1 00:00:01,280 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,360 --> 00:00:13,920 Speaker 1: of I Heart Radio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. 3 00:00:14,000 --> 00:00:17,639 Speaker 1: I'm Tracy B. Wilson and I'm Holly Fry. We have 4 00:00:17,760 --> 00:00:20,440 Speaker 1: talked about the artwork and other objects that have come 5 00:00:20,480 --> 00:00:24,160 Speaker 1: to be known as the Benin Bronzes on several installments 6 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:28,840 Speaker 1: of Unearthed, including our most recent one. We also mentioned 7 00:00:28,920 --> 00:00:31,600 Speaker 1: these pieces briefly at the end of our two parter 8 00:00:31,760 --> 00:00:35,479 Speaker 1: I'm Lord Elegant and the Parthenon Marbles. We have not 9 00:00:35,720 --> 00:00:39,879 Speaker 1: talked in detail, though, about how these cultural objects and 10 00:00:39,960 --> 00:00:43,280 Speaker 1: works of art were taken from the Kingdom of Benin 11 00:00:43,440 --> 00:00:48,720 Speaker 1: in Western Africa in the first place. What's happened in 12 00:00:48,720 --> 00:00:52,440 Speaker 1: in what's typically described as a punitive raid or punitive 13 00:00:52,520 --> 00:00:55,840 Speaker 1: expedition by the British. This is in an area that 14 00:00:55,920 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: is part of Edo State in Nigeria. Today, the most 15 00:01:00,000 --> 00:01:03,640 Speaker 1: most visible calls for the return of the Benin Bronzes 16 00:01:03,680 --> 00:01:07,560 Speaker 1: started in the nineteen seventies, and they've really escalated over 17 00:01:07,560 --> 00:01:11,640 Speaker 1: the past decade or so and the last few years. 18 00:01:11,720 --> 00:01:15,800 Speaker 1: Some nations and institutions have committed to returning these pieces, 19 00:01:15,800 --> 00:01:19,160 Speaker 1: but only a few have actually been returned at this point, 20 00:01:19,720 --> 00:01:22,600 Speaker 1: including at least two that came from a private individual. 21 00:01:23,160 --> 00:01:25,040 Speaker 1: So that is what we're going to talk about today, 22 00:01:25,680 --> 00:01:28,120 Speaker 1: and just a heads up, there's a lot of heavy 23 00:01:28,160 --> 00:01:32,640 Speaker 1: material in this episode, including slavery and colonialism, a lot 24 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:37,280 Speaker 1: of warfare and human sacrifice. The Kingdom of Benin was 25 00:01:37,319 --> 00:01:40,040 Speaker 1: founded by the Edo people also known as the Beanie 26 00:01:40,280 --> 00:01:43,120 Speaker 1: by about the eleventh century, and it's governed by the 27 00:01:43,120 --> 00:01:46,760 Speaker 1: Oba and his court. This kingdom really started to flourish 28 00:01:46,800 --> 00:01:50,640 Speaker 1: around the thirteenth century, including rebuilding the capital, which was 29 00:01:50,680 --> 00:01:53,559 Speaker 1: originally named as Edo and today is known as Benin City. 30 00:01:54,880 --> 00:01:58,480 Speaker 1: This capital was surrounded by ditches and earthwork walls, which 31 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,200 Speaker 1: also sectioned off parts of the city's interior. Although many 32 00:02:02,240 --> 00:02:04,880 Speaker 1: of these walls are no longer standing, they're believed to 33 00:02:04,920 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: have totalled a greater length than the Great Wall of China. 