 20 items stolen from Africa by Britain. Many colonizers or conquistadors have taken African treasures back to their homeland and country as part of their expansions throughout history. Sometimes it was done to fund their wars, and other times it was just for fun. Unfortunately, many of these objects were lost or destroyed. Thousands of monies, for example, were unwrapped for entertainment at 19th century parties in England. Other African items made their way from one oma to the next, eventually ending up in museums across the United Kingdom, all acquired in questionable and illegal ways. These cultural treasures and relics have been on display in foreign countries for hundreds of thousands of years after being stolen from Africa. Here are just 20 of the items that Britain stole from Africa. Please like and subscribe to Africa Reloaded if you are new to the channel, stay with us and discover for yourself. 20. Benin Bronzes The Benin Bronzes, made of brass and bronze, are a collection of sculptures that includes ornately decorated cast planks, commemorative heads, animal and human figures, royal regalia and personal ornaments. They were developed in the West African Kingdom of Benin, which is now part of Nigeria, beginning in the 16th century. From 1897 to 1960, Benin City was a part of the British Empire. More than 200 of these sculptures were stolen during the British expedition and are now housed in British museums. These are African artifacts, but it is inequitable that locals must travel to London to see them. 19. Rosetta Stone Rosetta Stone, an ancient Egyptian stone with inscriptions in a variety of languages and scripts. It was discovered near the town of Rosetta Rashd, about 35 miles northeast of Alexandria as an irregularly shaped stone of black granite 3 feet 9 inches long and 2 feet 4.5 inches wide and broken in antiquity. In August 1799, a Frenchman named Bouchard or Boussard discovered it. It passed into British hands following the French surrender of Egypt in 1801 and is now housed in the British Museum in London. 18. MacDullo Treasures These treasures include a gold chrome from the 18th century and a royal wedding gown taken from Ethiopia by the British Army in 1868. The British Museum's collection includes approximately 80 objects from the northern Ethiopian town of MacDullo, now known as Amber Marriam, where Emperor Teword rose second built a fortress, library and treasury in the second half of the 19th century. There are ceremonial crosses, chalices, processional umbrella tops, weapons, textiles, jewelry and archaeological material in the collection, as well as turbots, altar tablets that consecrate a church building that are highly sacred objects within the Ethiopian Orthodox tradition. Objects from MacDullo are featured in permanent and changing exhibitions throughout the museum's galleries. 17. Zimbabwe Bird Zimbabwe's main national emblem is a soapstone sculpture of a fish eagle. Some of these birds were taken from the ancient city's ruins. Only eight of these birds have ever been found. They stood on the ancient city's walls and ancient monoliths, which were built between the 12th and 15th centuries by the Shumna people's ancestors. Since 2003, seven of these caves have been established in Zimbabwe. The eight are still housed in the old bedroom of 19th century imperialist Cecil Rhodes, whose home in Cape Town, South Africa, is now a museum. 16. Great Star of Africa Diamond Among the Queen's many prized possessions, the Great Star of Africa Diamond stands out. The Kalanan Diamond, also known as the Great Start of Africa, is the largest rough gem quality diamond discovered in 1869. In rough form, the diamond weighed 3,106.75 carats. It was mined in South Africa in 1905 and is estimated to be worth around $400 million. According to many historians, it was presented to Edward VII after being mined in Africa, rather than being stolen or looted by the British government during their colonial reign. The late Queen Scepter is currently hosting Africa's greatest star. 15. The Brass Head of Ife This freestanding brass head was discovered in 1938 at one monarchy compound in Ifi, Nigeria, using the lost wax technique. It was discovered by chance during house construction, along with 16 other brass and copper heads and the upper half of a brass figure. The identification and function of the head, like the others discovered at this site, are unknown. It's elaborate beaded headdress, possibly representing a crown, suggests that it belonged to an uni, the ruler of Ifi. It was created between the years 1200 and 1400 CE. The remarkable piece of brass casting is regarded as one of the most important archives of art and culture, and it is now housed in a British museum. 14. Bronze Head of the Queen Edia The bronze head of Queen Edia is a commemorative bronze head from medieval Benin that most likely represents Edia, mother of Ober-Essige, and was created at the Benin court during the early 16th century. Following the Benin expedition of 1897, 1900, many Benin works of art entered the European art market. There are four cast bronze heads of the Queen known to exist, all of which are housed in the British Museum in London. In the early 16th century, the bronze head was cast using the lost wax casting technique. It depicts a young woman from the Benin court wearing a high-pointed up-oku crown made of lattice-shaped red coral beads. 13. 9th century Eibo-Uku bronze ceremonial head Eibo-Uku is notable for three archaeological sites where excavations have discovered bronze artifacts from a highly specialized bronze metalwork culture, dating back to the 9th century AD, the Eibo-Uku ancestors of modern-day Eibo, were the first smiths of copper and its alloys in West Africa, hammering, bending, twisting, and incising the metal. The British Museum now houses five bronze artifacts from the original excavation. 12. Congo Ivories Congo Ivories are among the finest sculptural works created by the people of the lower Congo region of West Central Africa. Ivory was a valuable commodity in the Congo Kingdom, and it was strictly controlled by chiefs and kings, the commissioned sculptors to create fine Ivory sculptures for their personal and cordy use. Ivory became one of the most valuable African natural resources sought by Western industry as the transatlantic trade expanded. Congo Ivory carvers eventually created works not only for indigenous leaders and the lights, but also for Europeans and other foreigners. 