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.
![USA: J. Marion Sims in Central Park, New York](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-2-300x300-c-default.png)
![USA: J. Marion Sims in Central Park, New York](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-2-300x300-c-default.png)
#228
J. Marion Sims Statue in New York
United States of America
In Central Park in New York, New York, a statue of physician J. Marion Sims was raised in 1934. Sims was credited with highly impactful procedures in gynaecology; However, many of these procedures wer… Read More
J. Marion Sims Statue in New York
In Central Park in New York, New York, a statue of physician J. Marion Sims was raised in 1934. Sims was credited with highly impactful procedures in gynaecology; However, many of these procedures wer… Read More
In Central Park in New York, New York, a statue of physician J. Marion Sims was raised in 1934. Sims was credited with highly impactful procedures in gynaecology; However, many of these procedures were generated by conducting surgery on enslaved Black women without anaesthesia. L… Read More
![Chile_Plaza Baquedano & General Baquedano Monument in Santiago](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-1-300x300-c-default.png)
![Chile_Plaza Baquedano & General Baquedano Monument in Santiago](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-1-300x300-c-default.png)
#30
Plaza Baquedano & General Baquedano Monument in Santiago
Chile
Plaza Baquedano at the centre of Santiago was traditionally the central meeting point for protests and celebrations in the Chilean capital. Since the outbreak of social protests in October 2019, the s… Read More
Plaza Baquedano & General Baquedano Monument in Santiago
Plaza Baquedano at the centre of Santiago was traditionally the central meeting point for protests and celebrations in the Chilean capital. Since the outbreak of social protests in October 2019, the s… Read More
Plaza Baquedano at the centre of Santiago was traditionally the central meeting point for protests and celebrations in the Chilean capital. Since the outbreak of social protests in October 2019, the square and its monument became a central focal point. The protestors have tried t… Read More
![Valley-of-the-Fallen](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Onsite_Valley-of-the-Fallen-300x300-c-default.png)
![Valley-of-the-Fallen](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Onsite_Valley-of-the-Fallen-300x300-c-default.png)
#144
Valley of the Fallen in Madrid
Spain
The Valley of the Fallen in Madrid was built in the 1940s by order of dictator Francisco Franco and, was in part, built by forced labour from political prisoners. Its aim was to be a mausoleum for vic… Read More
Valley of the Fallen in Madrid
The Valley of the Fallen in Madrid was built in the 1940s by order of dictator Francisco Franco and, was in part, built by forced labour from political prisoners. Its aim was to be a mausoleum for vic… Read More
The Valley of the Fallen in Madrid was built in the 1940s by order of dictator Francisco Franco and, was in part, built by forced labour from political prisoners. Its aim was to be a mausoleum for victims of the Civil War from the Francoist side but at the end… Read More
![Japan_Yasukuni Shrine Japanese Yasukuni shrine viewed from the side](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Japan_Yasukuni-Shrine-300x300-c-default.png)
![Japan_Yasukuni Shrine Japanese Yasukuni shrine viewed from the side](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Japan_Yasukuni-Shrine-300x300-c-default.png)
#90
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
Japan
The Yasukuni Shrine, originally established in 1869, became controversial after the Second World War when 14 Class A War Criminals were enshrined at the site. Aside from the 14 war criminals, over 2.5… Read More
Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo
The Yasukuni Shrine, originally established in 1869, became controversial after the Second World War when 14 Class A War Criminals were enshrined at the site. Aside from the 14 war criminals, over 2.5… Read More
The Yasukuni Shrine, originally established in 1869, became controversial after the Second World War when 14 Class A War Criminals were enshrined at the site. Aside from the 14 war criminals, over 2.5 million souls are preserved at Yasukuni. Visits by Japanese leadership to the s… Read More
![Leopold II Statue in Kinshasa](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-300x300-c-default.png)
![Leopold II Statue in Kinshasa](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/new-Case-Studies-Featured-Images-300x300-c-default.png)
#290
Leopold II Statue in Kinshasa
Democratic Republic of Congo
In 1967, an equestrian statue of Belgian King Leopold II, the owner and absolute ruler of the Free State of Congo from 1886 to 1908, was taken down and discarded on the outskirts of Kinshasa, in today… Read More
Leopold II Statue in Kinshasa
In 1967, an equestrian statue of Belgian King Leopold II, the owner and absolute ruler of the Free State of Congo from 1886 to 1908, was taken down and discarded on the outskirts of Kinshasa, in today… Read More
In 1967, an equestrian statue of Belgian King Leopold II, the owner and absolute ruler of the Free State of Congo from 1886 to 1908, was taken down and discarded on the outskirts of Kinshasa, in today’s Democratic Republic of Congo, as part of President Mobutu’s postcolonial re-i… Read More
![Tunisia Habib Statue Equestian Statue of Habib Bourgiba waving](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Tunisia-Equestrain-Statue-300x300-c-default.png)
![Tunisia Habib Statue Equestian Statue of Habib Bourgiba waving](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Tunisia-Equestrain-Statue-300x300-c-default.png)
#154
Habib Bourguiba Statue in Tunis
Tunisia
After 30 years since the statue of Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba was removed, it returned to central Tunis in June 2016. The return of the statue was intended to be a grand gesture of patr… Read More
Habib Bourguiba Statue in Tunis
After 30 years since the statue of Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba was removed, it returned to central Tunis in June 2016. The return of the statue was intended to be a grand gesture of patr… Read More
After 30 years since the statue of Tunisia’s first president Habib Bourguiba was removed, it returned to central Tunis in June 2016. The return of the statue was intended to be a grand gesture of patriotism, around which all Tunisian’s could unite. It became clear, however, that… Read More
![Italy_Mussolini Bas Relief](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Italy_Mussolini-Bas-Relief-300x300-c-default.png)
