Should Britain give back items accumulated from different countries?

bainbridge said:
We should make exact copies of all the stuff we took and give back the originals.
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We should make exact copies of all the stuff the UK government bought in good faith from Elgin, and give the Geeeks the copies.

There are probably millions of items in museums around the world which could be repatriated (Ishtar Gate, for example). Where do you stop?

What happens when a region is autonomous? What happens if a country's borders change? What happens if a religious item is held in a country which has changed religion?
 
godinman said:
We stole them fair and square.
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This also needs context in some regards until the mid part of the 19th Century and probably later. The victor in war taking loot would have been the international norm, not the exception. Constantly trying to redefine the past against hyper politicised views on victimhood is a fools errand. Not that it applies in the case of the Elgin Marbles, but certainly does for things like the Benin Bronzes, which we took from the delightful slavers of Benin.
 
potatolord said:
We should make exact copies of all the stuff the UK government bought in good faith from Elgin, and give the Geeeks the copies.

There are probably millions of items in museums around the world which could be repatriated (Ishtar Gate, for example). Where do you stop?

What happens when a region is autonomous? What happens if a country's borders change? What happens if a religious item is held in a country which has changed religion?
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Everything should be repatriated of course if the rightful owners ask for it.
 
StriderX said:
Sunak could easily have ignored the bait, instead he opted to fly right into it face first... the Greek PM advocating on his countries behalf seems at least mildly acceptable in comparison.
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Respect is a two way thing - if the Greeks assurances can't be trusted, they literally lied, it's quite right that the government treats them accordingly.
 
rare said:
This is nonsense, they have an amazing museum that was built specifically for the job.
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This would be the museum that can only handle half the number of visitors of the British Museum and also had establish limits on visitors..

If people care about these things being seen they are better off where they are - if however people see this as an opportunity to attack the UK government or as part of some punishment to make 'self loathing Brits' feel better about themselves then of course they should be returned..
 
PlacidCasual said:
Greece had been part of the Ottoman Empire for 350 years at the point Elgin bought the marbles from the what would have been considered the legitimate Government. Prior to that it had been part of the Byzantine Empire for 1,100 years. So it had been part of the Ottoman Empire one and half times longer than modern Greece has existed at the point Elgin bought the marbles.
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Greece was the core of the Byzantine empire and the last part of it to fall, you can't compare the two. The Greeks have a strong culture and they have existed way before the UK was a thing and will exist long after the UK is not a thing anymore. What happens if a woke mob decides to storm the British museum and topple anything related to slavery? (which is the vast majority of the exhibition). What happens when the UK inevitably gets a new official religion? Especially one that has always clashed with the Hellenistic world. Parts of the UK will certainly break apart in the future, too many unknowns for the Greeks to rest peacefully that these statues are in safe hands.
 
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NZXT30 said:
Greece was the core of the Byzantine empire and the last part of it to fall, you can't compare the two. The Greeks have a strong culture and they have existed way before the UK was a thing and will exist long after the UK is not a thing anymore. What happens if a woke mob decides to storm the British museum and topple anything related to slavery? (which is the vast majority of the exhibition). What happens when the UK inevitably gets a new official religion? Especially one that has always clashed with the Hellenistic world. Parts of the UK will certainly break apart in the future, too many unknowns for the Greeks to rest peacefully that these statues are in safe hands.
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What happens if there is a catastrophic earthquake in Greece?
 
jeffk said:
Normandy was a dukedom of France. By 1066, The Normans spoke French and had intermarried into the local population.
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A dukedom that equalled or better the Kingdom of France and with the acquisition of the Throne of England gifted Normandy and other parts of France to the English throne for almost four hundred years.

We want our tapestry back :p (and France).
 
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n111ck said:
This would be the museum that can only handle half the number of visitors of the British Museum and also had establish limits on visitors..
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How does that make it any less worthy? The British museum is massive, it doesn’t mean they wouldn’t be safe in Greece, which is where they originated from, were made and spent most of their existence.

It’s got nothing to do with self loathing or apologising or any of that nonsense, they originated in Greece, the Greeks would like to have them back.

I’m pretty certain the British museum has plenty of other objects in can display instead, it’s not like Britain doesn’t have thousands of years of history.
 
Iraklis F.C. said:
What happens if a meteorite lands on London . We want assurances …
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Generally, sizeable meteor strikes are rare, so the risk is low. Also, all things being equal, the risk is as high for Athens as London, per sqm.

The UK is relatively low-risk for seismic activity. I can't find any earthquakes at >5 in London in the last few centuries.

Greece is not. Athens' most recent >5 magnitude earthquake was in 2019.
 
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