I’ve noticed what I’d consider a substantial amount of hatred towards the British empire recently, and I’m not really sure why

The colonies we had were far better treated than most colonies of the era, or ever to be honest.

Almost every country has had empires that have treated their subjects terribly. But I’ve never seen anyone talking about the Roman, Mongolian, Persian, or Aztec empires with anything but being impressed. No one shits on the French, dutch or Spanish (who were notorisly cruel to their colonies).

The British empire was a huge part of ending the trans-atlanric slave trade. One of the first European countries to condemn it.

The British museum was set up to preserve artifacts which would have been looted or destroyed, not to mention it’s completely free to enter. Almost everything in there would have been lost (although I’ll admit the Greek stuff seems like it was probably not given)

Yet it seems we’re despised for by many people online, is it a fad?

  • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
    0·
    6 months ago

    The British museum was set up to preserve artifacts which would have been looted or destroyed, not to mention it’s completely free to enter. Almost everything in there would have been lost (although I’ll admit the Greek stuff seems like it was probably not given)

    I guess that’s what you’re referring to as “hate”? but just to clarify… the museums… looted… artifacts. You can try and justify it with “but it was to preserve and protect them and to expose that culture to others”; but at the end of the day, it’s still looting and it wasn’t the British’s artifacts to preserve; and many of the artifacts were sacred to the cultures they came from.

    Not that this is a uniquely British offense.

    • Damdy@lemmy.worldOP
      0·
      6 months ago

      Every country ever has “looted artifacts”, that was literally the point of war for like 4000 years. The vast majority of the British museum’s items were legally purchased. Just like every other gallery in the world.

      Would you take Mona Lisa from the Louvre? Obviously italian.

      • FuglyDuck@lemmy.worldEnglish
        0·
        6 months ago

        legally purchased from whom?

        some how I doubt the people that were looted see it as “legally”…

        also, did I not recognize that it is not unique to the British Empire?

        oh and the Mona Lisa was probably finished in France, and was purchased by the french crown after DaVinci’s death… and has remained in France more or less since. (for a time it was on Napolean’s bedroom wall; after the french revolution it moved to the Louvre where it remained.

        this is compared to the Elgin collection, which were removed by Lord Elgin under the auspices of the Ottoman Empire… or the collection of human remains so vast that they don’t actually know how many they have.