![Italy_Mussolini Bas Relief](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Italy_Mussolini-Bas-Relief-300x300-c-default.png)
#84
Mussolini Bas-Relief in Bolzano
Italy
Unlike many monuments of past fascist leaders that have been eradicated throughout Europe, Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, Italy, still includes a monumental bas-relief that depicts Benito Mussol… Read More
Mussolini Bas-Relief in Bolzano
Unlike many monuments of past fascist leaders that have been eradicated throughout Europe, Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, Italy, still includes a monumental bas-relief that depicts Benito Mussol… Read More
Unlike many monuments of past fascist leaders that have been eradicated throughout Europe, Bolzano, the capital of South Tyrol, Italy, still includes a monumental bas-relief that depicts Benito Mussolini and reminds locals of the Mussolini Fascist regime of Italy. For fifty years… Read More
![South Korea_Statueofpeace](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/South-Korea_Statueofpeace-300x300-c-default.png)
![South Korea_Statueofpeace](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/South-Korea_Statueofpeace-300x300-c-default.png)
#142
Statue of Peace in Seoul
South Korea
The Statue of Peace in Seoul, South Korea, is among the most iconic and contested statues dedicated to ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for women who were sexually exploited by the Japanese military durin… Read More
Statue of Peace in Seoul
The Statue of Peace in Seoul, South Korea, is among the most iconic and contested statues dedicated to ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for women who were sexually exploited by the Japanese military durin… Read More
The Statue of Peace in Seoul, South Korea, is among the most iconic and contested statues dedicated to ‘comfort women’, a euphemism for women who were sexually exploited by the Japanese military during the Second World War. Since its unveiling in 2011, the statue has been a sourc… Read More
![Mexico Monument to Abscence](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Mexico-Monument-to-Abscence-300x300-c-default.png)
![Mexico Monument to Abscence](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Mexico-Monument-to-Abscence-300x300-c-default.png)
#101
Monument to Absence in Mexico City
Mexico
The Monument to Absence commemorates the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre when governmentforces opened fire on a student protest at Mexico City’s Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of theThree Cultures). The… Read More
Monument to Absence in Mexico City
The Monument to Absence commemorates the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre when governmentforces opened fire on a student protest at Mexico City’s Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of theThree Cultures). The… Read More
The Monument to Absence commemorates the 1968 Tlatelolco Massacre when governmentforces opened fire on a student protest at Mexico City’s Plaza de las Tres Culturas (Square of theThree Cultures). The monument was created in collaboration with the Executive Commission forAttention… Read More
![Taiwan_Chiang Kai Shek Statue of Chiang sitting cross legged with two Taiwan flags on either side](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Taiwan_Chiang-Kai-Shek-300x300-c-default.png)
![Taiwan_Chiang Kai Shek Statue of Chiang sitting cross legged with two Taiwan flags on either side](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Taiwan_Chiang-Kai-Shek-300x300-c-default.png)
#154
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City
Taiwan
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City, Taiwan opened to the public in 1980, five years after Taiwan’s first president Chiang Kai-shek’s death, in honour of Chiang’s legacies after he establ… Read More
Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City, Taiwan opened to the public in 1980, five years after Taiwan’s first president Chiang Kai-shek’s death, in honour of Chiang’s legacies after he establ… Read More
The Chiang Kai-shek Memorial Hall in Taipei City, Taiwan opened to the public in 1980, five years after Taiwan’s first president Chiang Kai-shek’s death, in honour of Chiang’s legacies after he established rule over Taiwan from 1949 onwards. Since Taiwan’s democratization in the… Read More
![Senegal African Renaissance Monument in Dakar Statue of Women and Man holding a child elevated above the Dakar Skyline](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Senegal_AfricanRenMon-300x300-c-default.png)
![Senegal African Renaissance Monument in Dakar Statue of Women and Man holding a child elevated above the Dakar Skyline](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Senegal_AfricanRenMon-300x300-c-default.png)
#247
African Renaissance Monument in Dakar
Senegal
The African Renaissance Monument is a 50-meter tall statue in Dakar, Senegal, erected in 2010 as the project of then-President Abdoulaye Wade. It serves to commemorate the ‘African Renaissance,’… Read More
African Renaissance Monument in Dakar
The African Renaissance Monument is a 50-meter tall statue in Dakar, Senegal, erected in 2010 as the project of then-President Abdoulaye Wade. It serves to commemorate the ‘African Renaissance,’… Read More
The African Renaissance Monument is a 50-meter tall statue in Dakar, Senegal, erected in 2010 as the project of then-President Abdoulaye Wade. It serves to commemorate the ‘African Renaissance,’ a political ideology that heralds a goal of growth and prosperity for the Afric… Read More
![Australia_Roberttown A statue of Robert Towns sits beside a tree.](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Australia_Roberttown-300x300-c-default.png)
![Australia_Roberttown A statue of Robert Towns sits beside a tree.](https://contestedhistories.org/wp-content/uploads/Australia_Roberttown-300x300-c-default.png)
#6
Robert Towns Statue in Townsville
Australia
On June 22, 2020 the statue of Townsville’s founder and namesake Robert Towns was vandalised by the smearing of red paint on his hands to symbolise blood. The vandalisation formed part of a wider move… Read More
Robert Towns Statue in Townsville
On June 22, 2020 the statue of Townsville’s founder and namesake Robert Towns was vandalised by the smearing of red paint on his hands to symbolise blood. The vandalisation formed part of a wider move… Read More
On June 22, 2020 the statue of Townsville’s founder and namesake Robert Towns was vandalised by the smearing of red paint on his hands to symbolise blood. The vandalisation formed part of a wider movement in Australia to confront the nation’s colonial past. Robert Towns and… Read More