8 Valuable Things The British Stole From India And The World

British Empire is synonymous to taking things that aren’t theirs. During their time around a century ago, the colony was responsible for allegedly taking away many artifacts and valuables that didn’t belong to them. They gathered valuable possessions from across the globe and kept them at their museum for the public to see. It is also said if British were to return all that they stole from other nations, their museums would be empty.

Here is a list of valuable items that the British stole from the world:

1. Koh-i-Noor

Koh-i-Noor belonged to the famous Mughal Peacock Throne of Allaudin Khalji. It is also known by the name Mountain of Light by diamond connoisseurs across the world. In 1849, it was handed over to Queen Victoria after the British formed East India Company in India. Currently it is housed in the Jewel House in Tower of London.

2. Elgin Marbles

The marbles of the walls of the Parthenon were taken away by Lord Elgin to London in 1803. Elgin claimed that he took the marbles with due permission by wasn’t able to prove any of his claims by any legal document. Greece has asked the British to return the marbles but they are still present in the British museum.

3. Ethiopian Manuscripts

Post the battle of Magdala in 1869, the British took the scriptures which were the primary cause of the battle. To bring the manuscripts back to Ethiopia, an association was also formed called Association for the Return of Magdala Ethiopian Treasures. However, nothing good came out of that.

4. Benin Bronzes

The modern day Nigeria, then known as Kingdom of Benin was the proud owner of bronze scriptures that belonged to 13th century. After the Benin expedition in 1987, the Britishers stole more than 200 scriptures and housed them in their museum.

5. Seeds of Hevea Brasiliensis

A British explorer Henry Wickham stole 70,000 seeds of Hevea Brasiliensis to plant rubber in South East Asia. This brought about the end of Amazon Rubber Boom and also a great economic period of Brazil. The man got the title of “bio-pirate” in the South American country.

6. Rosetta Stone

Rosetta stone, made up of Granodiorite has writings inscribed in 3 different Egyptian languages that date back to 196 BC. Napolean Bonaparte acquired the inscriptions from Egypt, which were then acquired by the British after the defeat of Frenchman’s army in early 1800s.

7. The Ring of Tipu Sultan

When Tipu Sultan lost the battle to the British in 1799, the colonizers stole his sword and his ring from his corpse. The sword was returned to India but the ring was auctioned by the British for £145,000 in 2014 due to an expensive purchase by Vijay Mallya.

8. Wine Cup of Shah Jahan

The wine cup that belonged to Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan was stolen by Colonel Charles Seton Guthrie in the eary 19th century which was then sent to Britain. In 1962, the wine cup has been placed at the Victoria and Albert Museum in London where it sits as of now.

Also read: 7 Good Things That Britishers Left Behind For India And Indians