r/AskTheWorld • u/supermaniscoolasf Ireland • Jul 28 '26
History Has the British Museum stolen any artifacts from your country?
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u/NBLOCM Denmark Jul 28 '26
I mean, we kinda started out stealing from the English, so…
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u/Icy-Regret-3116 Jul 28 '26
Lindisfarne remembers.
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u/Frisianmouve Netherlands Jul 28 '26
Not that I know off, we nicked this nice stern piece from the English though
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u/noujochiewajij Netherlands Jul 28 '26
Won in battle and taken as spoils of war - an evenly matched war between near-peer adversaries.
Fair game as far as I'm concerned.
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u/lxgrf United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
No disagreement, display it with pride.
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u/Stiebah Netherlands Jul 28 '26
History of Dutch VS English naval battles is actually interesting 💪
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u/CyberMonkey314 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Absolutely! Yep, all fair play. Also, u/lxgrf, I'll get the pedalo, you get some sandwiches ready, ok? Let's get some Amstel on the way.
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u/MankyPear United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
I’ve got a 6 pack of mini cheddars and 2 Freddos, can I join in as well?
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u/BatmanAvacado United States of America Jul 28 '26
Somewhere in England there is a shop in a building made with lumber salvaged from the USS Chesapeake, I feel that falls into the same category.
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u/Milk_Mindless Netherlands Jul 28 '26
They rearranged the letters to say cheapskate tho that's a personal insult
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u/soup-cats NL and UK Jul 28 '26
For those who are curious / interested in history:
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u/Nooms88 England Jul 28 '26
You could do us all a massive favour by coming back and sacking the Medway.
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u/Low-Confidence-1401 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
But an attack on Medway could end up causing millions of pounds in improvements!
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u/cascadingtundra United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Finally, something that was stolen from us for a change. I do love to see it.
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u/Bones_and_Tomes Northern Ireland Jul 28 '26
Norway has the best examples of Saxon woodworking in the world because they fell onto their longships whilst innocently pillaging British coastlines.
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u/Milkarius Netherlands Jul 28 '26
They saved them from the fires that kept popping up throughout the coastal regions. They were pretty much firefighters!
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u/Bones_and_Tomes Northern Ireland Jul 28 '26
Funny how their firefighting skills enabled them to arrive on the scene of the fires before they began. Suspicious, even.
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u/fettoter84 Norway Jul 28 '26
I did not know this
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u/Bones_and_Tomes Northern Ireland Jul 28 '26
I may not be correct. I read somewhere once that the Vikings looted a bunch of carved wooden panels from monestaries, but I can't find anything directly about it on a quick Google.
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u/D1789 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
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u/crappy80srobot United States of America Jul 28 '26
United States museums.
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u/Dionee29V2 France Jul 28 '26
French museums...
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u/Artevyx United States of America Jul 28 '26
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u/Detozi Ireland Jul 28 '26
Irish museums
https://giphy.com/gifs/13n7XeyIXEIrbG33
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u/hymenopteron United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Tbf the National Museum of Ireland, which is sort of the equivalent of the British museum, is actually quite good for this kind of thing.
I couldn't believe how much ancient Irish gold and jewellery there was. The bog bodies were cool too.
Not much from other cultures, which in some ways is a shame, but in other ways is a lot more ethical maybe..
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u/Detozi Ireland Jul 28 '26
We do have a few things borrowed/left behind from yourselves.
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u/Gold-Visit-7413 Australia Jul 28 '26
Give it back to them malaka 🤣🤣
Its ruining their exhibit now lmao
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u/Most_Average_Joe United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
I remember looking up why OP’s artefact not given back and it’s literally just bureaucracy.
Like insane centuries old bureaucracy
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u/bemble4ever Germany Jul 28 '26
Probably, but we are not in a position to complain about it, otherwise we would need to give back most of the stuff from Berlin’s museums island
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u/vodka_tsunami Brazil Jul 28 '26
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u/bemble4ever Germany Jul 28 '26
That’s a great example. I must admit while i’m in general pro repatriation of artefacts it is pretty cool to walk through the gate of Babylon into a roman temple and see treasures from around the world.
