Why And How History Defines Who We Are (Part 7) By Mike Ozekhome, SAN

THE KINGDOM OF BENIN:

A QUINTESSENTIAL REMINDER OF THE IMPORTANCE OF HISTORY

 INTRODUCTION

In our recent discourse on the great Benin Kingdom history, we have so far dealt extensively with the origin of the Benin Kingdom, showing how the kingdom started in 900s, and the Golden Age that heralded Oba Ewuare, also known as Ewuare the Great, who was credited with turning Benin City into a city-state, from a military fortress built by the Ogisos. We also discussed the European Contact with the Portuguese explorers under Joao Afonso de Aveiro in about 1485 and the kingdom’s military superiority which was commenced last week. Today, we shall continue and beam our search light on the military superiority of the kingdom. We shall then discuss the Trans-Atlantic slave trade, how Britain sought to control over the trade, the Galway Treaty of 1892 and the conflict and conquest of 1897. Yet, more will come.

MILITARY SUPERIORITY OF BENIN KINGDOM (continues)

Benin’s tactics were well organized, with preliminary plans weighed by the Oba and his sub-commanders. Logistics were organized to support missions from the usual porter forces, water transport via canoe, and requisitioning from localities the army passed through. Movement of troops via canoes was critically important in the lagoons, creeks and rivers of the Niger Delta, a key area of Benin’s domination. Tactics in the field seem to have evolved over time. While the head-on clash was well known, documentation from the 18th century shows greater emphasis on avoiding continuous battle lines, and more effort to encircle an enemy (ifianyako).

Fortifications were important in the region and numerous military campaigns fought by Benin’s soldiers revolved around sieges. As noted above, Benin’s military earthworks are the largest of such structures in the world, and Benin’s rivals also built extensively. Barring a successful assault, most sieges were resolved by a strategy of attrition, slowly cutting off and starving out the enemy fortification until it capitulated. On occasion, however, European mercenaries were called on to aid with these sieges. In 1603–04 for example, European cannon helped batter and destroy the gates of a town near present-day Lagos, allowing 10,000 warriors of Benin to enter and conquer it. As payment, the Europeans received items, such as palm oil and bundles of pepper. The example of Benin shows the power of indigenous military systems, but also the role outside influences and new technologies brought to bear. This is a normal pattern among many nations.

THE TRANSATLANTIC SLAVE TRADE

Benin was one of many African countries to sell slaves to European slave traders, but like all strong states, the Benin people did so on their own terms. In fact, Benin refused to sell slaves for many years. Benin representatives sold some prisoners of war to the Portuguese in the late 1400s, during the time when Benin was expanding into an empire and fighting several battles. By the 1500s, however, they had stopped expanding and refused to sell more slaves until the 1700s. Instead, they traded other goods, including pepper, ivory, and palm oil for the brass and firearms they wanted from Europeans. The slave trade only began to pick up after 1750, when Benin was in a period of decline.

HOW BRITAIN SOUGHT CONTROL OVER THE SLAVE TRADE

Benin began to decline after 1700. Benin’s power and the wealth was continuously flourishing in the 19th century with the development of the trade in palm oil, textiles, ivory, slaves, and other resources. To preserve the kingdom’s independence, bit by bit the Oba banned the export of goods from Benin, until the trade was exclusively in palm oil.

By the last half of the 19th century Great Britain had come to want a closer relationship with the Kingdom of Benin; for British officials were increasingly interested in controlling trade in the area and in accessing the kingdom’s rubber resources to support their own growing tire market.

Several attempts were made to achieve this end beginning with the official visit of Richard Francis Burton in 1862 when he was consul at Fernando Pó. Following that came attempts to establish a treaty between Benin and the United Kingdom by Hewtt, Blair and Annesley in 1884, 1885 and 1886 respectively. However, these efforts did not yield any results. The kingdom resisted becoming a British protectorate throughout the 1880s, but the British remained persistent. Progress was made finally in 1892 during the visit of Vice-Consul Henry Galway. This mission was the first official visit after Burton’s. Moreover, it would also set in motion the events to come that would lead to Oba Ovonramwen’s demise.

