The Rapid Progression of Cultural Property Protection 1790 – 1863: The Crises Faced by Cultural Property

Abstract

This paper addresses the catalysts which created the rapid acceleration of the protection of cultural property 1790 – 1863. The recent destruction of iconic cultural property, along with the intensified legal struggles of repatriation of displaced cultural property gives rise to the need of more stringent and enforceable protection laws for all cultures’ iconic art, artifacts and edifices. The years 1790 – 1863, a period in the heart of the Age of Revolutions, reveal the causes, catalysts and basis for which cultural property protection policies and laws are founded. Framed by the most influential law of nations treatise of that time, Emer de Vattel’s The Law of Nations (1758), this study uses some of the turbulent, revolutionary events of 1790-1863, as the landscape of cultural property protection’s rapid acceleration. Jacob Burckhardt developed his theory of historical crises and fathers the lens of cultural history during this period. The study uses both, method and lens, respectively. Like Burckhardt, and in early cultural history design, it is not the events which this study is concerned with, it is the impression, interpretations and implications. The protection of cultural property advanced from idea, Emer de Vattel, to law, Francis Lieber’s The Lieber Code, in this relatively short period. It was because of the loss and displacement, which cultural property was subjected to. Hopefully, the current crisis state of cultural property loss and destruction can be curbed with a renewed, passionate approach to understanding culture and cultural property. A PowerPoint© presentation, to be used in conjunction with lectures, is based on the narrative of this thesis. It illustrates the dynamic and rapid changes that can occur to international policies and laws during times of crises, specifically regarding cultural property. The presentation is designed to accompany lectures for graduate or undergraduate students of international law, world heritage, and cultural property. The narrative and project are formed to fit the National Humanities Center’s “Resources for Educators” website.