Benin Expedition 120 years on
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Statement on involvement of Benin Empire in the Transatlantic Slave Trade 

4/4/2017

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Sir Ralph Moor, K.C.M.G., Her Majesty's Commissioner and Consul General for the Niger Coast Protectorate and Mr. Roupell collected the information below and forwarding this to the Foreign Office in London averred that, “The foregoing narrative has all the appearance of veracity, and as it was derived from the men among whom tradition was most likely to be preserved, we may accept it with a few minor reservations.” (Read & Dalton, 1897,Page 7).

The information was obtained at Benin city, in November, 1897, from the following chiefs :—
  • Chief Ariyo - Court Historian.
  • Eseri -  Juju man (Royal Priest)
  • Ossa - Juju man (Royal Priest)
  • Osuon - Juju man (Royal Priest)
  • Ihollo - Master Smith.
  • Ihollo II -   Master Wood Carver.
  • Ine - Master Ivory Carver.
 
On Benin involvement in the Transatlantic Slave Trade Benin Chiefs had this to say:

“King Esige or Osawe was very old and could not walk about, but all the time he could tell his boys that he was a white man when he was born, and he wanted to see white man again before he died. So they sent messengers with some tusks as presents to the country by the big water where white men used to come, and they told the messenger to go and salute any white man they found there, and beg him to come; which they did. And ever since then white men have come to Benin. The white men stayed long, many many years; they came to trade, and if a man comes to trade he must sit down and sell his things softly, softly,—they used to buy ivory, redwood, oil, gum and slaves, but principally ivory—in return they brought guns, powder, rum, salt, cloth and silk. Then there was a different white man who used to come, but he only bought slaves. When he came, a messenger used to come before him to tell everyone he was coming; then if a man had any slaves to sell, he could send to farm to get them. But he only paid a poor price, 1-4 bags. These white men used to sit down at Gwatto, and there they built houses, big houses with big doors in which they kept their goods and slaves.” Page 5. [See also Disney A. R. 2009.]

Analysis
Evidence from this narrative proves beyond reasonable doubt that the concept of large scale trading in slaves was not a practice that the Benin people were used to or engaged in:  “Then there was a different white man who used to come, but he only bought slaves. When he came, a messenger used to come before him to tell everyone he was coming; then if a man had any slaves to sell, he could send to farm to get them.”

The slaves sold to this one Whiteman were domestic slaves working on family farms. Fewer hands working on the farm meant less food for sale and consumption for the families. They would only have sold any slaves to keep their Whiteman friend happy.

The Benin farmers were also not aware of what happened to the slaves after leaving Benin, otherwise their high moral compass would have stopped them selling part of their household for whatever price.
 
Additionally, there was no incentive for them to engage in trading in slaves,‘ But he only paid a poor price, 1-4 bags.’
 
The White slavers conducted their business outside of Benin City with little interest from the Benin people and their Kings: “These white men used to sit down at Gwatto, and there they built houses, big houses with big doors in which they kept their goods and slaves.”
 
Fact: it is false to claim that the Kingdom of Benin was centre of the Transatlantic Slave Trade (Bacon, R. 1897, p.13). As evidenced by the Benin elders’ narrative above, from the time of Oba Esigie (1504 – 1550) to 1897, there was no commercial slave trading in the kingdom. Also see Disney (2009) page 62.

Crucially, from about 1550, the warrior kings Oba Esigie and Oba Orhogbua banned slave exports [Disney, A. R. 2009, p.63]. Benin kingdom was therefore the first to ban slave exports and prohibit the transatlantic slave trade. This was  over 253 years before Denmark and over 260 years before Britain conceived the idea [abcnews.go.com]. 

Fact: Oba Esigie (1504 – 1550) who could speak, read and write Portuguese fluently  (Edo World Net) was mixed race Benin and European ( Moor & Roupell in Read & Dalton,1897, p8). He would have had an idea of the strangeness of exporting large numbers of Africans overseas. Without doubt, reports from ambassadors Benin sent to Portugal between 1480 - 1530 (Disney, A. R. pages 62 - 63) would have given the Obas an idea of the plight of slaves exported overseas. They put a stop to slave exports in their kingdom.