34 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:13,880 Speaker 1: According to ethno mathematician Ron Egglash, author of African Fractals, 35 00:02:14,520 --> 00:02:17,799 Speaker 1: the city was laid out as a fractal in a 36 00:02:17,840 --> 00:02:21,880 Speaker 1: pattern that was repeated on a smaller scale within compounds 37 00:02:22,000 --> 00:02:26,400 Speaker 1: and then individual houses and then rooms. These widely quoted 38 00:02:26,440 --> 00:02:29,840 Speaker 1: as saying that Europeans who first encountered this type of 39 00:02:29,880 --> 00:02:34,679 Speaker 1: planning found it chaotic and disorganized, not realizing the underlying 40 00:02:34,760 --> 00:02:38,560 Speaker 1: pattern that was involved. But that is really not how 41 00:02:38,639 --> 00:02:42,520 Speaker 1: early visitors to the Kingdom of Benim described the capital. 42 00:02:43,400 --> 00:02:47,440 Speaker 1: Multiple European accounts from the sixteenth through the eighteenth centuries 43 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,639 Speaker 1: described the city and its palaces as impressive and orderly, 44 00:02:52,240 --> 00:02:57,120 Speaker 1: with comparisons to various cities in Europe. Dutch doctor Olford 45 00:02:57,200 --> 00:03:01,280 Speaker 1: Dapper described the compound housing the king's court as quote 46 00:03:01,320 --> 00:03:05,079 Speaker 1: easily as big as the town of Harlem in sixteen 47 00:03:05,120 --> 00:03:09,760 Speaker 1: sixty eight. As another example, in sixteen nine, one Portuguese 48 00:03:09,840 --> 00:03:14,160 Speaker 1: captain Lorenzo Pinto wrote, quote, great Benin, where the king resides, 49 00:03:14,280 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: is larger than Lisbon. All the streets run straight, and 50 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:20,960 Speaker 1: as far as the eye can see, the houses are large, 51 00:03:21,120 --> 00:03:24,240 Speaker 1: especially that of the king, which is richly decorated and 52 00:03:24,280 --> 00:03:28,840 Speaker 1: has fine columns. The city is wealthy and industrious. It 53 00:03:28,960 --> 00:03:31,960 Speaker 1: is so well governed that theft is unknown, and the 54 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:34,760 Speaker 1: people live in such security that they have no doors 55 00:03:34,800 --> 00:03:39,280 Speaker 1: to their houses. The Portuguese had been the first Europeans 56 00:03:39,320 --> 00:03:42,440 Speaker 1: to make contact with the Kingdom of Benin, and the 57 00:03:42,480 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: two nations started a trading relationship, with Portugal establishing an 58 00:03:46,680 --> 00:03:50,200 Speaker 1: embassy at the OBUs court, and Benin sending ambassadors to 59 00:03:50,280 --> 00:03:55,400 Speaker 1: Portugal as well. Benin became wealthier through its trade with Portugal, 60 00:03:55,560 --> 00:04:01,640 Speaker 1: with Benin's exports including gold, paper, ivory, fabric, animal skins, 61 00:04:01,680 --> 00:04:05,560 Speaker 1: and palm oil. Benin had a guild system for artists 62 00:04:05,560 --> 00:04:09,080 Speaker 1: and crafts people who worked in materials like ivory, wood, 63 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: and brass. Although this artwork and the techniques used to 64 00:04:12,800 --> 00:04:16,880 Speaker 1: produce it were developed before contact with Europeans, they really 65 00:04:16,920 --> 00:04:20,159 Speaker 1: flourished thanks to Portugal's use of brass as a trade good. 66 00:04:20,760 --> 00:04:24,560 Speaker 1: The kingdom's artist used lost wax casting methods to make 67 00:04:24,600 --> 00:04:28,240 Speaker 1: brass plaques detailing the kingdom's history, as well as life 68 00:04:28,279 --> 00:04:34,279 Speaker 1: size heads of leaders, ancestors, and historical figures. Eventually, Benin's 69 00:04:34,400 --> 00:04:39,039 Speaker 1: exports to Europe and its colonies included enslaved people. This 70 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,320 Speaker 1: was a smaller part of