A thief steals hundreds of millions of dollars of artwork from you
Decades later, he sells the stolen art to other collectors and makes a fortune
Over 120 years later, he returns the artwork to you, except it's only a FRACTION of what was stolen!
This. All. Happened.
Thread:
The year is 1897, and over 1,000 British troops storm the Kingdom of Benin: a well-developed, sovereign empire in what is current-day Nigeria.
The British plan was to depose the Benin Empire's king and annex the territory, which was situtated strategically on the African coast.
When they arrived, the British didn't just annex.
They pillaged.
They destroyed.
One historian wrote that the British "scorched the earth with rockets, fire and mines."
They killed civilian men, women, and children.
With so much death, Benin City "reeked of human blood."
In all of the carnage, the British feared:
How would they fund this expensive military conquest and takeover?
The Foreign Secretary had an idea.
He had written back home: "I have reason to hope that sufficient ivory would be found in the King's house to pay the expenses."
But in Benin City, the British found a whole lot more than just ivory.
They found exquisitely handcrafted masks and plaques made of bronze, brass, ivory, and wood.
Scientist Henry Forbes was "enchanted by the high artistic quality and technical precision
of Benin artifacts."
For the British, it was payday.
They took the artifacts - known today as the 'Benin Bronzes' - back to England, which were sold over the following decades in the likes of the UK, the US, Germany, and Canada.
In fact, in 2015, one Benin Bronze seen below sold for $13.8 million!
Even though these treasures came from modern-day Nigeria, the two biggest collections today sit in German and British museums, which begs an important question:
124 years later after the Benin Bronzes were stolen, why haven't they been returned to Benin City in Nigeria yet?
First, a majority of the artwork sits in museums and private collections around the world, which fetch pretty pennies for their owners!
Second, the British Museum Act of 1963 states museums are "prevented from permanently returning items" to their original owners.
Imagine that!
Now, it seems some Benin Bronzes are on their way home, as Germany is returning a "substantial number" of artifacts.
However, even if Germany returns all of the pieces (which sit in Berlin, Hamburg, and Dresden), "this would not amount to much more than 10% of what was looted."
But once the Bronzes do return home, there is debate in Nigeria about where to put them
Some want the Bronzes to be discreetly kept at what was the original palace of the kingdom
Others are pushing for a new, private museum built by who else but British and German contractors!
Even when Germany does return the Benin Bronzes to Nigeria, there is still work to be done.
Perhaps Nigerian artist Victor Ehikhamenor summed it up best:
"We didn't expect this process to be a cakewalk. Colonialism yoked us together. We just need to speak with one voice."
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Every face on a US dollar bill has always been that of a dead guy.
Well...
Except one.
His name was Spencer M. Clark, and you'll hardly believe what he pulled off to get his own damn face on the five-cent bill back in 1866.
The story:
We start five years prior...
In 1861.
The American Civil War has begun and Americans - confused, scared, and anxious about the future - begin looking at ways to protect themselves amid the frightening uncertainty.
And where do we flock when we see doom looming upon us?
Gold.
But back in 1861, Americans aren't rocking up to bullion shops and strolling home with 1 KG bars or logging into their Robinhood accounts to buy Gold ETFs in order to get their fill.
It's 1945, and perhaps the most talented high school baseball team in all of Arizona isn't allowed to compete for the state championship.
Why, you ask?
Because all of the students are detained.
Behind barbed wire.
A story:
Before we begin, a heartfelt thank you to Lisa Heyamoto who researched and interviewed near and far to tell this story first for Narratively...
A story that starts on December 7, 1941...
In the small farming town of Guadalupe, California.
$2.
That's how much Kameo Furukawa makes per box of artichokes he sells, made possible by plucking them tirelessly day-in and day-out under the scorching California sun.
Kameo has a family of six to feed, after all, and as a Japanese immigrant in the US, nothing comes easy.
Between 2010 and 2013, Vijai Maheshwari routinely found himself on a plane between Kyiv and New York, smuggling something VERY valuable inside his luggage.
And no, it wasn't drugs.
It wasn't weapons, either.
Instead?
It was "Virgin Russian Hair".
The hard-to-believe story:
Before diving in, a huge thank you to Vijai himself for sharing his own roller-coaster-of-an-experience first for Narratively...
An experience that starts in 2010...
In the Ukrainian capital of Kyiv.
Vijai is having - in his own words - a midlife crisis.
For starters, he's single and quickly approaching the ever-dreaded age of 40.
To make matters worse?
'B.East' - the magazine he edits - has just collapsed, so Vijai finds himself unemployed.
The eight-story, 11,000-ton tower that rotated 90° in 1930...
Without anyone inside feeling a damn thing?
The full story, below:
It's 1929 in Indianapolis, and the Indiana Bell Telephone Company has just bought the Central Union Telephone Company Building where they'll host their new headquarters.
The only problem?
The new building isn't big enough to accommodate all of their staff.
So?
The good folks at Indiana Bell plan to demolish the existing structure and re-build a BIGGER one on the plot, even if it means interrupting work flow for months and months on end.
In 1725, Louis Congo - while enslaved - made the most important deal of his life:
He bargained for his freedom.
The catch?
As a free man, he'd be forced to take on a job no one else could possibly withstand...
A job full of punishment, of blood...
And of death.
A story:
Before we start, a quick thank you to Crystal Ponti who uncovered this gruesome piece of history first for Narratively...
A piece of history that starts on a gray and gloomy April day in 1721...
In the French Louisianan capital of New Biloxi.
It's on this particular gloomy afternoon - the type of afternoon where one expects the clouds to break any moment now - that finally, in the distance, they do.
But it's not a rainstorm or even the sun peaking through the gray sky, but instead - in the distance -
But perhaps less known about Bokassa was his personal orchestra...
And the man whose live it unexpectedly changed...
Forever.
A story:
Before we start, a huge thank you to Inna Lazareva who made several trips to the Central African Republic (CAR) to tell this story first for Narratively...
A story that starts in the late 1960s in...well, you guessed it:
The Central African Republic.
Meet teenager Charlie Perrière.
Charlie, to put it bluntly, doesn't have it easy.
His father?
Dead.
His mother?
Raising Charlie and his ten siblings (yes, ten) alone.
That means Charlie, being the oldest in the family, is responsible for supporting them all.