[article ID:250]
Europe is a large continent with a long recorded history but it was infrequently directly affected by colonialisation by the UK.
Sandra Dudley compiled the following lists as part of the pilot ESRC project:
Cyprus
1878 – the Ottoman Empire places it under British administration
1914 – completely annexed by Britain
1960 – independence
Gibraltar
1704 – becomes a colony; remains British
Heligoland *1807 – the island is seized from Denmark
1890 – ceded to Germany
Ionian Islands
*1815 – become British Protectorate
1864 – ceded to Greece
Ireland
*1171 – Henry II begins the rule of Ireland from British mainland
1801 – Act of Union
1921 – all but the 6 counties of Ulster gain independence as Irish Free State
1937 – becomes Eire
1949 – becomes Republic of Ireland
Malta
1814 – formally annexed
1947 – self-government
1964 – full independence
Minorca
1713 – ceded to Britain under Treaty of Utrecht
1802 – ceded to Spain
We shall therefore count as colonies for the purposes of the ESRC project (for the entirety of the period which is being examined ie 1884 - 1945 inclusive):
Cyprus
Gibraltar
Malta
Ireland We will not include in the colonial statistics, it is extremely difficult to split a single country by time
[article ID:251]
Albania
Andorra
Austria
Belarus
Belgium
Bosnia Herzegovina Yugoslavia
Bulgaria
Croatia Yugoslavia
Cyprus
Czech Republic
Denmark
Estonia
Finland
France
Germany
Gibraltar
Greece
Hungary
Iceland
Ireland
Italy
Latvia
Liechtenstein
Luxembourg
Lithuania
Macedonia Yugoslavia
Malta
Moldova
Monaco
Montenegro Yugoslavia
The Netherlands
Norway
Poland
Portugal
Romania
Russia [excluding Siberia which should be in Asia]
San Marino
Serbia Yugoslavia
Slovakia
Slovenia
Spain
Sweden
Switzerland
UK
Ukraine
Vatican City
Yugoslavia
NB we have excluded Turkey as such as small part of it geographically is in Europe and so much in Asia. We have also excluded Georgia which we will also include in the Asian statistics.
NB countries in red were UK colonies. Russia excludes Siberia which is also Asian
[article ID:253]
Definite archaeological items - 26,575
Definite ethnographic items - 14,400
Possible arch or ethn items - 923
[article ID:254]
Albania - 179
Andorra - 3
Austria - 424
Belarus - 4
Belgium - 455
Bosnia Herzegovina - 155
Bulgaria - 13
Croatia - 48
Cyprus - 424
Czech Republic - 32
Denmark - 822
Estonia - 4
Finland - 176
France - 4,683
Germany - 637
Gibraltar - 1
Greece - 554
Hungary - 91
Iceland - 79
Ireland - 324 [excluding UK]
[*NB double counting with UK is very common - 547 objects could be either UK or Ireland]
Italy - 2,123
Latvia - 4
Liechtenstein - 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Lithuania - 4
Luxembourg - 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Macedonia - 13
Malta - 435
Moldova - 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Monaco- 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Montenegro - 61
The Netherlands - 138
Norway - 579
Poland - 31
Portugal - 184
Romania - 22
Russia [exclude Siberia which should be in Asia] - 475 [NB although Siberia is omitted some places that are in Siberia but don't say so may still be included]
San Marino- 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Serbia - 24
Slovakia - 2
Slovenia - 2
Spain - 410
Sweden - 650
Switzerland - 835
UK - 25,596 [excluding Ireland * see above][
Ukraine - 78
Vatican City - 8
Yugoslavia- 0 [this country will be ignored in all further statistics]
Note usual caveats about double counting between countries.
