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contestation
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1909, Dégradation de la statue de Paul Bert La statue est souillée par les Camelots du roi.
- 1921, Lahore Muncipal Committee campaign to remove the statue of John Lawrence
- 1923, Protests around the statue of John Lawrence in Lahore
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1925, Protest attack on the statue of John Lawrence in Lahore The event was described by The Times of India as follows: "A mysterious outrage has been committed on the statue of Lord Lawrence. The discovery was made by the police this afternoon that the sword blade in the left-hand had been snapped off at the fingers though the hilt and straps remain intact. The pen which was held in the right-hand has been entirely removed. The statue is otherwise unscarred and the words "Will you be governed by pen or by sword" inscribed in bronze on the pedestal of the statue which stands on a marble plinth have not been mutilated. It may be recalled that a great controversy raged in Lahore a couple of years ago, regarding this statue, which is on the Mall on a small triangular grass plot adjoining the High Court. For days various attempts were made to damage the statue and threats were uttered in meetings, while the Municipal Committee recommended the removal of the statue or at least the obliteration of the alleged offensive words which the Indian Public misconstrued as an insult. The Government, however, refused to take any action and for many months since the excitement over the statue had completely died down, and the statue had long been left unguarded ..."
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1930, Partial breaking of monument to Gallieni in Paris On 30 May 1930, the plinth of the monument to Gallieni is found partially broken. The statue representing the French colony of Indochina was damaged in four different places, including its foot. The police officer found one toenail belonging to the statue, and broken pieces of glass, which he identified as a bottle of sparkling wine. Extract from the police report (in French): « A 9 heures de service au carrefour de la rue de l’université et de l’avenue du Maréchal Gallieni. J’ai constaté que la face du socle de la statue tournée vers la direction du Champ de Mars et représentant l’Indo-Chine était détériorée en quatres [sic] endroits différents. Je n’ai trouvé que l’ongle du gros orteil du pied droit que je joins au rapport. Au pied de la statue j’ai remarqué également des éclats de verre semblant provenir d’une bouteille dit vin mousseux, ou de champagne. » After this report, the city's office contacted Jean Boucher the artist, to ask him to evaluate the damage and advise on the best way to repair the broken pieces. (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
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1932, Protest attack on the statue of John Lawrence in Lahore Four Sikh men - Hazar Singh, Chanan Singh, Ojagar Singh and Bindar Singh - damaged the statue of John Lawrence with hammers in an act of anticolonial protest. The men were later arrested and imprisoned.
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1934, Inscription in red paint "Down with imperialist war"
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1940, Destruction of the Mangin monument by the Germans The monument was dismantled by two German trucks. The sculpture was cut out with a blowtorch, and the pieces were taken away. The next day, the base was dynamited and the ground levelled. The bronze head was stolen and saved. The destruction was presented as revenge against the "Black Shame".
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1941, La statue de Voltaire placée en face de l'Institut est envoyée à la refonte 1941, 1941, The statue of Voltaire in front of the Institut was recast.
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1944, the statue of Villebois-Mareuil was removed to be melted down, then reinstalled by the Germans The statue of the soldier was one of the works destined for the foundation during the Second World War. A press article draws attention to Villebois-Mareuil's Anglophobia and his fight against the English, and the statue is reinstalled without his saber, which was broken when the statue was removed.
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1950, Removal of the statue of John Lawrence in Lahore The statue of Lawrence was removed from its position outside of Lahore High Court and placed in a collection at Lahore Fort.
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1966, Graffiti on Mangin Statue, Paris "OAS" French acronym for the Secret Army Organization, a clandestine organization of Europeans who fought to the bitter end against Algerian independence, carrying out numerous attacks in Algeria and then in mainland France.
- 1969, James Baldwin visits the Albert Memorial in London
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1972, Graffiti on the Marchand mission monument "Down with imperialism"
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1974, Attack and removal of the bronze plaque forming the bas-relief of the Olry statue in September, Nidoïsh Naisseline, a member of the Foulards rouges Kanak movement, and Jean-Jacques Bourdinat, a member of the Union des Jeunesses Calédoniennes, cover the bronze plaque that forms the bas-relief of the Olry monument, representing the surrender of the Kanak people, with road and green paint. Groupe 1878 tags the monument, with inscriptions such as. "La terre aux Kanak" and "Liberté aux Kanak". Petitions launched by the Red Scarves and the UJC demanded the statue's removal. This was decided by the town council and implemented on September 25.