Benin's economy than that of 71 00:04:42,440 --> 00:04:45,520 Speaker 1: many other kingdoms, including Dahome, which we've covered on the 72 00:04:45,560 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: show previously. Captain John Adams, who was in the area 73 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:53,839 Speaker 1: between seventeen eighty six and eighteen hundred, noted that ivory 74 00:04:54,040 --> 00:04:57,719 Speaker 1: was a more important part of Benin's trade. One of 75 00:04:57,800 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: the likely reasons for Benin's compare of least smaller involvement 76 00:05:01,600 --> 00:05:04,200 Speaker 1: in the slave trade is that the Oba outlawed the 77 00:05:04,320 --> 00:05:08,200 Speaker 1: enslavement and sale of males in the early nineteenth century, 78 00:05:08,320 --> 00:05:11,760 Speaker 1: and there wasn't as much demand for enslaved women and girls. 79 00:05:12,360 --> 00:05:15,919 Speaker 1: From the fifteenth through late nineteen centuries. Most of what 80 00:05:16,000 --> 00:05:19,080 Speaker 1: Europeans knew about the Kingdom of Benin came from the 81 00:05:19,120 --> 00:05:23,479 Speaker 1: writing of traders and travel writers, including British, Portuguese and 82 00:05:23,600 --> 00:05:27,120 Speaker 1: Dutch travel writers, who wrote about their experiences in various 83 00:05:27,120 --> 00:05:30,360 Speaker 1: parts of the kingdom. None of the people writing these 84 00:05:30,400 --> 00:05:33,000 Speaker 1: accounts stayed long enough to get a thorough sense of 85 00:05:33,000 --> 00:05:36,640 Speaker 1: the kingdom's history or culture. They were visitors writing about 86 00:05:36,720 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: their general impressions of the kingdom, cities and towns, and 87 00:05:39,680 --> 00:05:43,479 Speaker 1: its people. And if you're thinking what about missionaries, the 88 00:05:43,560 --> 00:05:46,720 Speaker 1: Christian missionaries who went to the Kingdom of Benin before 89 00:05:46,760 --> 00:05:50,720 Speaker 1: the nineteenth century didn't really establish a huge presence there. 90 00:05:51,320 --> 00:05:55,040 Speaker 1: Although some people did convert to Christianity, in general, the 91 00:05:55,120 --> 00:05:59,440 Speaker 1: high ranking people, including the Oba, did not. Europeans who 92 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:01,960 Speaker 1: tried to of in this area also faced things like 93 00:06:02,040 --> 00:06:05,200 Speaker 1: malaria and other diseases. They didn't have any resistance to 94 00:06:05,480 --> 00:06:09,200 Speaker 1: or experience with, so illnesses and deaths were really common. 95 00:06:09,839 --> 00:06:13,680 Speaker 1: In general, most mission projects in Benin during this period 96 00:06:13,720 --> 00:06:18,400 Speaker 1: did not last long. Eventually, Britain replaced Portugal as Benin's 97 00:06:18,440 --> 00:06:23,040 Speaker 1: primary trading partner. Britain was deeply involved in the slave 98 00:06:23,040 --> 00:06:26,440 Speaker 1: trade from Western Africa, and its trade with Benin included 99 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:30,640 Speaker 1: trafficking enslaved people. After Britain passed the Abolition of the 100 00:06:30,680 --> 00:06:34,039 Speaker 1: Slave Trade Act in eighteen o seven, it started pressuring 101 00:06:34,080 --> 00:06:37,599 Speaker 1: African kingdoms and nations that it had relationships with to 102 00:06:37,839 --> 00:06:41,480 Speaker 1: end their own involvement in slavery, including the Kingdom of Benin. 