                        The Atlantic Slave Trade Ban Timeline
1441          The Portuguese begin The Atlantic Slave Trade.
1470           Portuguese ships start exporting slaves from the Slave Coast.
1484           Oba Ozulua exchanges ambassadors with Lisbon in Portugal.
1550           Oba Esigie bans slave exports from Benin Kingdom.
1502           First reported African slaves in the new world.
1640           The Transatlantic Slave Trade is at its peak.
1794           France frees all slaves in its colonies.
1803           Denmark is first European country to ban the slave trade.
1807           Britain the principal slave-trading nation bans the Atlantic Slave Trade.
1807           The USA legislates banning of slave trade with effect from 1808.
1815    Under pressure from Britain: Spain, Portugal, France and the              Netherlands agree to abolish the slave trade at the Congress of Vienna.
1836          Portugal bans the slave trade.
1860s    The slave trade finally stops due to international legislations and cooperation with Britain and the USA taking the lead.

It is important to note that the Kingdom of Benin was the first sovereign nation to ban the Atlantic Slave Trade. Its contribution to resisting trading in human cargo has been largely overlooked by historians and it is now time to acknowledge this. The kings took a stand against the Atlantic Slave Trade before it turned large scale. 


 
References
1) ABC News, Timeline of Atlantic Slave Trade, accessed, http://abcnews.go.com/US/story?id=96659&page=1, Jul 2

2) Bacon R. Benin City of Blood, 1897, p.13

3) Disney A. R., A History of Portugal and the Portuguese Empire, From Beginnings to 1807 Volume 2: The Portuguese Empire. 2009, Page 61 'The 'Slave Rivers'  was the territory of the aquatic Ijo and Itsekiri people.'

4) Ibid page 62, ' A profitable Portuguese trade was driven in Benin pepper'

5) Ibid Page 62, 'When the Portuguese first reached the Slave Coast they traded with the Ijo in the creeks and swamps along the seaboard; but in the mid-1480s they were given leave by the oba to do business in Benin itself. A feitoria (trading post) was then established at Gwato (Ughoton) on the River Osse.'

6) Ibid, page 62, 'A feitoria (trading post) was then established at Gwato (Ughoton) on the River Osse.'
​
7) Ibid page 63

8) Ibid  Pereira D. P. 1937 cited on  page 62, ' A town of about 2,000 inhabitants, Gwato was the river port for Benin City.' 


9) Ibid page 62, 'The new feitoria exported slaves and Benin pepper, the latter as a crown monopoly.'

10) Edo World Net, Oba Esigie, accessed: http://edoworld.net/Oba_Esigie_1.html

11) Nimmons F. Primary History, 2015, pages 36 – 37

12) ​Ibid page 49
 
13) Nimmons F. Slavery History- accessed: http://slaverystory.blogspot.co.uk/
 
14) Nimmons F. Edo on Slavery – Accessed: http://slaverystory.blogspot.co.uk/p/edo-on-slavery.html
 
15) READ C.H, & DALTON O,M, ANTIQUITIES FROM THE CITY OF BENlN AND FROM OTHER PARTS OF WEST AFRICA IN THE BRITISH MUSEUM, 1899, PAGE4.  
Accessed MMA Digital Collections

 
16) Ibid Page 5.
 
17) Ibid page 8.
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War Remembrance Day

13/11/2016

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They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old;
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
                 We will remember them.

                      LEST WE FORGET
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All those who gave their lives to defend our great Benin Kingdom.

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Should the Benin treasures stay or go back to Nigeria?

6/11/2016

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Evidence 4​

Bear in mind when debating this issue:
In what is essential,
there must be unity;
In what is doubtful,
There must be freedom;
In everything,
There must be humanity.


In this debate:
The essential is listening to the voice and wishes of the owner of the Benin treasures.
The Oba of Benin is their owner.

The doubtful is in some campaigners’ intentions.

The everything is in all the circumstances surrounding the debated issue.


 
Illustration of the above points.

Picture this
A thief breaks into a house whilst  the owners are out. The thief steals priceless ornaments and takes them to his own house and family. They enjoy the status associated with their stolen items for years. After 118 years, the family tires of them and decide to return them to their grieving owners. How best to do this? Why not accuse the theft victims of some detestable offence then it won't look so bad on us. Not content with that, they go public to the media to publicise and justify their actions. What heroes!

