Page 54 - A History of the World in 25 Cities
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In the middle of the West African rainforest, huge walls and deep moats surrounded a city that gleamed with brass. Benin City was the heart of a rich and powerful empire that stretched for hundreds of kilometres.
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The city was surrounded by enormous walls made from earth, and deep moats. At the time, these mighty walls were second in size only to the Great Wall of China. They enclosed 6,500 square kilometres of land and were built over hundreds of years.
These massive metal lamps lit the streets close to the palace at night.
Working with brass was the city’s most important trade.
The city’s streets were wide and straight and fanned out from the palace. They had an underground drainage system to carry away water in the rainy season.
Different trades, or guilds, had their own special area of the city – carpenters, ivory carvers, weavers,
potters, beadmakers, town criers, royal drummers and so on.
Ships sailed from Europe to the West African coast. The Europeans then
travelled through the rainforest to trade with Benin City.
