Case Studies
To date, we have identified more than five hundred cases on five continents. Our Case Studies relate to a wide array of historical legacies, including colonialism, enslavement, racism, fascism, sectarianism, anti-semitism, communism, authoritarianism, sexual violence and others. To address these often contested legacies, decision-makers and other parties have chosen various remedies. This can take the form of complete removal of the monument, artistic intervention to alter the statue or increased signage for contextualisation.
Case Studies focus on the historical background, history of the contestation, the decision-making process and the remedy employed. Once our Researchers complete them, the Case Studies are internally reviewed by the Contested Histories Team before being sent out for external expert review by our Academic Committee before publication. They are revised when new developments relating to the case to give the most accurate and up-to-date overview possible.
#356
Columbus Monuments in Mexico City
Mexico
Mexico City was the only city known to have two statues of Cristopher Columbus. Themonuments were both 19th-century statues placed within walking distance of each other – inPaseo de la Reforma a… Read More
Columbus Monuments in Mexico City
Mexico City was the only city known to have two statues of Cristopher Columbus. Themonuments were both 19th-century statues placed within walking distance of each other – inPaseo de la Reforma a… Read More
Mexico City was the only city known to have two statues of Cristopher Columbus. Themonuments were both 19th-century statues placed within walking distance of each other – inPaseo de la Reforma and Calle Buenavista, in the heart of Mexico City. Given its visibility andpositi… Read More
#113
National Holocaust Names Memorial in Amsterdam
Netherlands
In 2013, the City of Amsterdam decided to build a memorial to the Dutch Jews, Sinti and Roma, who were murdered during the Holocaust. Circa 102,000 — between 75 and 80 percent of the Netherlands’ Jewi… Read More
National Holocaust Names Memorial in Amsterdam
In 2013, the City of Amsterdam decided to build a memorial to the Dutch Jews, Sinti and Roma, who were murdered during the Holocaust. Circa 102,000 — between 75 and 80 percent of the Netherlands’ Jewi… Read More
In 2013, the City of Amsterdam decided to build a memorial to the Dutch Jews, Sinti and Roma, who were murdered during the Holocaust. Circa 102,000 — between 75 and 80 percent of the Netherlands’ Jewish population — were killed during World War II, the highest rate in Western Eur… Read More
#313
Coronation Park in New Delhi
India
In the 1960s, two decades after India’s independence from colonial rule, certain sections ofthe society demanded the removal of specific memorial markers of the colonial past. Thincluded the statues i… Read More
Coronation Park in New Delhi
In the 1960s, two decades after India’s independence from colonial rule, certain sections ofthe society demanded the removal of specific memorial markers of the colonial past. Thincluded the statues i… Read More
In the 1960s, two decades after India’s independence from colonial rule, certain sections ofthe society demanded the removal of specific memorial markers of the colonial past. Thincluded the statues in the Coronation Park in the capital of the country, New Delhi. TheCoronation Pa… Read More
#252
Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone
Botswana
On September 29, 2005, a statue of three dikgosi (kings) who visited England in 1895 to protestagainst the imminent handover of their lands to the British South Africa Company was unveiledin Botswana’… Read More
Three Dikgosi Monument in Gaborone
On September 29, 2005, a statue of three dikgosi (kings) who visited England in 1895 to protestagainst the imminent handover of their lands to the British South Africa Company was unveiledin Botswana’… Read More
On September 29, 2005, a statue of three dikgosi (kings) who visited England in 1895 to protestagainst the imminent handover of their lands to the British South Africa Company was unveiledin Botswana’s capital city, Gaborone. The three dikgosi are seen as ‘Founders of the Nation’… Read More
#208
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
USA
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, holds the dichotomous and, at times, violentlegacy of race in the American South. It memorialises Edmund Pettus, a leader of the Whitesupremacist Ku Klux Kl… Read More
Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, holds the dichotomous and, at times, violentlegacy of race in the American South. It memorialises Edmund Pettus, a leader of the Whitesupremacist Ku Klux Kl… Read More
The Edmund Pettus Bridge in Selma, Alabama, holds the dichotomous and, at times, violentlegacy of race in the American South. It memorialises Edmund Pettus, a leader of the Whitesupremacist Ku Klux Klan, and it was a site of pivotal Civil Rights Movement protests in the 1960s.Two… Read More
#490
Martyrs of War Memorial in Algiers
Algeria
In 2020, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sparked controversy during his visit to Algeria after posting a video on Twitter attending a memorial at the Monument of the Martyr (makam el-chahid)… Read More
Martyrs of War Memorial in Algiers
