Germany returns stolen colonial treasures to Namibia
The decision is part of reparations for a period of colonial rule during which Germany committed a genocide against the Namibian people.
Colonialism
U.S. to return Gilgamesh tablet and 17,000 other looted artifacts to Iraq
The U.S. will return more than 17,000 ancient artifacts, including the Gilgamesh Dream Tablet, after authorities recently reached a repatriation agreement with Baghdad to return artifacts seized from dealers and museums.
Germany to return 19th century looted art to Nigeria
The announcement was made by the country’s culture minister, Monika Grütters, who said Germany will start the restitution of a “substantial” part of the artifacts held in its museums to Nigeria, starting next year.
New Zealand’s Prime Minister Helen Clark apologizes to Samoa
In 2002, New Zealand Prime Minister Helen Clark traveled to Apia and stood before Samoa’s parliament to formally apologize for her country’s colonial harms. She named the 1918 influenza disaster, which killed roughly one in five Samoans after an infected ship was allowed to dock, and the 1929 Black Saturday killings. A rare act of accountability in the Pacific.
Gandhi leads the Salt March, defying British colonial rule in India
The Salt March began on March 12, 1930, when Gandhi and 78 volunteers set out from Sabarmati Ashram on a 387-kilometer walk to the sea. Twenty-four days later, he scooped up a lump of salt from the mud at Dandi, defying British law and sparking a year of civil disobedience that drew more than 60,000 arrests.
British Parliament bans the Atlantic slave trade after 20 years of campaigning
Britain’s Atlantic slave trade abolition became law on 25 March 1807, when King George III signed the Slave Trade Act after two decades of failed attempts. The final Commons vote was 283 to 16, the culmination of a campaign carried by Quakers, formerly enslaved writers like Olaudah Equiano, and petitioners across the country. It was the first time a major empire legislated against its most profitable trade on moral grounds.