 THE GALWAY TREATY OF 1892

At the end of the 19th century, the Kingdom of Benin had managed to retain its independence and the Oba exercised a monopoly over trade which the British found irksome. The territory was coveted by an influential group of investors for its rich natural resources such as palm-oil, rubber and ivory. After British consul Richard Burton visited Benin in 1862 he wrote of Benin’s as a place of “gratuitous barbarity which stinks of death”, a narrative which was widely publicized in Britain and increased pressure for the territory’s subjugation. In spite of this pressure, the kingdom maintained independence and was not visited by another representative of Britain until 1892 when Henry Gallwey, the British Vice-Consul of Oil Rivers Protectorate (later Niger Coast Protectorate), visited Benin City hoping to open up trade and ultimately annex Benin Kingdom and make it a British protectorate. Gallwey was able to get Omo n’Oba (Ovonramwen) and his chiefs to sign a treaty which gave Britain legal justification for exerting greater influence over the Empire. While the treaty itself contains text suggesting Ovonramwen actively sought Britain’s protection, this appears to be a fiction. Gallway’s own account suggests the Oba was hesitant to sign the treaty. Although some suggest that humanitarian motivations were driving Britain’s actions, letters written between administrators suggest that economic motivations were predominant. The treaty itself does not explicitly mention anything about Benin’s “bloody customs” that Burton had written about, and instead only includes a vague clause about ensuring “the general progress of civilization”.

NOW THIS THE CONFLICT AND CONQUEST OF 1897

During the European Scramble for Africa in the late 1800s, Britain wanted to extend its control northwards over what became Nigeria, but Benin repeatedly rejected their diplomatic advances. In 1892, however, a British representative named H. L. Gallwey visited Benin and reportedly convinced the Oba to sign a treaty that essentially granted Britain sovereignty over Benin. Benin officials challenged the treaty and refused to follow its provisions in regard to trade. When a British party of officers and porters set out in 1897 to visit Benin City to enforce the treaty, Benin attacked the convoy killing almost everyone.

Britain immediately prepared a punitive military expedition to punish Benin for the attack and to send a message to other kingdoms that might resist. The British forces quickly defeated the Benin army and then razed Benin City, looting the magnificent artwork in the process.

When people in Benin discovered Britain’s true intentions were an invasion to depose the king of Benin, without approval from the king his generals ordered a preemptive attack on the British party approaching Benin City, including eight unknowing British representatives, who were killed. A punitive expedition was launched in 1897. The British force, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, razed and burned the city, destroying much of the country’s treasured art and dispersing nearly all that remained. The stolen portrait figures, busts, and groups created in iron, carved ivory, and especially in brass (conventionally called the “Benin Bronzes”) are now displayed in museums around the world.

 AND THIS THE GRADUAL DECLINE

 The city and Empire of Benin declined after 1700. By this time, European activity in the area, most notably through the Trans-Atlantic slave-trade, resulted in major disruptive repercussions. However, Benin’s power was revived in the 19th century with the development of the trade in palm oil and textiles. To preserve Benin’s independence, bit by bit the King of Benin banned the export of goods from Benin, until the trade was exclusively in palm oil. (To be concluded).

THOUGHT FOR THE WEEK

 “But we cannot just take this historical fact for granted. We must make it live.” (Wendell Willkie).

LAST LINE

I thank numerous readers across the globe for always keeping faith with the Sunday Sermon on the Mount of the Nigerian Project, by Chief Mike Ozekhome, SAN, OFR, FCIArb., Ph.D, LL.D. I enjoin you to look forward to next week’s bumper treatise. We must revive our history. It helps us renew and rediscover ourselves and eschew past mistakes.