Countries in descending order of number of objects:
UK - 25,596 [excluding Ireland]
France - 4,683
Italy - 2,123
Switzerland - 835
Denmark - 822
Sweden - 650
Germany - 637
Norway - 579
Greece - 554
UK or Ireland - 547
Russia [exclude Siberia] - 475
Belgium - 455
Malta - 435
Austria - 424
Cyprus - 424
Spain - 410
Ireland - 324 [excluding UK]
Portugal - 184
Albania - 179
Finland - 176
Bosnia Herzegovina - 155
The Netherlands - 138
Hungary - 91
Iceland - 79
Ukraine - 78
Montenegro - 61
Croatia - 48
Czech Republic - 32
Poland - 31
Serbia - 24
Romania - 22
Bulgaria - 13
Macedonia - 13
Vatican City - 8
Belarus - 4
Estonia - 4
Latvia - 4
Lithuania - 4
Andorra - 3
Slovakia - 2
Slovenia - 2
Gibraltar - 1
UK is by far the largest collection of objects, France is the next largest but that is twice the size of the third (Italy) and all other European countries have collections under a 1000 objects strong with 21 countries have collections of less than a hundred objects.
In other words, over three-quarters of all European objects in the PRM up to 1945 were from three European countries, France, Italy and most importantly the UK.
UK
England - 22,510
Wales - 606
Scotland - 847
Northern Ireland - [excluding only possible Northern Ireland objects] - 687
Channel Islands - 360
Unspecified UK - 604
Scilly Isles - 22
Isle of Man - 81
Descending order of number of objects:
England - 22,510
Scotland - 847
Northern Ireland - [excluding only possible Northern Ireland objects] - 687
Wales - 606
Unspecified UK - 604
Isle of Man - 81
Channel Islands - 36
Scilly Isles - 22
Total UK objects (calculated not by adding countries together but by totalling separate UK database) - 25,598
A truly staggering results for a museum that considers itself to be a museum covering the world and all its objects, 13 per cent of them come from the home country!! [As an aside we calculated the same thing for the position as at today:
Which shows that that percentage of UK objects of the whole collection has actually gone up to 16 per cent, and England has only slight declined as a percentage to 12%.
[article ID:255]
Europe:
The peak in the 1880s is due to the large number of European objects given as part of the founding collection by Augustus Henry Lane Fox Pitt Rivers and presumably also those items transferred from the Ashmolean Museum and the University Museum of Natural History. Many of these objects were of course acquired early than the 1880s.
Albania:
The peaks in the 1930s and particularly the 1940s are because Mary Edith Durham's collection was acquired in these decades.
Andorra:
All Andorran objects were acquired in the 1910s from Beatrice Braithwaite Batty [see biographies]
Austria:
Belarus:
The two Belarus items came in the 1900s, both from Michel de Bernoff.
Belgium:
Bosnia Herzegovina Yugoslavia:
Interestingly a lot of the peaks in the Bosnian collections are due to two people, from my point of view one of these is expected (Mary Edith Durham), the other is unexpected (Henry Balfour who appears to have given and possibly collected the 1890s material and part of the 1930s material - presumably possibly all in the 1890s if he did collect it.
Bulgaria
12 items were acquired from Bulgaria during the 1880s by the Museum - all from founding collection so they could easily have been collected much earlier. One item was acquired in the 1930s.
Croatia Yugoslavia
This is a very small number of objects overall, but the 1930s and 1940s peaks are again due to collections received from Mary Edith Durham
Cyprus
The peak in the 1880s is mostly due to the Cypriot items from the founding collection which were mostly collected prior to the 1880s by Cesnola etc. So in fact this collection probably predates colonialisation meaning that nearly half the Cypriot collection probably predates colonialisation of that country (colonialisation from 1878, collection amassed by 1880). The 1920s peak is mainly due to a collection from Hornblower.
Czech Republic
4 objects were acquired in the 1880s, 1 in the 1890s, 4 in the 1920s and 23 in the 1930s. The 'peak' in the 1930s was principally due to a collection being acquired from Pospisil, the Director of the Ethnographic museum in Brno.
Denmark
The vast majority of objects obtained in the 1880s were from the founding collection and were probably acquired by Pitt Rivers before 1880. All but 30 of these objects are also archaeological
Estonia
All the Estonia objects were obtained in the 1890s [actually in 1897 from one collector Dr. Paul Gahtgens]
Finland
The peak of Finnish objects obtained during the Second World War were actually field collected in 1873 by Arthur Evans and donated via his daughter after his death.
France
The second largest European collection, there are two decades with more substantial collections - the 1880s and 1910s. The first is principally due to the large number of French archaeological objects donated by Pitt Rivers (all but about 200 objects are in this category), the second is also due principally to an archaeological collection, this time given by Henry Balfour.
