Emperor Tewodros II's Stolen Locks of Hair Returned by British Museum

The Ethiopian emperor Tewodros II had an unfortunate end to his life, but one that no doubt he had done to preserve dignity and honor. Instead of being taken prisoner by British forces in the 19th century, he shot himself and they took two locks from his hair.

Now the National Army Museum in London, to which the locks of hair had been given, will be returning it to its rightful place.

The return of the locks follows a recent report commissioned by French President Emmanuel Macron that recommended African treasures in French museums be returned to their countries of origin. During colonial rule in Africa, thousands of cultural artefacts were plundered from the continent by Western countries.

(Image credit: Wikimedia Commons)


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There is still a serious debate in France on returning artefacs to their African original countries : first , in our history, those artifacts were rightful spoils of war, not plunder. O tempora, o mores.
Second all those items were saved and protected in museums, and thus avoided civil wars, religious wars ( rememder Tumbuctu or Bagdad recent destruction history).
This is why Macron's move is not shared by all intellectuals.
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