Page 57 - A History of the World in 25 Cities

By the 1800s, British merchants and government officials were trying to control trade with the Kingdom of Benin, because it produced lots of valuable palm oil and rubber. In 1897, a British naval expedition invaded Benin City and made it part of the British Empire. The city was destroyed, and many of its buildings were burned down. The city’s beautiful brass plaques and other valuable objects were looted by the troops. The oba was exiled, and much of Benin’s history, which had never been written down, was lost forever.
6Depth of moat around Benin City:
Number of guilds in Benin City in the 1500s:
In NuMbers
Length of earth walls around Benin City:
11
Sections of the original earth walls and moats can still be seen in Benin City, Nigeria, today. The oba’s palace has been destroyed and rebuilt many times, but it’s still there in the centre of the modern city. And Benin City is still famous for its brass: the street of the brass casters – Igun Street – is full of brass-casting workshops and beautiful metal sculptures for sale.
Population of Benin City today:
Oba Orhogbua was a warrior king who made the Benin Empire the largest it would ever be. Highly educated and with many wives and children, he was worshipped as a god, and hardly ever seen outside the palace. If he did leave the palace, people needed permission to look at him and had to approach him on their knees!
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