103 00:06:42,520 --> 00:06:46,600 Speaker 1: As that happened, palm oil became an increasingly large part 104 00:06:46,680 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: of Benin's exports to Britain. This was especially true as 105 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:55,240 Speaker 1: the Industrial Revolution progressed, since, in addition to its use 106 00:06:55,320 --> 00:06:58,400 Speaker 1: in cooking and to make soap, palm oil was used 107 00:06:58,640 --> 00:07:02,159 Speaker 1: as an industrial lubric him. By the late nineteenth century, 108 00:07:02,320 --> 00:07:06,440 Speaker 1: two things were happening that dramatically affected Britain's relationship with Benin. 109 00:07:07,320 --> 00:07:11,080 Speaker 1: The first was Benin's approach to trade. The Oba had 110 00:07:11,080 --> 00:07:13,760 Speaker 1: a monopoly on all trade, most of it conducted through 111 00:07:13,800 --> 00:07:18,040 Speaker 1: the port of Ugoton also known as Gutau. Anyone trading 112 00:07:18,080 --> 00:07:20,440 Speaker 1: at the market paid tribute to the OBA, and the 113 00:07:20,480 --> 00:07:24,520 Speaker 1: OBA controlled what was available. People were not paying tribute 114 00:07:24,640 --> 00:07:27,720 Speaker 1: or were otherwise breaking trade agreements they had with the OBA, 115 00:07:28,000 --> 00:07:31,520 Speaker 1: than the OBA could shut down the market entirely. So 116 00:07:31,600 --> 00:07:36,200 Speaker 1: as Britain became increasingly reliant on palm oil and also 117 00:07:36,320 --> 00:07:40,080 Speaker 1: wanted more access to Benin's other trade goods, merchants and 118 00:07:40,120 --> 00:07:45,320 Speaker 1: traders became increasingly frustrated by the oba's restrictions. For example, 119 00:07:45,360 --> 00:07:47,640 Speaker 1: a Mr. Brown Ridge, who was an agent for a 120 00:07:47,720 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: merchant company wrote in a letter quote, if Benin was 121 00:07:51,200 --> 00:07:55,360 Speaker 1: under proper government and the resources of the country properly developed, 122 00:07:55,400 --> 00:07:58,440 Speaker 1: I am firmly of the opinion that the exports would 123 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:01,200 Speaker 1: be very great. So long as the King of Benin 124 00:08:01,360 --> 00:08:03,840 Speaker 1: is allowed to carry on what he is doing at present, 125 00:08:04,040 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: it means simply lost to the merchants, as also the protectorate. 126 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: That word protectorate ties to the other interconnected piece of 127 00:08:12,920 --> 00:08:16,480 Speaker 1: this that was the Scramble for Africa. In the late 128 00:08:16,560 --> 00:08:21,280 Speaker 1: nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, European powers aggressively expanded their 129 00:08:21,280 --> 00:08:25,760 Speaker 1: colonial interests and attempts to control the African continent. British 130 00:08:25,760 --> 00:08:29,160 Speaker 1: consul Edward Hewitt started trying to sign treaties with various 131 00:08:29,200 --> 00:08:33,480 Speaker 1: monarchs in Western Africa in eighteen eighty four, including along 132 00:08:33,480 --> 00:08:37,280 Speaker 1: the coast of what's now Nigeria. By that point, Britain 133 00:08:37,320 --> 00:08:40,319 Speaker 1: had been involved in various parts of Africa for decades, 134 00:08:40,400 --> 00:08:44,200 Speaker 1: so this was really a ramping up of its earlier involvement. 