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1976, Song of Guy Méthalie “Yo déplacé Joséphine” During the 1976 Carnival, Martinican chansonnier Guy Méthalie scored a hit with "Yo déplacé Joséphine". In this song, he recounts the history of the population with the Savane, but also the rumors circulating about Joséphine. She is said to have been "a whore", which is why the statue was moved "under the mahoganies for the cab drivers".
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1978, Song of Djo Dézormo, "Joséphine" In 1978, pro-independence activist and chansonnier Djo Dézormo wrote the song "Joséphine". In the chorus, he sings: "Esklavagis', bétjé rasis, nou pa bizwen non'w an lè la Savann' an. Mé nou sav byen an jou kay rivé nou kay jété-w dan loséan! (...) É nou ka di pou nonm ou pasé ou pa an bon fanm touboneman!" ("Slave driver, racist békée, your name doesn't belong on the Savannah. We know that one day we'll throw you into the ocean! (...) And we can say that for all the men you've had in your bed, you're not a good woman at all."). When it was released in 1978, it was censored like other of the artist's songs.
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1978, Graffiti on the Marchand monument A Star of David is painted in black paint on the Marchand statue.
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1981, Pro-independence tag on the pedestal of the Olry statue The tag "Long live socialist Canaque independence; the struggle continues!" inscribed on the pedestal of the Olry statue in Nouméa is mentioned in an article about the presidential campaign in this territory.
- 1982, Anti-racist activists topple the statue of William Huskisson
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1983, Explosive attack on the Marchand mission monument Une charge explosive destinée à endommager le Musée des arts d'Afrique et d'Océanie « symbole cynique du pillage et de l’exploitation auxquels s’est livrée la France dans son empire colonial dont la Guadeloupe, la Guyane et la Martinique sont les derniers bastions », est placée au pied du monument.
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1986, Disparition du buste de Germain Le buste est volé en 1986. Il est retrouvé fortuitement en 1994 et réinstallé sur son socle le 26 juin.
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1987, Graffiti on monument to Gallieni in Paris The exact date and what was written on the monument was not recorded, we know of these graffiti thanks to a letter by Edouard Frédéric-Dupont, mayor of the 7th arrondissement in Paris (where the monument is located), to the head of Cultural Affairs in the city of Paris, chief of the monuments office. His letter mentions that the graffiti and inscriptions were quite shocking, but did not elaborate in his letter. He asked the city to clean the monument as soon as possible. Extract in French: « Plusieurs personnes m’ont signalé que le socle du monument du Maréchal Gallieni installé place Vauban était recouvert de graffiti dont des inscriptions assez choquantes » (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
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1987, Paint thrown on Gallieni monument in Paris We know of this contestation thanks to a letter Edouard Frédéric-Dupont, mayor of the 7th arrondissement in Paris (where the monument is located), wrote to the head of Cultural Affairs in the city of Paris, chief of the monuments office. His letter mentioned that the monuments to Gallieni and Fayolle (situated on the same place Vauban) had been smeared with paint and with inscriptions which he did not record. Once again, similarly to earlier that year, he asked the city to clean the monuments as soon as possible. Extract in French: the statues « ont été badigeonnées de peinture. Au moment où tant de touristes vont venir à Paris, il serait indispensable que vous puissiez faire gratter ces inscriptions d’urgence. » (source DACVP-COARC, Archives, Gallieni 2)
- 1988, Tags on the Mangin monument
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1988, Inscriptions sur le monument Lyautey Inscriptions signalées par le maire d'arrondissement sans indiquer leur contenu.
- 1991, Tags on Mangin Monument
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1991, The statue of Josephine is decapitated On the night of September 21-22, the statue was decapitated and sprayed with red paint
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1991, The statue of Victor Schœlcher is damaged During the night of September 21-22, the figure and hand of the statue of Victor Schœlcher were ripped off.