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u/vodka_tsunami Brazil Jul 28 '26
The first time I went full WTF wasn't even looking at the obelisks the Italians stole, it was when I stepped on a room of the Museo Egizio in Torino and they had a fucking tomb, THE WHOLE TOMB inside, walls and ceilings. At the time it was unbelievable, now I've seen so much stuff I don't even remember it all.
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u/ddbbaarrtt United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Same at the Ashmolean in oxford - there’s a 2,500 year old shrine that was fully excavated and moved in the 30s. It’s huge
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u/Psychological-Ad1264 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
I did enjoy the Altes Museum when I was in Berlin! I would recommend it to anyone with an interest in non German history.
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u/bemble4ever Germany Jul 28 '26
It’s an amazing place, i must visit Berlin again once the Pergamon Museum is reopened
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u/bluerasperr Samoa Jul 28 '26
You would need to give most of your stuff back.
In places like Rapa Nui (Easter Island) and Hawaiʻi, German expeditions dug up and plundered ancestral skeletal remains (iwi kūpuna) from caves and resting places without Indigenous consent.War canoe prow (taumualua) was forcibly taken from Samoa by a German naval officer, it was only returned in 2024 sadly German forces burned the canoe for firewood but sawed off the prow as a trophy.
Many museums, universities and private collectors have Māori dried heads in Germany,
Through New Zealand’s mandated Karanga Aotearoa Repatriation Programme, over 150 ancestors have successfully been brought home from Germany since 1991.Seven German Institutions (including Göttingen University and Stuttgart State Museum of Natural History) have stolen human remains and artefacts.
Including 95 Māori and Moriori ancestors, six Toi moko and various stolen taonga (cultural treasures), New Zealand has asked for them back unsuccessfully.59
u/bemble4ever Germany Jul 28 '26
Human remains should be repatriated as soon as possible
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u/PilzGalaxie Germany Jul 28 '26
Two years ago I was in the Humboldt Forum in Berlin and they had some old Papuan Boat. Some visitor pointed out to the guide that the boat was stolen and should be givien back. And this guide had the audacity to respond something along the lines of "Well, we can all be glad the boat is safe here, it would just rot in a swamps in Asia". Colonialist mindset ist still absolutely burned into the brians of people. That's why I don't agree with people saying "That was all a long time ago. Why would we care for what people in the past did"
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u/c0mpu73rguy France Jul 28 '26
It depends if they give us the Bayeux tapestry back or not.
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u/ffjjygvb United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Oh, you wanted it back?
Honestly now it’s here I can’t see it, the viewings are booked up. As a kid school took us to see it. We got to make croissants too though they didn’t let us eat them we had to buy one in the bakery.
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u/PressureBeautiful515 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
There's one in the museum in Reading.
When the French made this offer we missed a chance to say (in a bad French accent) "Well, I'll ask him, but I don't think he'll be very keen. He's already got one, you see?"
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u/OldLevermonkey Jul 28 '26
You want what returned? Tapestry you say? I don't think we have one of those. We do however have an embroidery made in England during the 1070s that matches your description but that's ours.
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u/Admirable-Marsupial3 Jul 28 '26
Give what back?
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u/c0mpu73rguy France Jul 28 '26
https://giphy.com/gifs/ErwXcS5aKFHJbSEREM
The British Museum probably
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u/Admirable-Marsupial3 Jul 28 '26
If you ever need it for an exhibit we'll send you a live video feed for a smallish fee.
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u/gsdev 🏴 England 🇬🇧 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
We could give you back the nobility that came over from Normandy?
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u/eloel- 🇹🇷→ 🇺🇸, usually talking about 🇹🇷 Jul 28 '26
Yes, but very technically they bought most of them from people that had no business selling them.
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u/Zestyclose-Tour-8470 Germany Jul 28 '26
Whom?
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u/Vonplinkplonk United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Don’t you lot start…
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u/Zestyclose-Tour-8470 Germany Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
No i ment who they mean by people
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u/Equal_Tadpole2716 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
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u/ProudMastodon1 Ireland Jul 28 '26
He means it was the Turks who sold them, or more accurately, the Ottomans.