135 00:08:45,240 --> 00:08:49,520 Speaker 1: Through this process, Britain claimed multiple kingdoms in West Africa 136 00:08:49,679 --> 00:08:54,000 Speaker 1: under its protectorates, and at first this mostly prevented them 137 00:08:54,040 --> 00:08:59,080 Speaker 1: from making similar agreements with other European nations. But beyond that, again, 138 00:08:59,200 --> 00:09:03,200 Speaker 1: at least at first, Britain was relatively hands off. Years 139 00:09:03,320 --> 00:09:07,400 Speaker 1: could pass between Britain adding a West African kingdom to 140 00:09:07,480 --> 00:09:11,360 Speaker 1: one of its protectorates and Britain really taking concrete steps 141 00:09:11,400 --> 00:09:15,280 Speaker 1: to control the area. Britain's activities in Africa went way 142 00:09:15,320 --> 00:09:18,000 Speaker 1: beyond what was happening in West Africa, but that's really 143 00:09:18,000 --> 00:09:20,960 Speaker 1: the part we're focused on here from the European point 144 00:09:21,000 --> 00:09:23,680 Speaker 1: of view. Many of these claims to territory in West 145 00:09:23,720 --> 00:09:27,600 Speaker 1: Africa were negotiated at the Berlin Conference also known as 146 00:09:27,640 --> 00:09:32,000 Speaker 1: the Berlin West Africa Conference, which ran from November fifteen 147 00:09:32,080 --> 00:09:37,479 Speaker 1: eighty four to February eighteen eighty five. At this conference, 148 00:09:37,520 --> 00:09:40,960 Speaker 1: European nations mapped out which of them had the strongest 149 00:09:40,960 --> 00:09:44,560 Speaker 1: claims to what territory and set standards for trade among 150 00:09:44,679 --> 00:09:49,360 Speaker 1: those regions. The thousands of kingdoms, nations, and ethnic groups 151 00:09:49,360 --> 00:09:52,480 Speaker 1: in Africa were not part of this negotiation at all, 152 00:09:52,960 --> 00:09:55,400 Speaker 1: and there were no provisions for their involvement in their 153 00:09:55,400 --> 00:09:58,680 Speaker 1: own governance. Just in terms of the region that later 154 00:09:58,720 --> 00:10:01,440 Speaker 1: became known as Nigeria, there were at least two hundred 155 00:10:01,559 --> 00:10:06,199 Speaker 1: fifty different ethnic groups involved. Much of what's now Nigeria 156 00:10:06,320 --> 00:10:10,800 Speaker 1: today was outlined as British territory, but in practice Britain's 157 00:10:10,880 --> 00:10:15,360 Speaker 1: influence didn't extend very far from the coast. British efforts 158 00:10:15,440 --> 00:10:17,760 Speaker 1: to lay claims to the interior of the Kingdom of 159 00:10:17,800 --> 00:10:21,559 Speaker 1: Benin and to secure free trading rights with the Kingdom 160 00:10:21,640 --> 00:10:25,280 Speaker 1: ultimately led it to pursue this punitive expedition. Who will 161 00:10:25,320 --> 00:10:37,920 Speaker 1: have more about that after a sponsor break. Although early 162 00:10:38,000 --> 00:10:41,160 Speaker 1: European accounts of the Kingdom of Benin had described it 163 00:10:41,200 --> 00:10:45,199 Speaker 1: as large, impressive, and orderly, during the late eighteenth and 164 00:10:45,280 --> 00:10:49,960 Speaker 1: early nineteenth centuries, the kingdom had struggled. Both the Transatlantic 165 00:10:50,000 --> 00:10:54,320 Speaker 1: slave trade and its abolition had affected the whole region dramatically, 166 00:10:54,440 --> 00:10:57,880 Speaker 1: not just the Kingdom of Benin, so had the annexation 167 00:10:58,000 --> 00:11:02,800 Speaker 1: of various African kingdoms by European powers, which we just discussed, 168 00:11:03,400 --> 00:11:06,160 Speaker 1: and the Kingdom of Bening specifically. There was also a 169 00:11:06,200 --> 00:11:09,040 Speaker 1: war over the Oba's line of succession that started in 170 00:11:09,080 --> 00:11:13,079 Speaker 1: the mid nineteenth century. Throughout all of this, Benin had 171 00:11:13,160 --> 00:11:16,719 Speaker 1: also been under increasing pressure from Britain to open up 172 00:11:16,760 --> 00:11:20,160 Speaker 1: and expand its trade, especially its trade in palm oil. 173 00:11:20,880 --> 00:11:25,520 Speaker 1: In eight, Captain Henry Galwi, deputy Commissioner