CAMBRIDGE, ENGLAND—BBC News reports that Britain’s Charity Commission has granted permission for the University of Cambridge to repatriate 116 of the so-called Benin Bronzes to Nigeria. In 1897, the bronze and brass sculptures were taken by armed British forces who sacked Benin City as part of an attack in response to a trade dispute. The items were then sold in London to pay for the excursion. “Across the international museum sector, there is growing recognition that illegitimately acquired artifacts should be returned to their countries of origin,” said Nicholas Thomas, director of the university’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, where these objects have been held. Some of the objects will remain in Cambridge on an extended loan as part of the agreement with the Nigerian National Commission for Museums and Monuments, he added. To read about a port town in Benin where one million enslaved individuals were forced onto boats bound for North America, go to "Off the Grid: Ouidah, Benin."
