What are the Benin Bronzes? (6/6)

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What are the Benin Bronzes? 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.

(Part 6 of 6)

http://www.openuniversity.co.uk/benin

Produced on behalf of The Open University Open Broadcasting Unit by 360 productions.

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Category:

Education

Tags:

• Benin Bronzes
• African art
• Benin empire
• African history
• art history
• open university
• ou_aa100

[Godgenes]

wait the biritsh burned the palace of benin and looted the magnificent bronze plaques? Well if you let the average white tell you the british came as philanthropic messiahs who "saved" africa. Never mind the fact that thehy know nothing about african history, they feel absolutely confident that the british, french, dutch, germans etc didnt come as CONQUERORS but as highly sophisticated educators and activists saving africa from the darkness which it has plunged!@

[Godgenes]

But i thought the "white mans burden" was to bring education and christianity to a hoplessly backward and "heathen" african people who never had any art or culture?  I dint know once the whites came into africa they found powerful empires! I didnt know they found masterful artists! I didnt know they found economic systems and trade! ANd i sure as hell didnt know they ravaged, raided, ravished raped, exploited, set up aparthiedand burned palaces! I thought they came to help us?

[MrRobyopunkass]

Before 400ad white ppl only took baths ONCE a year(FACT) they thought it was a sin LMAO. West africa had adcanced astrology and mathmatics in timbuktu while europeons thought the world was flat

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"However, that is a modern occurence"

Not so! The Bantu expansion occurred about 5k yrs ago and went on for a 1000 yrs. It was a disaster for the more ancient people, not just the San but for the Mbuti group of people. Unfortunately they are still being ethnically cleansed. And did the British Empire exterminate as many Africans as Osei Tutu or Shaka Zulu!

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"nor is the empire of Benin around anymore to account for its crimes."

And neither is the British empire

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 If the ethnic cleansing of the San is what troubles you (and similar occurences) then I encourage you in your efforts to spread awareness. It needs to have attention brought to it. However, that is a modern occurence to my knowledge and to bring it up in this video is at the least, confusing. The purpose of this video is not at all to ignore genocide of blacks on blacks, its to spread awareness of cultural achievements that have been ignored. Different subjects.

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 I really don't get what you're trying to prove. You state that the "leftist propaganda" (this video) ignored the African empires, yet it both names and emphasizes that Benin grew from a kingdom to an empire. It ignores their subjugation of other Africans because that is not the subject of this video, nor is the empire of Benin around anymore to account for its crimes. This about the British looting Benin, and the fact that white culture still denies African achievements.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

You're taking offense with

I take no offence at all. Africans had empires, those empires dominated and subjugated other people & cultures, just like the European ones, just like the Mongol one. What this leftist propaganda is doing is making out, that the empires operating in Africa were white European ones.

Conveniently ignoring the Sub-Saharan African ones, because those empires were Blacks dominating Blacks. Or in the case of the San ethnically cleansing them!