11. Akhan Drum The Akhan Drum is a West African drum that was later found in the colony of Virginia in North America. It is now the British Museum's oldest African American object, and possibly the oldest surviving anywhere. The drum is a reminder of all three continents involvement in the transatlantic slave trade, which transported an estimated 12 million people across the Atlantic Ocean. The drum is normally displayed in the British Museum's Room 26, the North American Gallery. The drum is made from two sub-Saharan African wood species, Baphia and Cordy Africana. 10. Luzira Head The Luzira Head, also known as the Mpanga Head, is a terracotta head discovered in Luzira, Uganda. It is one of the oldest sub-Saharan sculptures discovered in Africa, estimated to be around 1,000 years old. It has been in the British Museum's ethnographic collection since 1931. The Luzira Head is a one-of-a-kind terracotta female bust. The eyes and mouth are very narrow and protruding, and the nose is small. Three cicatrices run across the brow. The hair is matted and hands down on either side of the head. During the original excavations, the lower part of the figure was also discovered. It is tripol-shaped hollow and made of baked clay just like the head. 9. Akan Gold Weights Akan gold weights, also known as Mramu, are brass weights used as a measuring system by the Akan people of West Africa, particularly for weigh and fair trade agreements. A man's status rose significantly if he possessed a complete set of weights. Complete small weights sets were given as wedding gifts to newlywed men. This ensured that he could enter the merchant trade with dignity and success. Some of these are now in displayed museums in London. 8. Chiwara A chiwara is an antelope-shaped ritual object used by Mali's Bambara ethnic group. Chiwara masks, as well as dances and rituals associated primarily with agriculture, are used by the Chiwara Initiation Society to teach young Bamanamen social values as well as agricultural techniques. Chiwara masks are classified as horizontal, vertical, or abstract. Furthermore, Chiwara can be either male or female. Chiwara is used by the Bambara ethnic group in Mali. Some of these artifacts are in display in British museums. 7. Ben and Ivory Mask The Ben and Ivory Mask is a miniature sculptural portrait in Ivory of Edia, the first Ioba queen mother of the Ben and Empire in the 16th century, in the form of a traditional African mask. During the Ben and Expedition of 1897, the British looted the masks from the Palace of the Ioba of Benin. The British Museum in London and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City both have nearly identical masks. Both depict the queen mother in a serene expression, wearing a beaded headdress, a beaded choker around her neck, scarification highlighted by iron inlay on the forehead, and all framed by a flange on openworked tower and collar of symbolic beings, as well as double loops on each side for attachment of the pendant. 6. Endop of King Mishi Endop were figurative sculptures of the Cuba Kingdom's various kings. The ruler is frequently depicted in Endop holding a weapon in his left hand, an eagle or peacenife made in the style reserved for the Bushum, the dominant subgroup of the Cuba. Scholars agree that the king's portrait statue tradition began in the late 18th century. It was first gathered in 1909 by a colonial minister in what was then the Belgian Congo-Europe's Covene. 5. Sikhemke Statue The Sikhemke Statue is an ancient Egyptian art fat donated to the Northampton Museum by the Marquess of Northampton in or around 1870. The statue, which is slightly older than Stonehenge, is from the 5th dynasty and depicts Sikhemke the scribe with his wife, Sitmarit. It was the subject of a contentious sale in July 2014, which called into question the museum's ownership, as well as the ethics of selling artifacts. The statue was sold at auction by the British to an unidentified buyer for £15.76 million, breaking the world record for ancient Egyptian art. 4. Brass Cockerel Lost wax cast in brass sculpture for cockerel. The plumage, comb, waffles and spurs are all depicted, standing on a square base with a central square hole, interlaced pattern on the base's sides. Brass roosters are placed on ancestral altars to honour Benin's queen mothers. During the British expedition to Benin City, Edo, in 1897, British soldiers looted objects made of brass, ivory, coral, and wood from the royal palace, its storerooms and compounds. Some of these items were sold or traded on the beach. Many were brought to the UK, where they were sold at private auction, donated or sold to museums or kept by expedition soldiers. 3. 12 Brass Plaques According to the museum's board of trustees, the Horneland Museum and Gardens in London plans to hand over 72 objects, including a portion of sculptures known as Benin Bronzes, that were looted from Benin City in southern Nigeria during a British military invasion in 1897. 12 Brass Plaques, also known as Benin Bronzes' ceremonial objects, brass bells, commonplace items from the time such as fans and baskets, and a key to the king's palace will be returned. 2. Ngaji God The registers of relief figures, animals, and motifs on Benin ancestral altar tusks were carved. The oba or king and his attendants are depicted in the centre of this tusk. The oba is depicted with mudfish legs, emphasising his divine powers of transformation and survival. These images convey the coded message intended for the ancestors, rather than the few living people who were permitted to view the altars. Some altar tusks were supported by oba-shaped cast copper alloy heads. This tusk is tentatively dated to the reign of Oba Adolo around 1850, based on Motif Index Research. 1. Asanti Gold This gold troughy head was crafted in the Ghanian state of Asanti. The asant established one of Africa's most powerful states, known for its military prowess and vast wealth. They possessed vast gold reserves and were well known for the objects they created from this precious metal. During the Anglo-Asanti War of 1873, British forces looted and destroyed the Kumasi Palace. Many of the looted items were later sold and transported to London. These are pieces of African sculpture and important relics that were either looted by the British or given to the British by the Africans. Africans have been clamouring for some of these items to be returned, but have encountered numerous setbacks. Thank you for sticking with me until the end. Please support Africa Reloaded by liking, sharing, commenting and subscribing.