and Vice Consul 174 00:11:25,559 --> 00:11:28,920 Speaker 1: of the Benin District of the Oil River Protectorate, traveled 175 00:11:28,920 --> 00:11:31,040 Speaker 1: to the capitol to try to get the Oba to 176 00:11:31,080 --> 00:11:34,439 Speaker 1: sign a treaty with the British government. The Oba, named 177 00:11:34,480 --> 00:11:38,319 Speaker 1: Ovan Romwin, seems to have verbally agreed to sign this treaty, 178 00:11:38,360 --> 00:11:42,760 Speaker 1: but once the signing ceremony actually took place, he refused 179 00:11:42,800 --> 00:11:46,200 Speaker 1: to touch the pen. A member of his court reportedly 180 00:11:46,240 --> 00:11:51,200 Speaker 1: signed on his behalf. There are so many different interpretations 181 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:55,360 Speaker 1: and conflicting accounts of this moment. The Oba ruled by 182 00:11:55,600 --> 00:11:59,280 Speaker 1: divine right as the kingdom's sovereign and its military commander, 183 00:11:59,520 --> 00:12:02,640 Speaker 1: and up on his ascension as monarch, he was also 184 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:07,840 Speaker 1: understood to embody the kingdom's whole history and heritage. But 185 00:12:08,120 --> 00:12:11,920 Speaker 1: Galway has been described as rude and arrogant, and either 186 00:12:12,160 --> 00:12:16,000 Speaker 1: ignorant of the protocols involved with negotiating of the monarch 187 00:12:16,040 --> 00:12:19,920 Speaker 1: of the Kingdom of Benin, or just not even considering 188 00:12:19,960 --> 00:12:24,359 Speaker 1: those protocols to be something worth his notice. Some scholars 189 00:12:24,400 --> 00:12:27,880 Speaker 1: have concluded that Ovan Romwin had verbally agreed to sign 190 00:12:27,960 --> 00:12:30,240 Speaker 1: the Galway Treaty when he thought it was just a 191 00:12:30,280 --> 00:12:34,080 Speaker 1: simple agreement of peace and friendship, but once the signing 192 00:12:34,120 --> 00:12:37,960 Speaker 1: ceremony was happening and its interpreter read its actual terms, 193 00:12:38,559 --> 00:12:42,040 Speaker 1: terms that stripped the Kingdom of Benin of its sovereignty, 194 00:12:42,160 --> 00:12:46,760 Speaker 1: then he refused. Opinions also differ about whether Ovan Romwin 195 00:12:46,920 --> 00:12:51,240 Speaker 1: signed the treaty through a proxy, under duress, or did 196 00:12:51,240 --> 00:12:54,040 Speaker 1: not sign it at all. What's most clear is that 197 00:12:54,120 --> 00:12:56,960 Speaker 1: Britain and Benin did not have the same understanding of 198 00:12:56,960 --> 00:12:59,880 Speaker 1: this treaty and whether the Kingdom of Benin was bound 199 00:12:59,880 --> 00:13:04,760 Speaker 1: to its terms. One of the treaty's provisions established free 200 00:13:04,760 --> 00:13:09,240 Speaker 1: trade within the Opus territory, but four years later, in 201 00:13:09,280 --> 00:13:13,040 Speaker 1: eighteen ninety six, Benin was still approaching trade as a 202 00:13:13,080 --> 00:13:17,640 Speaker 1: monopoly that was entirely the ops prerogative. This had led 203 00:13:17,679 --> 00:13:21,079 Speaker 1: to armed conflicts in some of the kingdom's more outlying 204 00:13:21,200 --> 00:13:25,719 Speaker 1: villages and towns, and British officials based increasing pressure for 205 00:13:25,920 --> 00:13:29,640 Speaker 1: merchants and traders to force Benin to abide by the 206 00:13:29,679 --> 00:13:34,320 Speaker 1: treaty terms. British officials, including Galway, wrote that removing the 207 00:13:34,360 --> 00:13:38,360 Speaker 1: Oba would be good for British trade. Consul General Ralph 208 00:13:38,360 --> 00:13:41,400 Speaker 1: Moore wrote to the Foreign Office on June fourteenth, eighteen 209 00:13:41,520 --> 00:13:44,080 Speaker 1: