A Legacy of Looting

Interest in Africa's treasures is not altogether a new phenomenon. When European powers began carving up the continent in the 19th century they concentrated on agriculture, minerals and strategic naval ports. But in the process they carted off many of Africa's best artifacts. When the British attacked the kingdom of Benin in present-day Nigeria in 1897, they seized a remarkable collection of sculptures, the so-called Benin Bronzes, now a highlight of the British Museum. In Ethiopia, Italian forces in 1937 stole the 25-m-high, 2,000-year-old Aksum Obelisk. Both Nigeria and Ethiopia have long agitated for the return of these and other works....