A bronze chicken looted in 1897 is flying back to Nigeria
Where one goes, many others will follow
IN FEBRUARY 1897 British soldiers raced from the Nigerian coast to Benin City, machine-gunning as they went. Their “punitive expedition” aimed to avenge the killing of several Britons a month earlier and to destroy the Edo kingdom. By the time the soldiers entered the city it was lifeless, all the residents having fled or been killed. But the troops were not disappointed. They discovered thousands of sculptures, which they removed before burning the city.
This article appeared in the Britain section of the print edition under the headline “Coming home to roost”
Britain October 30th 2021
- Rishi Sunak’s budget marks a turn to big-state Conservatism
- Ministers roll out the red carpet for entrepreneurs and their investors
- What’s behind the Great British Battery Bonanza?
- Britain’s minimum wage is catching up with pre-pandemic ambitions
- A bronze chicken looted in 1897 is flying back to Nigeria
- An attempt to stop Britain sharing expats’ data with Uncle Sam
- The greening of Boris Johnson
From the October 30th 2021 edition
Discover stories from this section and more in the list of contents
Explore the editionMore from Britain
London’s pie-and-mash shops are disappearing
Blame higher rents and changing tastes
Britain’s family courts are opening up to reporters
Transparency and privacy can work together
Has the Royal Navy become too timid?
A new paper examines how its culture has changed
A plan to reorganise local government in England runs into opposition
Turkeys vote against Christmas
David Lammy’s plan to shake up Britain’s Foreign Office
Diplomats will be tasked with growing the economy and cutting migration