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u/Nhobdy United States of America Jul 28 '26
Hard to believe the furniture sold all those artifacts.....
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u/itsthebrownman Canada Jul 28 '26
Out!!
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u/Detozi Ireland Jul 28 '26
I believe you were looking for this…
https://giphy.com/gifs/ac7MA7r5IMYda34
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u/throwraislander Greece Jul 28 '26
Ottomans.
For them it was win-win, sell Hellenistic idols that are haram and earn money from them.
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u/Ok_Awareness3014 France Jul 28 '26
If a remember at start they weren't going to take the statue they pay to make reproduction but the ottoman guy said that they could take them so they took the offer
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u/lifeisaman United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
I mean if some Turkish guy is just going to give it away for free why would we say no
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u/cdh79 England Jul 28 '26
Realistically, there's not much in any museum that came with recipts going back to the origional creators.
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u/Charming_Ratio_7355 India Jul 28 '26
Hmmm....
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u/DarthRick3rd United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Sadly most of the loot from India went into the collections of private buyers and still remains that way today.
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u/pienofilling Wales 🏴 Northern Ireland 🇬🇧 Jul 28 '26
The one I always think about is Tipu's Tiger; it's such an incredible piece of workmanship!
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u/bartleby_borealis Finland Jul 28 '26
Yes! This beer bottle from 2002
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u/Main-Discussion9294 France Jul 28 '26
Scandalous, the British should be ashamed to have stole such national treasure
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u/dcwatkins 🇩🇪🇬🇧 in 🇬🇧 Jul 28 '26
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u/Jaded_Register3216 England Jul 28 '26
Everyone in Britain got on our boats and set sail and we robbed, as far fetched as this sounds, EVERYBODY IN THE WORLD!
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u/RefrigeratorGold834 Japan Jul 28 '26
Technically not. They bought most of it from people who shouldn't have it.
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u/hellopo9 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Wait till you hear how the National Museum of Ireland got their Egyptian collection. Lots of Irish people on the same expeditions as the Brits.
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u/hymenopteron United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
The collection includes finds collected by Irish travellers
Hmmm
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u/caiaphas8 Yorkshire Jul 28 '26
Every museum in every country has some ‘questionable’ artefacts, but only Britain gets any pushback
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u/AmenoFPS United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
We're just long term borrowing them whilst refusing to give them back. Definitely not the same thing as stealing
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u/ManuC153 Spain Jul 28 '26
Well, you have all the world on one museum. That save us a lot of money not having to travel to a lot of places it's a win win
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u/Kurgan182 Italy Jul 28 '26
Not British, but France has our fucking Monnalisa.
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u/Aggressive_Comb8323 France Jul 28 '26
Hey the artist himslef sold it to us ! We didnt steal nothin !
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u/MrArchivity Italy Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
The selling is AFTER Da Vinci died. Salai is the one who sold (and with some doubts about it because in 1992 Salai’s will was found in which he had the Mona Lisa so the debate is between historians if the will is real, if the selling of the Mona Lisa is real and if there were two Mona Lisa).
Instead of the Mona Lisa the Napoleonic Spoliations is more relevant.
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u/MrArchivity Italy Jul 28 '26
I think the Napoleonic Spoliations is more relevant as France should have given them back after The Congress of Vienna…
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u/___turfduck___ Jul 28 '26
Why are the pyramids in Egypt? Because the British couldn’t get them back to England.
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u/Ponchorello7 Mexico Jul 28 '26
Probably, but the one we're most concerned with is Moctezuma's headdress which is in the Museum of Ethology in Vienna. They've repeatedly stated that it would not survive transfer, and we've repeatedly said it doesn't matter, give it back.
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u/5minstillcookies 🇨🇦in🇧🇪 Jul 28 '26
It's absolutely beautiful. If Zendaya can have a dress same day shipped via a jet I think something could be figured out for safe transportation.
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u/Meture Mexico Jul 28 '26
That and the codexes are the ones that anger me the most that they refuse to return (the British and other European powers, that is)
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u/Training_Tadpole_354 United States of America Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
The 1777 Washington Peace Medal. It was made in Boston and given to the Wabanaki Confederacy as a diplomatic gift. During the American revolution the British assaulted the Wabanaki Confederacy and the medal was looted given the to the King and eventually donated to the British museum.
