A University of Cambridge project has uncovered an estimated 350,000 African artifacts, manuscripts, human remains, and natural specimens stored across its collections. Dr. Eva Namusoke, who led the 15-month study, revealed that many items date back to British colonization, with several having violent histories of acquisition.
Significant artifacts include 116 items linked to the 1897 British-led punitive expedition and looting of the Benin Kingdom in Nigeria, a gold necklace looted from Ghana during the Third Anglo-Asante War, as well as a small mammal collected in a Boer War (1899-1902) concentration camp. The University Library also holds an Abyssinian Bible from Ethiopia’s 1868 Maqdala expedition, labeled as taken during the storming of Magdala. Such acquisitions often involved theft, confiscation, or looting alongside gifting or purchasing.
"I was prepared to find material like this, as it is the case in a lot of museums around the world," said Dr. Namusoke, who explained that colonization and 19th-century scientific collection methods "went very much hand in hand."
Dr. Namusoke also highlighted the often-overlooked contributions of African labor in the collection of these items.
“Cameroonian men lay on their stomachs for hours on end with test tubes to gather spiders and snails,” she noted, as cited by media, emphasizing that local expertise and creative labor were integral to these efforts.
The findings, part of the "Collections-Connections-Communities" initiative, spotlight the need for further research and collaboration with African scholars and communities. Dr. Namusoke stressed that "the next big step is increasing visibility and allowing people to explore the collections themselves."
This research sheds light on the enduring impact of colonization, prompting renewed discussions about museum practices and the ethical stewardship of historical artifacts.