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BENIN

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Originally appearing in Volume V03, Page 739 of the 1911 Encyclopedia Britannica.
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BENIN , the name of a See also:

country, See also:city and See also:river of See also:British See also:West See also:Africa, west of the See also:main channel of the See also:Niger, forming See also:part of the See also:protectorate of See also:Southern See also:Nigeria. The name was formerly applied to the See also:coast from the See also:Volta, in o° 40' E., to the Rio del Rey, in 8° 40' E., and included the Slave Coast, the whole See also:delta of the Niger and a small portion of the country to the eastward. Some trace of this earlier application remains in the name " See also:Bight of Benin," still given to that part of the See also:sea which washes the Slave Coast, whilst up to 1894 " Benin " was used to designate the See also:French possessions on the coast now included in See also:Dahomey. In its restricted sense Benin is the country formerly ruled by the See also:king of Benin city. This See also:area, at one See also:time very extensive, gradually contracted as subject tribes and towns acquired See also:independence. It may be described as bounded W. by See also:Lagos, S. by the territory of the Jakri and other tribes of the Niger delta, E. by the Niger river, and N. by Yorubaland. The coast-See also:line held by Benin had passed out of its See also:sovereignty by the See also:middle of the 19th See also:century. In See also:physical characteristics, See also:climate, See also:flora and See also:fauna, Benin in no way differs from the See also:rest of the southern portion of Nigeria (q.v.). The coast is See also:low, intersected by creeks, and forms one huge See also:mangrove swamp; on the rising ground inland are dense forests in which the See also:cotton and See also:mahogany trees are conspicuous. II Benin river (known also as the Jakri outlet), though linked to the Niger See also:system by a network of creeks, is an See also:independent stream. It is formed by the junction of two See also:rivers, the Ethiope and the See also:Jamieson, which rise (See also:north of 6° N,) on the western See also:side of the hills which slope See also:east to the Niger river. They unite about 50 M. above the sea.

The See also:

general course of the Benin is See also:westerly. It enters the See also:Atlantic in about 5° 46' N., 5° 3' E., and at its mouth is 2 M. wide. It is here obstructed by a See also:sand-See also:bar over which there is 12-14 ft. of See also:water at high See also:tide. The river is navigable by small steamers up to Sapele, a See also:town on the See also:south See also:bank immediately below the junction of the See also:head streams. The Ologi and Gwato creeks enter the Benin on the right or north bank, and on the same side (8 m. above the mouth of the river) a channel, the Lagos See also:creek, 170 M. See also:long, branches off to the north-west, affording a waterway to Lagos. From the south or See also:left bank of the Benin the Forcados mouth of the Niger can be reached by the Nana creek. The Beni are a pure See also:negro tribe, speaking a distinct See also:language, but having many characteristics See also:common to those of the Yoruba-and See also:Ewe-speaking tribes. Like the See also:Ashanti and Dahomeyans the Beni had a well-organized and powerful See also:government and possessed a culture rare among negro races (see below, See also:History). Benin city is situated in a clearing of the See also:forest, about 25 M. from the river-See also:port of Gwato, on Gwato creek. The See also:principal See also:building is the British residency, which is constructed of See also:brick and See also:timber. A See also:primary school, supported by the native chiefs, was opened in 1901, and a meteorological station was established in 1902. In 1904 the town was placed in telegraphic communication with the rest of the protectorate and with See also:Europe.

Of the See also:

ancient city, whose buildings excited the admiration of travellers in the 17th and 18th centuries, scarcely a trace remains. The houses are neatly built of See also:clay, coloured with red ochre, and frequently ornamented with rudely carved pillars. The port of Gwato, which lies about 30 M. north-north-east of the mouth of the Benin river, has a See also:special See also:interest as the See also:place where Giovanni See also:Belzoni, the explorer of See also:Egyptian antiquities, died in 1823 when starting on an expedition to See also:Timbuktu. No trace of his See also:grave can now be found. Wari (formerly known also as Owari, Oywhere, &c.) is a much-frequented port on a See also:branch of the Niger of the same name reached from the Forcados mouth, and is 55 M. south of Benin city. Since the abolition of the slave See also:trade the See also:chief export of the country is See also:palm-oil. Other trade products were from time to time—with the See also:desire to preserve the See also:isolation and independence of the country—placed under fetish, i.e. their export was for-bidden, so that in 1897 the only See also:article in which trade was allowed by the king was palm-oil. After the British occupation, an extensive trade See also:developed in oil, kernels, timber, See also:ivory, See also:rubber, &c. In the rubber and timber See also:industries See also:great strides have been made. The chiefs and See also:people have shown considerable aptitude See also:im adapting themselves to the new See also:order of things. Among the articles prized by the Beni is See also:coral, of which the chiefs See also:wear great quantities as ornaments. History.—Benin was discovered by the Portuguese about the See also:year 1485, and they carried on a brisk trade in slaves, who were taken to See also:Elmina and sold to the natives of the See also:Gold Coast.

