remarkable Particulars in the Life of James Albert Ukawsaw Gronniosaw, an African Prince, as Related by Himself, can be read here.
10. Mary Prince (1788-sometime after 1833) was born into slavery in Bermuda. She was passed between several owners, all of whom very severely mistreated her. Her final owner, John Adams Wood, took Mary to England in 1828, after she requested to be able to travel as the family's servant. Mary knew that it was illegal to transport slaves out of England and thus refused to accompany Adams Wood and his family back to the West Indies. Her main issue, however, was that her husband was still in Antigua: if she returned, she would be back in enslavement, but if she did not, she might never see her husband again. She contacted the Anti-Slavery Society who attempted to help her in any way they could. They found her work (so she could support herself), tried tirelessly to convince Adams Wood to free her, and petitioned parliament to bring her husband to England. Mary successfully remained in England but it is not known whether she was ever reunited with her husband. In 1831, Mary published The History of Mary Prince, an autobiographical account of her experiences as a slave and the first work written by a black woman to be published in England. Unlike other slave narratives, that had been popular and successful in stoking some anti-slavery sentiment, it is believed that Mary's narrative ultimately clinched the goal of convincing the general British population of the necessity of abolishing slavery. Liverpool's Museum of Slavery credits Mary as playing a crucial role in abolition. You can read her narrative here. It is an incredibly powerful read. Mary writes that hearing slavers talk about her and other men and women at a slave market in Bermuda 'felt like cayenne pepper into the fresh wounds of our hearts.'
Jose de Madrazo y Agudo (Spanish, 1781-1859), French Cuirassier, ca.1813, Museo del Prado, Madrid
UK political scandals are like:
Prime Minister fucked a pig
Prime minister with the surname Johnson and the initials BJ defends his friend with the surname Cummings spreading plague in a scandal named cumgate
writing essays on charles ii has really brought it home to me that we're kind of similar in all the worst ways. This is very confusing for me because I love him, but my god he could be an arsehole
This is important hello (x)
Reblogging again for the fuckboy who ignored it the first time
THIS IS SO IMPORTANT
*slow clap for australia* shit mates. Wow.
I will probably reblog this once a day
Reblog. Always reblog.
reblog if u r a true 1490’s kids and u remember the orsini and borgia family
I love DOMINIC THIEM ppl
ATP Bold Predictions for 2020
Lashana Lynch as Nomi and Ana de Armas as Paloma in No Time to Die (2020)
1 second of every Horrible Histories song
i know i say how much i love alison croggon all the time but…. i love this woman Edit: Since this post got really popular it would be awesome if y'all supported her by checking out her books! She does her best to be super inclusive and also her writing is beautiful and poetic. If you like fantasy, check out The Books of Pellinor, and if you like sci-fi, Fleshers is awesome!!