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1991, The bust of Charles de Gaulle is burned Dans la nuit du 29 au 30 septembre, le buste est entouré de pneus incendiés, ce qui provoque la fonte de la résine
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1992, "Commemoration Day" installation at the Trophies of Empire art exhibition Bristol-born artist Carole Drake (a former pupil of Colston's Girl's School) created the installation "Commemoration Day" at the Arnolfini as part of the Trophies of Empire art exhibition, with the aim of drawing attention to Colston's involvement in the slave-trade. "Featuring a projected image of students from the artist’s old school, Colston Girls’, climbing on the statue of Colston, a replica of which hung from the ceiling, casting a haunting shadow on the projection. Drake wrote that ‘into this dark hole had been sucked the histories of thousands of black children, men and women, sacrificed a second time in order to present an uncomplicated, unsullied image of Colston as a benign patriarch’. The installation included a sound tape of the school hymn Rejoice ye pure in heart. Underneath the statue lay a bed of chrysanthemums, supposedly Colston’s favourite flower, which were left to slowly wither and decay during the exhibition." (Bluecoat Library)
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1993, Commémoration du cinquième centenaire de l'arrivée de Colomb en Guadeloupe Incendie au pied du monument Colomb, couverte de suie, mais aussitôt nettoyé. 3 novembre 1993 : pose de la première pierre de la « Maison Musée de la Découverte » à Sainte-Marie de la Capesterre. 4 - 6 novembre 1993 : « Choc des Deux Mondes, hier et aujourd’hui » colloque à Pointe-à-Pitre organisé par les professeurs Alain Yacou et Jacques-Adélaïde Merlande. Inauguration d'une statue représentant "l'Indien Caraïbe" à côté du monument Colomb. Statue rapidement volée. 6 novembre 1993 : une conférence intitulée : « de l’ethnocide à la renaissance : être indien en 1993 dans la Caraïbe et les Amériques » par sept représentants des peuples autochtones.
- 1994, Performance of Siraj ud-daula play at the Festival of Bangladesh organised by Iqbal Wahhab
- 1997, Nurul Haque organises a conference on Plassey
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1998, 'Fuck off slave trader' painted on Colston statue in red paint The Guardian reports: The first direct action against the Colston statue takes place, with “fuck off slave trader” painted on the statue overnight in red paint. Days later a Bristol councillor, Ray Sefia, said he could understand why the statue was targeted. “It’s like having a monument to Hitler,” he told the Bristol Post. “We have to be very clear about Colston’s role in the slave trade.”
- 1998, Bristol City Councillor Ray Sefia calls for the removal of the Edward Colston statue
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1998, The statue of Josephine is covered with a black sheet In 1998, for the 150th anniversary of the abolition of slavery, the statue was draped in black cloth, because of its link with memories of slavery, through the famous question of its re-establishment in 1802.
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1998, Nurul Haque organises a larger conference on Plassey Bangladeshi-British councillor Nurul Haque organises the third of his annual conferences on Plassey, at the Kobi Nazrul Centre in London. An audience member 'started shouting' and gave a 'rousing speech' about how the statue of Clive should be brought down. Community acitivist Muhammad Ahmedullah notes that this is when he first became aware of the statue in London.
- 1999, A plate of raw liver on a blood-spattered table is placed under the Edward Colston statue to symbolise how he "dined" on slavery
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1999, Red paint and inscription on the Churchill statue in Paris The statue's hands were painted red, with drips on the cane and on the monument's first step. Inscription on the monument: "HR".
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2000, Projectile et peinture rouge sur la statue de Voltaire à Paris A projectile fractured the nose and cheek, fragments of which were never found. The red paint on the left hand dripped onto the left side of the jacket and onto the left leg. The damage occurred during the summer.
- 2000, Winston Churchill statue defaced during May Day protests
- 2002, Nose of Voltaire statue broken again by a projectile
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2002, Projectile et peinture rouge sur la statue de Voltaire à Paris Nez à nouveau cassé et à nouveau, projection et coulures de peinture rouge très épaisse, sur le bas du visage jusqu’au bras côté gauche, du bas du visage au socle côté droit.
- 2006, 'Restoration' art exhibit by Hew Locke
- 2007, (Operation) Truth 2007
- 2007, Brick Lane Circle organises a conference on the Battle of Plassey
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2007, Shrouding of the Robert Milligan statue In November 2007, the statue of Robert Milligan was shrouded on the opening day of the London, Sugar & Slavery Gallery at the Museum of London Docklands. The statue was concealed beneath a black shroud, bound with thick, black rope and floodlit, as an act of protesting its presence. Harry Cumberbatch, a member of a consultative committee working with the Museum at the time, took the accompanying photograph of the shrouded statue in order to preserve its message of resistance.
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2007, Statue of Siraj ud daula installed in Plassey On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Battle of Plassey, a bust of Siraj ud daula is installed in front of the obelisk set up by Lord Curzon in the battlefield of Plassey
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2009, le buste de Félix Eboué est coiffé d'un cône de signalisation Without it being possible to establish a link in the absence of a claim, it is worth noting that this act took place in the year following the powerful protest and strike movement (44 days) against the high cost of living and “pwofitasion”.