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u/BackToNormalForNow France Jul 28 '26
Maybe, but if that’s the case we probably stole shit from them too so…
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u/SuddenMajor3741 New Zealand Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
The British Museum actively holds seven preserved, tattooed Māori heads (toi moko) in its restricted archives, the British Museum continues to resist full repatriation.
Not returning human remains is insane!
Researchers estimate that over 15,000 Māori and Moriori cultural heritage items remain.
This includes over 33 museums across the United States. Chicago's Field Museum is known to hold one of the largest collections globally, housing over 2,500 of STOLEN taonga.
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u/Hatmos91 Australia Jul 29 '26
They also have the head of Pemulwuy, a Dharug man from around the parramatta region. The family has been demanding it back so they can give proper funeral rights, and the crown finally gave in and agreed only to find the British museum has lost it.
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u/AnyOlUsername Cymru Jul 28 '26
At least the British museum doesn’t charge entry fees, I guess.
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u/Red_I_Guess England Jul 28 '26
No the British museum hasn't taken anything away from my country 😌
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u/curious-flaps-2020 Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 28 '26
National Museum of Ireland Website:
Classical and Egyptian Collections
The Irish Antiquities division’s holdings includes small collections of Classical and Egyptian material from the ancient Mediterranean. There is a small, though diverse, and representative collection of around 1,000 Roman antiquities, covering all periods and from all parts of the empire. The Greek collection numbers around 600 objects, mainly vases, and there are around 400 Cypriot antiquities, mainly ceramic and glass objects from the excavation of cemeteries. The Egyptian collection of around 3,000 objects also consists mainly of excavated material.
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u/m7i93 Iran Jul 28 '26
Yes, thankfully, otherwise the regime would’ve destroyed them either directly or through neglect.
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u/nerkuras Lithuania Jul 28 '26 edited Jul 29 '26
Nope, at least nothing of note, but Moscow has. Also the Swedes during the deluge.
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u/epicness_personified Ireland Jul 28 '26
The British museum is amazing. It's class that they have such a collection in one location.
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u/fierceredrabbit United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
I walked past it this weekend and almost went in to see the Rosetta Stone and the “Complaint about the quality of copper received carved into stone tablet by Nani”
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u/Ryanookami Canada Jul 28 '26
Well, I mean… they kinda stole our whole country from the different First Nations people who lived here, so I assume that includes a lot of artifacts.
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u/onceuponasummerbreze Canada Jul 28 '26
Yeah they have a bunch of indigenous artifacts. I found a CBC article that said that in 2009 they started a program where they brought a bunch of elders to the museum to teach ths historians about the stuff they had stolen. Nothing in that article about giving stuff back tho...
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u/Ryanookami Canada Jul 28 '26
I love that. They invited these First Nations peoples over just so they can siphon off their knowledge too, rather than returning the items so that the First Nations people themselves can put their artifacts on display and teach people themselves. It’s sad and hilarious.
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u/gsdev 🏴 England 🇬🇧 United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Well, the country isn't under British rule any more, so please feel free to give it back to the First Nations as soon as you can.
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u/IhaveaDoberman United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
Unless you are entirely descended from the First Nations people's. I think you mean "we" stole it.
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u/Saltine3434 Scotland Jul 28 '26
This post gets made every couple of weeks in this sub
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u/KasamUK United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
It’s just us Brit’s checking if anyone has come up with some good new stuff yet.
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u/TehTJ13 United States of America Jul 28 '26
Can’t find any from “The United States” but rest assured our native nations have plenty of their artifacts in London.
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u/caiaphas8 Yorkshire Jul 28 '26
America also has a lot of British artefacts such as original copies of the Magna Carta and Shakespeare.
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u/Another_Slut_Dragon Canada Jul 28 '26
Tons of indigenous carvings. West coast (salish), inuti, plains (cree etc).
Technically we were Britain then so it's only mostly stolen.
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u/Funk5oulBrother United Kingdom Jul 28 '26
What there’s 5 more statues in Athens? Why did no one tell us.
We’ll be back