In 2020, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sparked controversy during his visit to Algeria after posting a video on Twitter attending a memorial at the Monument of the Martyr (makam el-chahid)… Read More
In 2020, French Interior Minister Gerald Darmanin sparked controversy during his visit to Algeria after posting a video on Twitter attending a memorial at the Monument of the Martyr (makam el-chahid) in Algiers. The monument was inaugurated in 1982 to mark the 20th anniversary of… Read More
#35
Queen Victoria Statue in Hong Kong
China
The Statue of Queen Victoria, commissioned for her Golden Jubilee in 1887 and installed in Hong Kong in 1896, has been a prominent feature of Victoria Park since 1952. Initially symbolising British co… Read More
Queen Victoria Statue in Hong Kong
The Statue of Queen Victoria, commissioned for her Golden Jubilee in 1887 and installed in Hong Kong in 1896, has been a prominent feature of Victoria Park since 1952. Initially symbolising British co… Read More
The Statue of Queen Victoria, commissioned for her Golden Jubilee in 1887 and installed in Hong Kong in 1896, has been a prominent feature of Victoria Park since 1952. Initially symbolising British colonial legitimacy, it has become a complex symbol in post-colonial Hong Kong. Wh… Read More
#94
Victory Monument in Riga
Latvia
The ‘Victory Monument’ in Riga, imbued with the historical memory of World War II and thelegacy of Soviet rule, has been the subject of a long-standing contestation in Latvian society.While some view… Read More
Victory Monument in Riga
The ‘Victory Monument’ in Riga, imbued with the historical memory of World War II and thelegacy of Soviet rule, has been the subject of a long-standing contestation in Latvian society.While some view… Read More
The ‘Victory Monument’ in Riga, imbued with the historical memory of World War II and thelegacy of Soviet rule, has been the subject of a long-standing contestation in Latvian society.While some view it as a symbol of Soviet victory against Germany in World War II, othersregard i… Read More
#303
Holocaust Memorial in Kavala
Greece
The erection of a memorial to the 1,484 Jewish residents of Kavala killed during the Holocaust provoked a dispute between Jewish advocates and the City Council, grounded in anti-Semitic rhetoric. The… Read More
Holocaust Memorial in Kavala
The erection of a memorial to the 1,484 Jewish residents of Kavala killed during the Holocaust provoked a dispute between Jewish advocates and the City Council, grounded in anti-Semitic rhetoric. The… Read More
The erection of a memorial to the 1,484 Jewish residents of Kavala killed during the Holocaust provoked a dispute between Jewish advocates and the City Council, grounded in anti-Semitic rhetoric. The memorial’s unveiling was delayed amidst calls to remove the Star of David from i… Read More
#51
National Democratic Party’s Headquarters in Cairo
Egypt
During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the Headquarters of then-President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were set on fire. While initially, the building was not intended as a monument,… Read More
National Democratic Party’s Headquarters in Cairo
During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the Headquarters of then-President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were set on fire. While initially, the building was not intended as a monument,… Read More
During the 2011 Egyptian Revolution, the Headquarters of then-President Hosni Mubarak’s National Democratic Party were set on fire. While initially, the building was not intended as a monument, it acquired intense symbolic significance in the aftermath of the revolution. Co… Read More
#244
Mbuya Nehanda Statue in Harare
Zimbabwe
The legend around the figure of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, popularly known as Mbuya Nehanda, an anti-colonial leader and spirit medium, revolves around the interplay between the Zimbabwean pre-coloni… Read More
Mbuya Nehanda Statue in Harare
The legend around the figure of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, popularly known as Mbuya Nehanda, an anti-colonial leader and spirit medium, revolves around the interplay between the Zimbabwean pre-coloni… Read More
The legend around the figure of Nehanda Charwe Nyakasikana, popularly known as Mbuya Nehanda, an anti-colonial leader and spirit medium, revolves around the interplay between the Zimbabwean pre-colonial past and its neo-colonial present. The government initially proposed dedicati… Read More
#173
Edward Colston Statue in Bristol
UK
The legacy of Edward Colston, a Bristol-born merchant and Royal African Company executive, involves a complex history relating to local politics, educational institutions, and organisations in Bristol… Read More
Edward Colston Statue in Bristol
The legacy of Edward Colston, a Bristol-born merchant and Royal African Company executive, involves a complex history relating to local politics, educational institutions, and organisations in Bristol… Read More
The legacy of Edward Colston, a Bristol-born merchant and Royal African Company executive, involves a complex history relating to local politics, educational institutions, and organisations in Bristol. For many years, the Society of Merchant Venturers, which held significant infl… Read More