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Kingdom of Benin

AfricaHeartland today: Nigeria

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A forest kingdom of the Edo people in what is now southern Nigeria, ruled by an oba from Benin City. Court guilds cast brass altar heads and plaques. A British force took the capital in 1897 and sent about 2,500 objects to Britain, by official figures.

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Key events

  1. In Edo tradition Eweka, son of the Ife prince Oranmiyan, becomes the first oba of BeninDisputed

    This is oral tradition. New World Encyclopedia gives Eweka I's reign as 1180–1246; World History Encyclopedia places the arrival of Ife craft skills in the late 13th century; the Metropolitan Museum dates the kingdom's founding to about 1300.

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  2. Oba Ewuare takes the throne about 1440 and is credited with enlarging the kingdom and shaping the court system and royal ritual cycle

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  3. Portuguese ships reach the coast of Benin and trade ivory, pepper and cloth through the port of UghotonDisputed

    Sources date first contact to about 1471 (World History Encyclopedia), about 1485 (New World Encyclopedia) or a permanent presence from 1487 (World History Encyclopedia). The Art Institute of Chicago puts it late in Ewuare's reign. Wikipedia lists enslaved people among the goods traded; World History Encyclopedia says the oba banned the sale of male slaves to the Portuguese after 1516, and the Metropolitan Museum says Benin limited itself to selling prisoners of war.

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  4. Court brass casters, using lost-wax casting and brass brought by the Portuguese, produce plaques and altar heads for the palaceDisputed

    World History Encyclopedia dates the boom to the end of the 15th century; Wikipedia says the objects were made from the 14th century. The start year is approximate.

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  5. The oba sends an embassy to Portugal, seemingly to obtain firearms, and receives missionaries

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  6. In January a Benin force attacks a British party led by acting consul-general James Phillips near Ugbine, killing him and most of his partyDisputed

    The Art Institute of Chicago dates the ambush to 12 January; Wikipedia dates it to 4 January. Both say the attack was not ordered by the oba: the Art Institute says the force acted without his knowledge, and Wikipedia says he tried to restrain the war party. Britain treated the attack as grounds for the expedition that followed.

  7. A British force takes Benin City on 18 February, exiles Oba Ovonramwen to Calabar and sends about 2,500 objects to Britain, by official figuresDisputed

    The 2,500 figure is the official count cited by Wikipedia; it counts objects sent to Britain, and other objects were sold or taken privately.