Colonial Plunder and Contemporary Responsibility: The Case for Reparations in the Repatriation of African Heritage
Keywords:
Cultural Restitution, African Cultural Heritage, Postcolonial Theory, DecolonizationAbstract
Colonial dispossession of African cultural heritage represents one of the most enduring yet poorly addressed form of historical injustice. Grounded in postcolonial and decolonial theory, focusing on the concepts of coloniality and epistemic domination, this article examines how colonial power continues to affect debates over ownership, meaning, and authority in global heritage governance. Based on the ideas expressed by Fanon, Said, Mbembe, and Mignolo, It views colonial looting as an ongoing system that sustains cultural and epistemic imbalance through museums and international law. Focusing on the repatriation of African cultural artifacts, the paper discusses the notion of restitution as a part of reparative justice discourse. Applying qualitative thematic analysis of secondary literature from international law, postcolonial studies, and museum anthropology, it asserts that restitution is both a moral and political necessity as the aftermath of colonial violence. Nevertheless, its practical implementation is hindered by narrow legal definitions, deep-seated institutionalized resistance, and power asymmetries on a global scale. With the aid of examples, such as the Benin Expedition of 1897, as well as the contemporary discussion around African collections in museums of Europe, it shows that present-day repatriation projects lack coherence. Overall, the paper concludes that true restitution requires not only returning cultural objects but also changing heritage systems to promote cultural justice and decolonization.
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