At that time and for more than two centuries afterwards, Benin seems to have been one of the most powerful states of West Africa. It was known to Europeans in the 17th century as the Great Benin. The towns of Lagos and Badagry were both founded by Benin colonists. Benin city was the seat of a See also:

theocracy of priests, in whose hands the oba or king, nominally supreme, appears to have often been a puppet. He was revered by his subjects as a See also:species of divinity, and seldom left the enclosure surrounding the royal See also:palace. The See also:religion and See also:mythology of the Beni, like those of the Yorubas, are based on spirit- and ancestor-See also:worship (see NEGRO and AFRICA: See also:Ethnology) ; the chief spirit or See also:juju was worshipped with human sacrifices to an appalling extent, the Benin fetish being considered the most powerful in all West Africa. The usual See also:form of See also:sacrifice was crucifixion. Many chiefs, in no way politically dependent on Benin, used to send See also:annual presents to the juju. _ The Beninpeople do not appear to have indulged in wanton See also:cruelty, and it is stated that they usually stupefied the victims before putting them to See also:death. The people were skilled in See also:brass See also:work; their See also:carving and See also:design were alike excellent. Carved ivory See also:objects abound, and there are many evidences of the skill attained by native artists, who perhaps owed something to their contact with the Portuguese. The See also:weaving of See also:cloth was also carried on.

The Beni remained politically and socially almost unaffected by See also:

European See also:influence until the occupation of their country by the British in 1897, their connexion with the See also:white men having previously been almost confined to matters of trade. The Portuguese withdrew from the coast in the 18th century, but one of the most striking proofs of their commercial influence is the fact that a corrupt Lusitanian See also:dialect was spoken by the older natives up to the last See also:quarter of the 19th century. The first See also:English expedition to Benin was in 1553; after that time a considerable trade See also:grew up between See also:England and that country, ivory, palm-oil and See also:pepper being the chief commodities exported from Benin. The Dutch afterwards established factories and maintained them for a considerable time, chiefly with a view to the slave trade. In 1788 See also:Captain Landolphe founded a factory called Barodo, near the native See also:village of Obobi for the French Compagnie d'Oywhere; and it lasted till 1792, when it was destroyed by the English. In 1863 See also:Sir See also:Richard See also:Burton, then British See also:consul at Fernando Po, went to Benin to try and put a stop to human sacrifices, an See also:attempt in which he did not succeed. At that time the decline in See also:power of the See also:kingdom of Benin was obvious, and the city was in a decaying See also:condition. In 1885 the coast-line of Benin was placed under British See also:protection, and steps were taken to enter into friendly relations with the king. Consul G. F. N. B.

Annesleyi saw the king in 1890, with the See also:

hope of making a treaty, but failed in his See also:object. In See also:March 1892 Captain H. L. Gallwey, British See also:vice-consul, succeeded in concluding a treaty with the king Overami. The treaty, however, proved of no avail, and the king kept as aloof as of old from any outside interference. In See also:January 1897 J. R. See also:Phillips, acting consul-general, and eight Europeans were brutally massacred on the road from Gwato to Benin city, whilst on a See also:mission to the king. Phillips had persisted in starting for Benin despite the repeated See also:request of the king that he should delay his visit until he (the king) had finished the celebration of the annual " customs." Two Europeans, Captain Alan Boisragon and R. F. See also:Locke, alone escaped. A punitive expedition was organized under the command of See also:Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, the success of which was a remarkable example of See also:good organization hastily improvised.

The See also:

news of the See also:massacre of Phillips's party reached See also:Rear-Admiral Rawson, the See also:commander-in-chief on the Cape station, on the 4th of January 1897. The See also:flagship was at Simons Town. The small See also:craft were dispersed. Two See also:ships at See also:Malta had been ordered to join the Cape command. A transport was chartered in the See also:Thames for the purposes of the expedition. In twenty-nine days a force of 1200 men, coming from three places between 3000 and 4500 M. from the Benin river, was landed, organized, equipped and provided with transport. Five days later the city of Benin was taken, and in twelve days more the men were re-embarked, and the ships coaled and ready for any further service. On the 17th of See also:February Benin was occupied after considerable fighting. The town, which was found to be reeking of human sacrifices, was partly burned, and on the 22nd the expedition started on its return. The king and chiefs responsible for the massacre were placed on their trial by Sir See also:Ralph See also:Moor, high See also:commissioner for Southern Nigeria; the king was deposed and deported to See also:Calabar, and the chiefs, six in all, were executed. The chief offender was not brought to See also:justice until a second punitive expedition in 1899 completed the pacification of the country. After the removal of the king in See also:September 1897 a See also:council of chiefs was appointed.

This council carries on the government of the whole Beni country, and is presided over by a British See also:

resident. ' Mr Annesley (b. 1851), after having served in the Prussian See also:army, and in the See also:Turkish army during the See also:war of 1877, was in the British consular service from 1879 to 1892. In 1888 he became consul to the See also:Congo See also:Free See also:State.

End of Article: BENIN

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