Global Treasures

by Nate Shaffer

After a good night’s sleep from our early wake for Parliament Wednesday, we awoke Thursday for breakfast and then headed to the British Museum to check out some of the “treasures” of Great Britain. As we approached the front it was evident that this was not only going to take forever to walk through, but that this building was designed and constructed to show the world that “here lie within all our prized possessions.”

The front entrance of the British Museum

As we know, Britain had been a dominating world power for over two centuries, colonizing nearly every corner of the world. From these locations, however, came new, exotic, and exciting things that explorers had never seen before. So how do you show the rest of your country the magnificence of the world? Simple, you bring back some trophies. As archaeologists and explorers began discovering the vast wonders of the ancient worlds, as well as the recent past, they would regularly return home with many of these artifacts to be displayed in their “cabinets of curiosity.” These collections would eventually begin to accumulate and thus, museums were born (officially).

Magna Carta

 In the case of the British Museum, a majority of the objects came from outside the British Isles, obviously due to the expansion of the British Empire. The most popular of these items, however, came right from home. The Magna Carta was issued (more or less forced upon) in 1215 by the feudal barons of King John of England. It was drafted in an attempt to limit his powers and protect the rights and privileges of the barons. Up to that time, kings had the power to demand more, exercise their power over, and carry out punishments within all their lands. The barons, however, felt that some of these powers could be dealt with locally by them, and that his oversight was not necessary. This huge shift in power would eventually lead to the development of the rule of constitutional law, a foundation for many of the colonies of England.

 An example of how the Magna Carta came to be can be found in 1166, 50 years before it was written. In the city of Birmingham, then only known as the lands governed by Lord of the Manor Peter Bermingham, a charter was obtained to have a market at his castle. He then followed this with the creation of a planned market town and seigniorial borough. What makes this important for the time is that rather than the Crown giving privileges through a Royal Charter, a seigniorial borough would remain dependent on the local manorial authority. In other words, Lord Bermingham would have control over his lands without the permission or privileges of the king.

It is through objects like these that we can see not only the vast wealth and power empires once held, but the ways in which they acquired them, displayed them, and ultimately influenced the areas they came from. Although some could, and do, argue, that these “treasures” are mere exploits of once rich civilizations and should be kept in their environment, were it not for their journey to museums such as the British Museum, we would have to travel all over the world to see them.