A true case
 http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-31605284

​
I will return to  this interview at a later date, for now I will respond to a few comments by our hero.
1)
"His diary shows that he had a sense of humanity rather than what I was expecting to find - a shared sense of racial superiority.' We know this to be untrue as the real reason for the invasion of Benin was well documented by the British at the time. This was not a humanitarian mission but of commercial interest.
2)
"Herbert's diary describes how the British fired Maxim machine guns and rockets at their enemies." Surely these must have killed some people. As Sir Bacon stated in his book the Benins took their dead away very quickly. At one time they saw on the road, a heap of 29 bodies killed during the fighting. These dead bodies littered Benin City and the surrounding areas. Some were left in hurriedly prepared mass graves and abandoned as the Benin people fled for their lives. Any photographs taken were of these dead bodies.
3)
"As we approached the city through the bush, we found bodies of slaves newly sacrificed & placed across the path to bring the Benis luck, while they lay in holes, or behind cover, & 'sniped' at us as we passed." No one of these bodies had a label with the word 'slave' written on it. Therefore this sentence is ludicrous. The sentence confirms that there was active combat going on at the time. The dead bodies were those killed by British Maxim guns and rockets. The Benin soldiers would not have killed their own side. It would also have been reckless for the Benins to use slaves to defend their country when they had very able and well trained soldiers.

Conclusive evidence: 
"We are taught from a very young age that the killing of enemy combatants under the umbrella of statehood is a regrettable necessity of life," he says. ​This statement admits to the killings of the Benin people as enemies in combat. It goes without saying then that the dead bodies which littered the place were not from Benin human sacrifice but from British shelling actions. There can be no better evidence for this than this callous statement. I therefore rest my case on this point.

4)
As for the looted artworks, he believes his grandfather did what everybody else did at that time.
"To him, it was probably no more than picking up stuff that's washed up on the beach, because people had fled and nobody owned them any longer."  This is an incredible statement to make. I cannot believe that it was made in this day and age. How self belittling? Benin City had been evacuated by the king and the people's homes were in Benin City. They left their belongings including their dead behind in the hope of coming back when things had settled down. And as one of the photographs taken by and shown in Herbert Walker's diary show they did return. They returned to find their priceless belongings stolen and gone.Their homes vandalised by ransacking thieves.
 
5)
​The below statements are very telling. 

Looking back, Mark says he feels no shame at his grandfather's part in the Benin Punitive Expedition.
Herbert describes how a fellow officer "is now wandering round with chisel & hammer, knocking off brass figures & collecting all sorts of rubbish as loot". Religious buildings and palaces were torched. This is no more than finger pointing holier than thou claim.
A few of the artefacts were kept as souvenirs by the officers who were there - Herbert held on to two pieces, a so-called "bird of prophecy", known as an Oro bird, and a bell used to invoke ancestors. Thousands of Benin treasures were stolen thus.
Mark inherited them in 2013. "I was surprised, having coveted them for so many years that when I finally came in possession of them I found myself asking what their future was," he says.
His children weren't interested in them and he did not want them sold at auction after his death.
"As you come into your 60s you realise you have got to start making preparations for moving away from this life. I was asking myself, 'What do I want them for?' Possessions aren't as important as I used to think when I was younger," says Walker.

 6)
The ultimate betrayal:
"It was very humbling to be greeted with such enthusiasm and gratitude, for nothing really. I was just returning some art objects to a place where I feel they will be properly looked after," says Mark.
 The Benin people are very trusting and welcoming, giving everyone the benefit of doubt.  Yet our hero made points 3 and 4 statements above about them after the reception they gave him. 



View the full inteview on this link: Witness BBC World Service
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Oba Ewuare II coronation speech

5/11/2016

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Should the Benin treasures stay or go back to Nigeria?

25/10/2016

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Evidence 3

Below is the best evidence for both sides of the debate. We can hear directly from the owners of the treasures and their wishes. Please scroll down to the highlighted numbered points below.
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The clear  points from the above are:
  • The Oba of Benin has given full responsibility for retrieving the treasures to Britain and to no one else. 
  • Anyone wishing to help should consult with the British government.
  • Anyone wishing to return a Benin treasure in their possession should consult with the British government.
  • Any  treasure item to be returned must be accompanied by monetary compensation to cover the years it was denied to the owners and the Benin people. This is only fair.
  • If you have returned one  and have not paid any monetary compensation, consider doing so. 
I hope that campaigners find this evidence useful to guide them in their actions. 

​Thank you.

​
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Should the Benin treasures stay or go back to Nigeria?

23/10/2016

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This photograph shows British officers with a black Protectorate officer  posing for photograph with their booty.