ninety six, saying that if they were not successful in 210 00:13:44,200 --> 00:13:47,400 Speaker 1: getting a better trade arrangement by the dry season, quote, 211 00:13:47,640 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: an expeditionary four should be sent about January or February 212 00:13:51,960 --> 00:13:56,400 Speaker 1: to remove the king and his juju men. In another letter, 213 00:13:56,559 --> 00:13:59,880 Speaker 1: More also said that such an expedition could quote prov 214 00:14:00,240 --> 00:14:04,840 Speaker 1: the horrible human sacrifices and cruelties which were continually taking 215 00:14:04,840 --> 00:14:08,480 Speaker 1: place therein. We will return to that idea in a bit. 216 00:14:08,640 --> 00:14:12,720 Speaker 1: But More later went on leave. He returns to England 217 00:14:13,120 --> 00:14:17,280 Speaker 1: and James Phillips was made acting Consul General in his absence. 218 00:14:18,120 --> 00:14:21,680 Speaker 1: Moore had instructed Phillips to wait for his return, but 219 00:14:21,840 --> 00:14:26,040 Speaker 1: instead Phillips wrote to the Obah himself, seeking an audience. 220 00:14:26,320 --> 00:14:29,200 Speaker 1: The Oba replied that he was not available. He was 221 00:14:29,240 --> 00:14:32,880 Speaker 1: observing a period of seclusion and preparation leading up to 222 00:14:32,920 --> 00:14:35,440 Speaker 1: the Festival of Iguay, which is the Kingdom of Benin's 223 00:14:35,480 --> 00:14:39,080 Speaker 1: most important cultural and religious festival. It's one that both 224 00:14:39,080 --> 00:14:43,440 Speaker 1: honors the Oba and his ancestors and blesses the kingdom. 225 00:14:43,560 --> 00:14:46,320 Speaker 1: The Obo's preparation for this festival are a time of 226 00:14:46,360 --> 00:14:51,200 Speaker 1: spiritual cleansing and prayer. Customarily, foreigners are not allowed into 227 00:14:51,240 --> 00:14:54,680 Speaker 1: the Oba's presence during this preparatory period or during the 228 00:14:54,760 --> 00:14:58,320 Speaker 1: festival itself. So Ovian Romwin indicated that he would send 229 00:14:58,320 --> 00:15:00,680 Speaker 1: a messenger in about a month to work at a 230 00:15:00,720 --> 00:15:04,400 Speaker 1: time for Phillips and an attendant to visit. Phillips did 231 00:15:04,440 --> 00:15:08,480 Speaker 1: not wait for this messenger, though. On November sixteenth, eighteen 232 00:15:08,560 --> 00:15:11,480 Speaker 1: ninety six, he wrote to the Foreign Office seeking quote 233 00:15:11,480 --> 00:15:15,160 Speaker 1: permission to visit Benean City in February next to depose 234 00:15:15,280 --> 00:15:18,320 Speaker 1: and remove the King of Benin, and to establish a 235 00:15:18,400 --> 00:15:21,480 Speaker 1: native council in his place, and take such further steps 236 00:15:21,520 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 1: for the opening up of the country as the occasion 237 00:15:24,160 --> 00:15:28,560 Speaker 1: may require. He suggested that this exhibition might pay for 238 00:15:28,640 --> 00:15:32,760 Speaker 1: itself thanks to stores of ivory that he expected to 239 00:15:32,800 --> 00:15:36,160 Speaker 1: find in the palace which could be seized and sold. 240 00:15:37,240 --> 00:15:40,120 Speaker 1: Phillips did not wait for a response to this either. 241 00:15:40,640 --> 00:15:43,920 Speaker 1: On January second, eighteen ninety seven, he left for Benien 242 00:15:44,000 --> 00:15:47,480 Speaker 1: City with a retinue that included eight British officials, at 243 00:15:47,560 --> 00:15:51,880 Speaker 1: least two hundred local porters, and a pipe and drum corps. 