How Britain is coming to terms with its colonial past

Slowly but surely, the signs are unmistakable, even if there is no central, coordinated official initiative. The revisionist push began before the Black Lives Matter movement hit the headlines in Britain in 2020, along with an increasing representation of non-whites in British politics and other fields. There were also strong demands on British campuses in recent years to de-colonise the curriculum, and some institutions set up reviews to re-visit their holy and not-so-holy past, on how they may have benefited from proceeds of crime from slavery and other events during the British Empire. There has also been some repatriation of culturally sensitive items seized or looted during the colonial days, particularly of Benin bronzes to Nigeria, taken by British forces during the sacking of Benin City in 1897.

Britain is awash with items looted, seized or gifted from former colonies, now based in royal and private collections, museums in London and elsewhere. The Clive Museum in Powis Castle in Wales, for example, consists of what is officially called ‘loot’ from colonial India (including Tipu Sultan’s tent). The castle set in sprawling grounds is host to the largest private collection of its type in Britain, comprising priceless items brought by Robert Clive (1725-74) and his son, Edward Clive (1754-1839). The senior Clive is credited with laying the foundation of the British Empire in India, while the junior Clive was governor of Madras when Tipu Sultan was defeated and killed in 1799 in Srirangapatna. Both carried home a large number of items, including idols of Hindu gods, hookahs, swords, paintings, textiles, gold, ceremonial armour and jewellery following their conquests.

There are many who see the British Museum as an ‘active crime scene’ due to the large number of culturally important objects it has from former colonies; it is not the only museum to hold such items. There are moves to temporarily loan the objects to their home countries for exhibitions, but the formal return is prohibited by British law. Demands to apologise for massacres and other depredations during the colonial era continue to be stonewalled (the British state has so far confined itself to expressing ‘regret’ for the 1919 Jallianwalla massacre).

Making full amends may not be possible long after the events, but raising awareness is an achievement in itself. For example, the National Trust, one of the most prominent charities looking after a large collection of historical dwellings and land across Britain, raised many hackles in 2020 by publishing a report revealing the many ‘Connections between Colonialism and Properties now in the Care of the National Trust, Including Links with Historic Slavery’.

Last week saw at least three efforts in this direction.

The tortuous history of the Kohinoor diamond is to be explained ‘as a symbol of conquest’ in a new exhibition in the Tower of London. A combination of objects and visual projections will explain the stone’s story, with many previous owners, including Mughal emperors, Shahs of Iran, Emirs of Afghanistan, and Sikh Maharajas (the diamond will not feature in the coronation of King Charles II on May 6). The Tower of London has been the home of the Crown Jewels for nearly 400 years. From May 26, the new display in Jewel House will explore more stories than ever before about their history and significance, exploring the origins of some of the objects for the first time, starting with the destruction of the medieval Coronation Regalia in 1649, during the English Civil War.

The University of Cambridge is among several institutions that have historically benefited from the slave trade, but is one of the first to review its unholy past and initiate conciliatory steps. As vice-chancellor Stephen J Toope says, “History is inescapable in Cambridge. It is inconceivable that a British institution as old as our University would not have been touched by colonial practices of enslavement and enforced labour — whether benefiting from, helping to shape, or indeed challenging them”. The university conducted a Legacies of Slavery Inquiry between 2019 and 2022, which recommended the establishment of a research centre and funding for new partnerships in Africa and the Caribbean, including Cambridge Caribbean Scholarships.