2019年5月18日 星期六

政四A 劉力豪 (10)

系級 : 政四A
姓名 : 劉力豪
學號 : 04114140

出處 : https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-48309694
時間 : 2019/05/17

標題 :

Germany to return Portuguese Stone Cross to Namibia

新聞內容 :
The German Historical Museum has announced it will return a 15th century monument to Namibia after it was taken during the colonial era.
The Stone Cross is a Portuguese navigation landmark placed on the southwest African coastline in 1486.
But when the area was under German colonial control in the 1890s, the cross was taken and moved to Europe.
Namibia asked for its return in 2017 and on Friday, the Berlin museum formally agreed to the request.
Germany has pledged to return artefacts and human remains to its former colonies.
At a ceremony, German Culture Minister Monika Grütters said it was a "clear signal that we are committed to coming to terms with our colonial past".
Namibia's ambassador to Germany, Andreas Guibeb, called it "important as a step for us to reconcile with our colonial past and the trail of humiliation and systematic injustice that it left behind".
A museum press release said the cross would be returned in August.
Portuguese explorer Diogo Cão first placed the 3.5m (11ft) stone cross - featuring the country's coat of arms - on Africa's southwest coast during one of his expeditions.
It became so well known it featured on old maps of the area.
But a German naval commander took the cross in 1893, during the country's control of what became Namibia between 1884 and 1915.
The German Historical Museum foundation's president, Raphael Gross, wrote in the Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung that the cross represented "the slow beginning of colonial rule in present-day Namibia".
A number of African nations have in recent years called on European museums to return artefacts taken away during the period of colonial control.
Experts recommended that French museums return African treasures to their countries of origin last year. President Emmanuel Macron announced 26 thrones and statues taken from Benin would go home shortly afterwards.
UK museums have also decided to repatriate artefacts to African countries.
The National Army Museum announced it would return a lock of Ethiopian Emperor Tewodros II's hair in March, while the Victoria and Albert Museum offered to return Ethiopian treasures in November - albeit on loan.


心得 :
非洲近代的殖民瓜分歷史,是從十九世紀的新帝國主義擴張開始之,當時的新帝國主義國家由西歐及南歐國家為主。在十九世紀初期,非洲北方便已遭到歐洲列強殖民,直到1880年代的柏林會議,歐洲列強達成共識,正式將非洲瓜分,到了二十世紀初期,非洲已經幾乎完全由歐洲國家所殖民。

而這樣的瓜分也對非洲帶來悲慘的殖民史與日後難以解決的種族衝突,像是歐洲列強對於殖民地之非人道待遇,使得非洲各地區難以有良好的發展,僅作為新帝國主義國家的資源掠奪倉庫,因此對於往後數十年的經濟與社會發展帶來難以挽回之脆弱基礎。以及更嚴重的種族問題是,當時歐洲列強瓜分是透過尺規來分割,因此直接將非洲既有的種族版圖拆散,造成了非洲國家獨立後仍有非常嚴重之種族衝突,國家難以有良好的發展途徑,至今仍有許多地區是處於戰爭狀態。

而新帝國主義國家對非洲的資源掠奪,也包含了當地的珍貴文物,如同當時同樣遭到列強入侵的中國,也有許多的珍貴文物被各國瓜分與破壞。而這樣的文物掠奪可以視同將他國的歷史發展破壞殆盡,因為那些文物代表的是各國歷史發展演變中的價值,具有追朔過去與傳承未來之意涵。而從瓜分的角度而言,這樣的文物掠奪也代表著新帝國主義的強力破壞,因此對於那些被瓜分國家而言,除非歷史文物能夠重回其所屬的地方,否則以某方面而言,瓜分的歷史其實依然繼續存在著。

現今歐洲各國其實也了解過往殖民與瓜分之舉動早已帶來難以補償之影響,因此在賠償方面,願意將過往曾經掠奪之文物歸還母國,代表著正視與彌補曾經殖民掠奪所帶來之傷害。不僅是本篇報導中的德國,英國與法國也致力於將過往所掠奪之歷史文物歸還母國,可以看出現今歐洲國家對於新帝國主義歷史之反省,以及願意以正面的態度去弭補錯誤,可謂歐洲對於和平價值理念之實踐。

那麼從歐洲列強瓜分與殖民非洲的歷史,我們可以思考從十七世紀開始的台灣,在經過眾多殖民與不同政權的統治下,也同樣地有許多重要歷史價值遭到破壞,例如原住民在數百年間不斷地遭到迫害,以及日治時期的慰安婦議題,或是中華民國時期的國語政策,這些的殖民與迫害之行為都對於台灣文化帶來慘痛之影響,唯有了解與正視這樣的歷史,我們才能找到彌補與追究歷史錯誤的方法,讓台灣真正的價值繼續保存發展。

沒有留言:

張貼留言