Evidence 2

The above photograph is evidence that some African soldiers and officers took part in the looting of the Benin treasures. 

This raises the question: Who took what and where are the treasures now?

So quite simply, we do not know how many items were taken and by whom and to where they took them. We do know for sure that many British officers retained (stole) various items of treasures for their personal collections. We also know that the West African protectorate soldiers and officers did the same. Their thousands of porters too must have taken part in the looting. However only the British have continued to be mentioned. This is because Britain is liable for all the thefts.

For number on Benin treasures stolen, we only know about those in the possession of museums who have catalogued and declared them; and put them on public display. Thousands in private collections remain undeclared. 

Oba Erediauwa the 39th Oba of Benin Kingdom made this point when he said that as the owner of the treasures stolen, he needed to be given a figure on what was stolen and all returned to him or monetary compensation for their true market value paid to him.

Issues to consider
  • Who has the total figures on the items looted?
  • Should only the honest be made to return that which they have declared?
  • What about the hardened who have not declared theirs?
  • What is the right and fair thing to do?
  • ​Should any descendant who declares that in their possession become an automatic hero for doing that which should have been done 120 years ago?
  • Should there be a central place for any descendant wanting to return a treasure item to do so?
  • What about those who have been honest all along?
  • Which is easier, return or pay monetary compensation to their true market value? 
 I am aware that there are no easy or straight forward answers to the above points but I hope that they help to provide a wider scope of discussion in the ongoing debate.
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Should the Benin treasures stay or go back to Nigeria?

22/10/2016

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Evidence 1


O
n Thursday 20th October 2016, Governor Oshiomhole of Edo State presented the new Oba of Benin with staff of office. Oba Ewuare II  is the 40th Oba of Kingdom of Benin.

The Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari did not attend the ceremony but instead sent his prime minister. 

The issues that smack one in the face are:

1) The Governor of Edo state presented the staff of office to the Oba. 
2) The president of Nigeria did not see the ceremony as important enough for him to attend.

The above show the position of the Oba of Benin in the current Nigerian system of government which was introduced by the British in order to dispose of and to curtail the powers of the reigning monarchs they met in place in their colonies.  

​In Britain the Prime minister does not present the monarch with the staff of office. Instead the Head of the Church of England which the monarch is head of performs the ceremony. No government position is head of the British monarch.

Note of fact
The Benin treasures, bronzes plaques and others were commissioned by the reigning Obas who were then Head of Government of the Kingdom and had sole authority over matters of state. The Obas and their chiefs only ruled their kingdom when these works were commissioned.

Points to consider
Could those in authority in present day Nigeria  want to exercise their powers over the debated treasures and where does that leave the legitimate owners of the works? 



How would the treasures fare in a political landscape different from the one they were commissioned in?

Who would their judicial protection lie with?

Read this: President Gowan and the gift for the queen


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Children's version of the Benin Expedition 

21/10/2016

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This book will be published in February 2017 to mark the 120 years anniversary of the Benin Punitive Expedition by the British. 

This book is suitable for students from age 9 upwards.

​This is not the real book cover.
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Web site ready

16/10/2016

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This is as much work as I will do on this website for now.

If you have any comments or suggestions on how I could improve the contents or ideas for subjects I could add, please use the contact link below to let me know. 


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On a light note

11/10/2016

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There is currently a lot of debate about returning the looted Benin treasures to Nigeria and to the Edo people. A little caution is advised here. 

My view is that this is not a simple matter that can be easily addressed with return of the treasures. I am hoping that during the course of 2017 which marks 120 years since that fateful event, sufficient discussions would have taken place to enable people make up their minds as to the merits of both sides of the argument. 

This web site will endeavour to present various evidence including minute perusal of written accounts of the Expedition itself by those involved and thorough analysis of the evidence of how the treasures i.e. the Benin Bronzes have fared in their new homes.

Our ancestors who went to great length to produce them did so for a reason. Quite simply, they wanted their story recorded, preserved and told for posterity. This is the point that must be borne in mind and must guide anyone engaging in discussions about these works.  

The beauty in the Benin Bronzes and the other works is that they talk to us.  We should listen to them and take their points forward in considering today's world.

​Should they stay or should they go? Listen hard and you will hear what they are saying to us.

More to follow.
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    Fidelia Nimmons
    Teacher, examiner, author

    Oba ghato;
    Okpere.
    Ise!

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