Benin

“ I have not defined the western boundary between the Royal Niger Company’s territory and the other portion of the Niger Coast Protectorate otherwise than stating that it commences on the seashore at the eastern point of the Forcados.
Benin Kingdom, as a kingdom, may now be numbered with the past. For years the cruelties known to be enacted in the city of Benin have been such that it was only a question of ways and means that deterred the Protectorate officials from smashing up the place several years ago. ”

“ The inhabitants of Benin must have had considerable traffic far into the interior of Africa, for from them the Portuguese first received accounts of Abyssinia. By the discovery and conquest of Benin and Congo, the Portuguese traffic in slaves was much extended, but at the same time it took another character for a short time ”

“ 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. ”

“ THE BENIN TRIBES.
Locality.—The sea-coast on the Bight of Benin. Conterminous with the Whidah and Yarriba.
The peculiar distribution of the Mandingos must now be considered, along with the configuration of the Guinea coast, and, the imperfectly-known range of highlands, which, at irregular distances from the ocean, runs nearly parallel [Pg 478] with it; this range of highlands being the assumed watersheds of the following rivers between Sierra Leone and the western frontier of the Fantí country—the rivers Jong, Gallinas, Cape Mount, St. Paul's, St. John's, Cestos, Lagos, Negros, Costa. ”

“ I believe there are few events in my life, which have not happened to many; but when I compare my lot with that of many of my countrymen, I acknowledge the mercies of Providence in the occurrences that have taken place.
"That part of Africa known by the name of Guinea, to which the trade for slaves is carried on, extends along the coast above 3,400 miles, from Senegal to Angola, and includes a variety of kingdoms. [Pg 170] The most considerable of these is Benin, as it respects its extent, wealth, and richness of soil. ”

“ The Whidah people were Fetich-worshippers; so were the inhabitants of Benin. But the latter had the singularity of refusing to sell a criminal, adjudged to slavery, to the foreign slave-traders, unless it was a woman. They procured, however, a great many slaves from the interior for the Portuguese and French. The Benin people dealt in magic and the ordeal; they believed in apparitions, and filled up their cabins with idols to such an extent as nearly to eject the family. ”

“ The reports of earlier adventurers and travelers in the Benin territory previous to the British conquest gave us pictures of towns and buildings which, all things considered, are of no mean order, and which reflect the existence of a social and cultural development of a very long standing. The earliest recorded description of Benin City, according to Ling Roth, [8] is that of an old Dutch chronicler who wrote as "D. R." and whose works first appeared in Germany in 1604. His description is as follows:
"At first the town seems very large ”

“ By the most authentic relations of those early times, the natives were an inoffensive people, who, when civilly used, traded amicably with the Europeans. It is recorded of those of Benin, the largest kingdom in Guinea,AThat they were a gentle, loving people; and Reynold says,B "They found more sincere proofs of love and good will from the natives, than they could find from the Spaniards and Portugueze, even tho' they had relieved them from the greatest misery." ”

“ De Barros says, that when the Portugueze first explored the Coast of Guinea (about 1469) the king of Benin held his kingdom of the king of Ogane, as his superior lord; and that ambassadors were sent accordingly, to obtain a confirmation of his authority. The distance of Ogane (doubtless meant for Ghana) from Benin, was stated to be 250 leagues of Portugal; which being of 18 to a degree, are equal to about 833 G. miles. And if from these we deduct 1⁄2 for the inflections of the road, there remain 740 for the direct line; which, as the reader will perceive, is very near the former result. ”

“ No man’s life was safe, and Benin city, the capital, was a place of abominations. The priesthood were rightly broken, but the authority of the chiefs maintained, and despite one single administrative error, which, if not repaired, may occasion trouble later on, the Binis have become one of the most prosperous and law-abiding people in the Protectorate. They have co-operated so efficiently with the Forestry Department that throughout the Benin territory no tree can be unlawfully felled without the Forest Officer being informed. They are planting up their forest land with valuable timber trees. ”

“ The territory became a French Colony in 1872 and achieved independence on 1 August 1960, as the Republic of Benin. A succession of military governments ended in 1972 with the rise to power of Mathieu KEREKOU and the establishment of a government based on Marxist-Leninist principles. A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. ”

“ Being themselves tributary to the Benin king, they dare not make the Sobo or Ijo men pay a direct tribute to them for the right to live, but they indirectly took a much larger tribute from them than ever they paid the king of Benin. ”

“ We have already noted in the main the history of black men along the wonderful Niger and seen how, pushing up from the Gulf of Guinea, a powerful wedge of ancient culture held back Islam for a thousand years, now victorious, now stubbornly disputing every inch of retreat. The center of this culture lay probably, in oldest times, above the Bight of Benin, along the Slave Coast, and reached east, west, and north. ”

“ Benin Introduction
Background: Dahomey gained its independence from France in 1960; the name was changed to Benin in 1975. From 1974 to 1989 the country was a socialist state; free elections were reestablished in 1991. ”

“ The pupils of the Benin heads are perforated, while the Ilife heads have blind eyes. This would affix, to the latter, a much greater age, as it is a feature of ancient Mediterranean sculpture. The Atlantic art of western Africa is highly developed, and has nothing in common with primitive Negro art. Some of the boards are exquisite, and rows of beautiful figures and mythological representations are carved on a door, in Yoruba, as shown in the book. ”

