Die Benin Bronzen und der Sklavenhandel

In the organizer's words:

Lecture series organized by the Wittheit zu Bremen in cooperation with the Übersee-Museum, the Naturwissenschaftlicher Verein and the Historische Gesellschaft

The German territories of the early modern period are not generally associated with the transatlantic slave trade. Nevertheless, new interdisciplinary studies show that the metal goods used to acquire slaves on the West African coast were apparently made in Germany. The metal goods: Bangles, bars and cauldrons were also used in Africa as raw materials for the production of Benin bronzes, where they can still be detected geochemically today. The German metals did not end up in West Africa via detours, but from the very beginning there was a large-scale supply of products specially tailored to the African market to the seafaring nations. The influence of this production on the development of the German heavy metal industry still needs to be investigated in more detail.

Price information:

4,-€, reduced 2,50 € (pensioners and severely disabled persons) Free admission for pupils and students as well as members of the Wittheit Circle of Friends.