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BENIN, the name of a country, city and river of British West
Africa, west of the main channel of the Niger, forming part of the
protectorate of Southern Nigeria. The name was formerly applied to the coast
from the Volta, in 0 40 E., to the Rio del Rey, in 8 40 E., and included the
Slave Coast, the whole delta of the Niger and a small portion of the country
to the eastward. Some trace of this earlier application remains in the name
Bight of Benin, still given to that part of the sea which washes the Slave
Coast, whilst up to 1894 Benin was used to designate the French possessions
on the coast now included in Dahomey.
In its restricted sense Benin is the country formerly ruled by the king
of Benin city. This area, at one time very extensive, gradually contracted
as subject tribes and towns acquired independence. It may be described as
bounded W. by 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-line
held by Benin had passed out of its sovereignty by the middle of the 19th
century. In physical characteristics, climate, flora and fauna. Benin in no
way differs from the rest of the southern portion of Nigeria (q.v). The
coast is low, intersected by creeks, and forms one huge mangrove swamp; on
the rising ground inland are dense forests in which the cotton and mahogany
trees are conspicuous.
Benin river (known also as the Jakri outlet), though linked to the Niger
system by a network of creeks, is an independent stream. It is formed by the
junction of two rivers, the Ethiope and the Jamieson, which rise (north of 6
N,) on the western side of the hills which slope east to the Niger river.
They unite about 50 m. above the sea. The general course of the Benin is,
westerly. It enters the Atlantic in about 5 46 N., 5 3 E., and at its mouth
is 2 m. wide. It is here obstructed by a sand-bar over which there is 12-14
ft. of water at high tide. The river is navigable by small steamers up to
Sapele, a town on the south bank immediately below the junction of the 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 creek, 170 m. long, branches off to the north-west, affording a
waterway to Lagos. From the south or left bank of tile Benin the, Forcados
mouth of the Niger can be reached by the Nana creek.
The Beni are a pure negro tribe, speaking a distinct language, but having
many characteristics common to those of the Yoruba and Ewe-speaking tribes.
Like the Ashanti and Dahomeyans the Beni had a well-organized and powerful
government and possessed a culture rare among negro races (see below,
History). |
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The Political & Spiritual Purpose of the
Holy Land
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Benin city is situated in a clearing of the forest, about 25 m. from the
river-port of Gwato, on Gwato creek. The principal building is the British
residency, which is constructed of brick and timber. A primary school,
supported by the native chiefs, was opened in f 902, 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 Europe. Of the
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 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 special interest as
the place where Giovanni Beizoni, the explorer of Egyptian antiquities, died
in 1823 when starting on an expedition to Timbuktu. No trace of his grave
can now be found. Wan (formerly known also as Owari, Oywher, &c.) is a
much-frequented port on a 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 trade the chief export of the country is
palm-oil. Other trade products were from time to timewith the desire to
preserve the isolation and independence of the countryplaced under fetish,
i.e. their export was forbidden, so that in 1897 the only article in which
trade was allowed by the king was palm-oil. After the British occupation, an
extensive trade developed in oil, kernels, timber, ivory, rubber, &c. In the
rubber and timber industries great strides have been made.. The chiefs and
people have shown considerable aptitude in adapting themselves to the new
order of things. Among the articles prized by the Beni is coral, of which
the chiefs wear great quantities as ornaments.
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Many chiefs, in no way politically dependent on Benin,
used to send annual presents to the juju. - The Benin people do not appear to have indulged in wanton cruelty, and it is stated
that they usually stupefied the victims before putting them to death. The
people were skilled in brass work; their carving and design were alike
excellent. Carved ivory 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 weaving of cloth was also carried on. The
Beni remained politically and socially almost unaffected by European
influence until the occupation of their country by the British in 1897,
their connexion with the 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 dialect was spoken by the older
natives up to the last quarter of the i9th century. The first English
expedition to Benin was in 1553; after that time a considerable trade grew
up between England and that country, ivory, palm-oil and 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 Captain Landolphe founded a factory called
Barodo, near the native village of Obobi for the French Compagnie dOywher;
and it lasted till 1792, when it was destroyed by the English. In 1863 Sir
Richard Burton, then British consul at Fernando P0, went to Benin to try and
put a stop to human sacrifices, an attempt in which he did not succeed. At
that time the decline in power of the kingdom of Benin was obvious, and the
city was in a decaying condition. In 1885 the coast-line of Benin was placed
under British 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 hope of making a treaty, but failed in his object. In March 1892
Captain H. L. Gallwey, British 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 January 1897 J. R.
Phillips, acting consul-general, and eight Europeans were brutally massacred
on the road from Gwato to Benin city, whilst on a mission to the king.
Phillips had persisted in starting for Benin despite the repeated 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. Locke, alone escaped. A punitive expedition was organized under
the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, the success of which was a
remarkable example of good organization hastily improvised. The news of the
massacre of Phillipss party reached Rear-Admiral Ra~son, the
commander-in-chief on the Cape station, on the 4th of January 1897. The
flagship was at Simons Town. The small craft were dispersed. Two ships at
Malta had been ordered to join the Cape command. A transport was chartered
in the 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 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 Ralph Moor, high commissioner for Southern Nigeria; the
king was deposed and deported to Calabar, and the chiefs, six in all, were
executed. The chief offender was not brought to justice until a second
punitive expedition in 1899 completed the p~icification of the country.
After the removal of the king in September 1897 a council of chiefs was
appointed. Tills council carries on the government of the whole Beni
country, and is presided over by a British resident. |