“ As to religion, these people believe there is a God, the efficient cause of all things; but, like the rest of the Guineans, they are superstitiously and idolatrously inclined.
The last division of Guinea from which slaves are imported, are the kingdoms of Kongo and Angola: these lie to the South of Benin, extending with the intermediate land about twelve hundred miles on the coast. Great numbers of the natives of both these kingdoms profess the christian religion, which was long since introduced by the Portugueze, who made early settlements in that country. ”

“ They are, almost without exception, great traders, and the British merchants who know them best speak highly of their honesty in commercial transactions.
The problem of governing these peoples offers no complications, which may be called political, of a serious character. It is rendered easier in the Central Province, where the authority of the Benin Kingdom, exercised for so many centuries, has led to the centralization of a strong native authority; and proportionately less so in the Eastern Province, where no considerable native power was ever evolved. ”

“ To give a distinct view of the commercial transactions with the Negroes, it is proper to inform you, that the western coast of Africa is divided into several countries and provinces, as Guinea, Melegote [5] , the kingdom of Benin, and the kingdom of Manicongo. Over all this extent of coast, there are many Negro kings or chiefs, whose subjects are Mahometans and idolaters, and who are continually at war with each other. These kings are much respected by their subjects, almost to adoration, as they are believed to have originally descended from heaven. ”

“ The Rivers of Gambia, Sierraleon, Gabon, the Straits and Channels of Benin, and thro’ the whole Coast, the flowings are regular on the Shores, with this difference, that in Rivers or Channels where two Shores contract the Waters into a narrow Compass, the Tides are strong and high, as well as regular; but on the dead Coast, slow and low, not to above two or three foot, increasing as you advance towards the Bay and Channels of Benin ”

“ It is bounded by Dahomey to the north-west, which is reckoned a tributary province: Ketto and the Maha countries on the north, Borgoo on the north-east, the Quorra or Niger to the east, Accoura, a province of Benin, on the south-east, five days’ journey distant; Jaboo to the south and west. Its tributaries are Dahomey, Alladah, Badagry, and Maha. From the sea coast to Chocho in latitude 8° 8′ north, longitude 4° 2′ east, the country rises by a gradual ascent; the soil of a strong red clay and mould, and where the woods have not been cleared, they may be considered as impervious. ”

“ When the king of Benin dies, his subjects assemble in an extensive plain, in the centre of which a vast pit or sepulchre is dug, into which the body is lowered, and all the friends and servants of the deceased are sacrificed and thrown into the same grave, thus voluntarily throwing away their own lives in honour of the dead. On this coast there grows a species of melegete , extremely pungent like pepper, and resembling the Italian grain called sorgo . ”

“ And accordingly every town and village has a place of public worship.—It is remarkable that they have no beggars among them; such is the care of the chief men, in every city and village, to provide some easy labour, even for the old and weak. Some are employed in blowing the Smith’s bellows; others in pressing palm-oil; others in grinding of colours. If they are too weak even for this, they sell provisions in the market.
12. The natives of the kingdom of Benin are a reasonable and good-natured people. They are sincere and inoffensive, and do no injustice either to one another or to strangers. ”

“ Flag:
two equal horizontal bands of yellow (top) and red with a vertical green
band on the hoist side
*Benin, Economy
Overview:
Benin is one of the least developed countries in the world because of
limited natural resources and a poorly developed infrastructure. Agriculture
accounts for about 35% of GDP, employs about 60% of the labor force, and
generates a major share of foreign exchange earnings. ”

“ Considering how very easily Africans superficially adopt the religious ideas of alien people with whom they have commercial intercourse, we must presume that the people who imported the art of working in metals into Benin also imported some of their religion. The relics of religion, alien to Fetish, that show in Benin Fetish are undoubtedly Christian. ”

“ In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. ”

“ Apart from a few great towns such as Coomassee and Benin, life in Guinea was wholly on a village basis, each community dwelling in its own clearing and having very slight intercourse with its neighbors. Politically each village was governed by its chief and its elders, oftentimes in complete independence. ”

“ But they are numerous in Senegal, in Guinea, in Congo, and on the Teeth Coast, in the countries of Anto, Acra, Benin, and all the other southern parts of Africa, as far as the Cape of Good Hope, except some provinces very populous, such as Fida, Ardra, &c. They are also found in Abyssinia, in Ethiopia, in Nigritia, on the eastern coast, and in the inland parts of Africa. They are also in the great islands of India and Africa, such as Madagascar, Java, and the Philippines. ”

“ Beni-Israel (i. e. Sons of Israel) , a remarkable people, few in number, of Jewish type and customs, in the Bombay Presidency, and that have existed there quite isolatedly for at least 1000 years, with a language of their own, and even some literature; they do not mingle with the Jews, but they practise similar religious observances.
Benin`, a densely populated and fertile country in W. Africa, between the Niger and Dahomey, with a city and river of the name; forms part of what was once a powerful kingdom; yields palm-oil, rice, maize, sugar, cotton, and tobacco. ”

“ As soon as I receive these, which I expect in ten days, I proceed to the sea-side by the way we came, or else by a nearer way by thirty-five miles, ten days due south of Kulfu, called Funda, which I expect is the Bight of Benin, as the Quorra runs to it. This river is called by us the Niger. If the Sultan of Kulfu assures me of the road being safe, I will go, as it will be a great advantage to the English. I send the copy of the Journal from Katunga to this town [xviii] by an Arab, whom I have told that, on delivering them safe, you will give him thirty dollars. ”