Kingdom of Benin Full History

[Music] foreign [Music] Nigeria formed in the 11th century there was a vast and Powerful kingdom known as the kingdom of Benin ruled by Divine Kings known as obas its position on the coast and by the Niger River was Bountiful wealth those who controlled the waterways controlled the tolls with a formidable military the kingdom conquered nearby territories receiving further tribute word soon spread of this powerful and prosperous kingdom to other lands Craftsmen partisans cloth makers bronze sculptures and Carpenters all flock to the kingdom to make their mark from this came the growth of a strong artistic culture within the kingdom with guilds producing Works directly for the Uber himself there was an array of beautiful sculptures crafted from brass Ivory and iron the sculptures acted as records of life within the kingdom displaying its laws lifestyle and ceremonies visitors were astounded by the kingdom as beautiful as it was imposing with his impressive walls and thorough Affairs as one of its reached far away Lands new types of visitors were attracted from across the ocean indeed Europeans maintained a sound relationship with the kingdom primarily through trade compounding the Kingdom's wealth as the traded Ivory and palmol in exchange for guns and Brass Manila the Europeans received profitable trade and Benin received technology that helped expand the Empire however it was not to be a peaceful relationship forever in the late 1800s the British became more forceful in their efforts to secure dominance and began to subdue previously free peoples in the areas surrounding the Benin Kingdom Oba Obama when ingombasi began to grow concerned as they saw his neighbors King Jaja of okobo and chief Nana of Easter Kerry sewer topped by European world and he feared for his Kingdom's Independence he began restricting trade possibilities hindering in particular the free passage of palm canals the bootfish were not happy with this they wanted prophets they wished to control the Benin Kingdom but couldn't attack without reason they decided to do what they had done to others coerced to ruler into a one-sided treaty that would give them ultimate control of the land a determined minor diplomats named Henry Canberra set out in 1892 with plans to not only obtain a signed treaty but to Annex the kingdom as a British overseas territory Galway approached the Oba with a treaty that will mean the virtual end of his independence although it is unlikely that he fully understood what was being offered due to the language barrier naturally worthy of the British he was reluctance to sign the treaty but allowed others to sign for him his intention was simply to placate the British and make them leave him alone to the British however it was legally binding free trade was theirs the Oba continued centuries all Traditions such as receiving tributes from Traders this was similar to custom duties and the British saw this as a violation of their treaty they sent several warnings to the Oba to stop or face the threats of arms eventually in 1896 acting Consul General James Phillips decided to take matters into his own hands claiming that the ivory in the obas palace would surely make up for the cost of such an expedition Philips put in a request to his superiors arguing the benefits of an invasion and didn't wait for an answer instead he arranged an expedition and took off Philips Expedition coincided with the ague festival with independent Kingdom a season in which the Uber could not be in the presence of non-natives and so their meeting was torn down he advised Phillips to return in a month's time Phillips refused and continued towards his destination the Oba sent a second delegation once again in forming Phillips that he would not be received but Phillips ignored the warning the exact events that led to what happened next are disputed Benin sources have maintained that the provocation took place that resulted in the conflict whereas the British claimed that Philip's party was attacked for no reason regardless of the details the end result was the same on the 4th of January 1897 Phillips party of over 250 men were killed in a clash with Benin soldiers two survivors that escaped returned to Britain to describe it as a massacre now the British had their excuse to bring Benin Kingdom completely under their control outraged by the killings the attacks were Admiral Harry Wilson to launch a retaliation against the Benin Kingdom on February 10. this was to be known as the Benin punitive Expedition with the main objectives of destroying Benin City capturing the Oba and appropriating the wealth of the Kingdom the British arrived to invade with above 2 500 heavily armed men the Benin soldiers themselves were armed with Flintlock muskets pistols machetes spares and bows and arrows Standing Tall to defend their Kingdom one last time then battle commenced was vicious and bloody But ultimately one-sided due to the superior Weaponry of the British during the battle bombings and Rockets contributed heavily to the massacre of countless civilians and their settlements and the city was set up lays by the 19th Benin city was captured the British suffered a total of its losses the casualties to the Berlin Kingdom were never recorded but are considered to be catastrophic One account reported hundreds of dead bodies some of which were simply caught in two by maxing fire after capture parts of the city were burnt and the British claimed we are Treasures as loots and as early as March 5th Consul General Ralph Moore reported the first sale of ivory all of the beautiful arts and sculptures that the kingdom had accumulated were stolen from their people and divided up between the Invaders doing the assaults the Oba fled the City Trump since search parties to hunt for him and burn down any Village suspected of harboring him throughout this Hunt is people refused to betray him and continuously protected him foreign however he surrendered after six months and was exiled to Calabar after trial where he died in 1914. meanwhile six of his chiefs were publicly executed Oba Obama when's son Erika the second became the first upper under colonial rule in 1914. the kingdom was occupied and Amalgamated into the protectorate of Southern Nigeria the chevious Independence was won in 1960 and the Benin Kingdom remains a part of it to this day [Music] foreign [Music]

Channel: Ronu Spirit

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Keywords: history of Benin, history of Edo people, african history, nigerian history, nigeria, kingdom of Benin, west african history, slavery, british colonial powers, colonizer, colonialisation, Edo kingdom, animated history, animation, ARCMoW, African regional comittee memory of the world, unesco, Oba of benin, Ovonramwen N'Ogbaisi, james phillips, British Empire, Benin 1897, benin city, benin kingdom, Chief Nana of itsekiri, King jaja of opobo, henry gallwey, ralph moor, harry rawson

Id: nUsjmh0ktno

Length: 8min 35sec (515 seconds)

Published: Wed Jan 11 2023