Germany
Gibraltar
The only Gibraltar item was acquired by the Museum in 1939 after Balfour's death but had been collected in 1895 (possibly by Balfour). He may well have stopped in Gibraltar on a ship en route for another destination.
Greece
Over half of the 1880s peak is due to items from the founding collection.
Hungary
A remarkably consistent low level of acquisitions per decade (except 1940s)
Iceland
Ireland
All the objects in the 1880s Irish collections come from the founding collection (and almost all archaeological).
Possibly Ireland or UK [Northern Ireland]
Most of the objects in the 1880s peak come from the founding collection (which is generally not very well provenanced) and yet again it is also mostly archaeological
Italy
Both Canziani and Hildburgh collections came in in the 1940s
Latvia
All 4 Latvia objects (2 pairs of shoes) were acquired in 1897 from Gähtgens.
Lithuania
One Lithuanian item came in during 1900s and the other 2 in the 1910s.
Macedonia Yugoslavia
No objects came from Macedonia in the 1880s, 1 in the 1890s, none in the 1900s, 1 in the 1910s, 3 in the 1930s and 8 in the 1940s (most of the latter from ME Durham)
Malta
Malta was a colonial possession throughout this period, the two peaks relate to some items from Henry Balfour (a visit to the island?) and Theodore Zammit, a museum professional [1910s] and a variety of sources [1920s]
Montenegro Yugoslavia
Again the small peak in the 1940s is due to the collection from ME Durham
The Netherlands
The peak in the 1930s is because of a large donation from Henry Balfour mostly donated in the early 1930s or after death as bequest
Norway
There doesn't seem to be any particular reason for the reasonably high number of Norwegian acquisitions in the 1940s (it is spread among quite a few donors / collectors) but there does seem to be quite a few Norwegian objects acquired from Balfour in the 1930s.
Poland
Portugal
The large number of items acquired in the 1910s include a collection of Portugeuse lace from Flora Shelford (collected by Mrs Bland).
Romania
1 item was obtained in the 1890s, 9 in the 1910s, 1 in the 1920s, 5 in the 1930s and 5 in the 1940s.
Russia
Serbia Yugoslavia
2 objects were obtained in the 1880s, 1 in the 1900s, 3 in the 1910s, 8 in the 1930s, and 10 in the 1940s (ME Durham again).
Slovakia
Both Slovakian objects were obtained in the 1930s by the same donor (H. Peach)
Slovenia
One possible Slovenian object was acquired in the 1880s but collected before 1874 (founding collection) , the other was acquired in the 1930s as a bequest from Balfour (and again is not certainly Slovenian)
Spain
The peak in the 1910s and 1920s does not seem to come from one source
Sweden
The peak in the 1930s is due to Balfour's bequest, presumably a good deal of these objects were collected by him earlier in his career
Switzerland
The peak in the 1880s is all due to the founding collection and all but 2 objects are archaeological. The peak in the 1900s is not due to one source.
UK
The peak in the 1880s is almost entirely down to the large UK (actually principally English) collection from Pitt Rivers in 1884 - 5855 of the 6632 objects given in this decade are archaeological objects given by Pitt Rivers from the UK. The second peak in the 1920s is due to the Alexander Montgomerie Bell collection given by Archibald Bell (again principally of stone tools).
England
For reasons for peaks in 1880s and 1920s see above [UK]
Scotland
Wales
The peak in 1930s is due to mostly due to a collection of stone tools from Wales from Eustace Fulcrand Bosanquet
Northern Ireland
The peak in the 1880s is due to the large number of Ireland archaeological items in the founding collection
Channel Islands
The peak in the 1910s is due to Marett and the Societe Jersaise and its and his archaeological activity
Isle of Man
79 objects were acquired in the 1880s from the Isle of Man most from Ernest Bickersteth Savage or from the founding collection, 1 in the 1890s and 1 in the 1910s.
Scilly Islands
Most of the Scilly Islands material came in the 1930s, 1 in the 1940s mostly from Eustace Fulcrand Bosanquet
Ukraine
Vatican City
All the Vatican City objects were obtained by bequest from Henry Balfour