244 00:15:52,400 --> 00:15:55,240 Speaker 1: In some accounts, these porters and the pipes and drums 245 00:15:55,240 --> 00:15:59,680 Speaker 1: were really hired African soldiers in disguise. The party as 246 00:15:59,760 --> 00:16:03,840 Speaker 1: you really described as being unarmed. But there was also 247 00:16:03,960 --> 00:16:08,880 Speaker 1: correspondence going on between various British offices during this period 248 00:16:08,960 --> 00:16:12,040 Speaker 1: about what would be needed for an expedition to remove 249 00:16:12,120 --> 00:16:16,880 Speaker 1: the OBA. One such letter describes four hundred armed African 250 00:16:16,920 --> 00:16:21,120 Speaker 1: troops to seven pounder guns, a Maxim which was an 251 00:16:21,120 --> 00:16:25,040 Speaker 1: early machine gun, and a rocket apparatus that belonged to 252 00:16:25,080 --> 00:16:29,920 Speaker 1: the Niger Coast Protectorate Force. It's likely that at least 253 00:16:30,040 --> 00:16:34,239 Speaker 1: the British officials in this expedition were provided with weapons, 254 00:16:34,240 --> 00:16:37,440 Speaker 1: but it's possible that those weapons were packed in their 255 00:16:37,480 --> 00:16:41,880 Speaker 1: baggage rather than being carried on their persons. As Phillips 256 00:16:41,880 --> 00:16:44,720 Speaker 1: and his party approached Beneen City, they were stopped and 257 00:16:44,760 --> 00:16:47,400 Speaker 1: told to turn back. Again. The city was in the 258 00:16:47,440 --> 00:16:51,080 Speaker 1: middle of observing its most important cultural and religious festival 259 00:16:51,920 --> 00:16:56,040 Speaker 1: when Phillips refused, the oba's fighting force attacked, something that 260 00:16:56,160 --> 00:17:00,320 Speaker 1: was done without the oba's knowledge or approval. Phillips most 261 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:03,400 Speaker 1: of his party were killed and only two British officials 262 00:17:03,560 --> 00:17:07,359 Speaker 1: escaped the attack. This became known as the Benin massacre, 263 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:11,080 Speaker 1: and the British Admiralty learned about it on January eleven, 264 00:17:11,280 --> 00:17:15,560 Speaker 1: eight seven. That was the day after it had sent 265 00:17:15,640 --> 00:17:19,280 Speaker 1: word to Phillips ordering him to postpone the expedition because 266 00:17:19,280 --> 00:17:22,120 Speaker 1: a large enough fighting force couldn't be raised in time 267 00:17:22,119 --> 00:17:25,359 Speaker 1: to carry it out. When the Admiralty learned about this, 268 00:17:25,520 --> 00:17:28,880 Speaker 1: it mounted a punitive expedition of twelve hundred men under 269 00:17:28,920 --> 00:17:33,160 Speaker 1: the leadership of Sir Harry Rawson. This force divided into 270 00:17:33,200 --> 00:17:37,000 Speaker 1: three columns, one of them under the command of Henry Galway. 271 00:17:37,240 --> 00:17:42,560 Speaker 1: They departed for Beneen City on February ninth, burning outlying 272 00:17:42,640 --> 00:17:46,440 Speaker 1: villages and killing civilians and soldiers who resisted as they went. 273 00:17:47,760 --> 00:17:50,600 Speaker 1: Armed combatants were not the only people who were killed. 274 00:17:50,760 --> 00:17:55,159 Speaker 1: Eyewitnesses also described the British force firing machine guns into 275 00:17:55,200 --> 00:17:59,119 Speaker 1: the bush wherever they thought people might be hiding. Once 276 00:17:59,160 --> 00:18:02,199 Speaker 1: they were in the capital, the British force looted the 277 00:18:02,320 --> 00:18:05,720 Speaker 1: royal Palace and the Queen Mother's home and burned them. 278 00:18:06,320 --> 00:18:10,040 Speaker 1: On February one, which was the last day of the expedition, 279 00:18:10,240 --> 00:18:14,000 Speaker 1: a massive fire also destroyed many of the city's homes 280 00:18:14,040 --> 00:18:19,040 Speaker 1: and buildings. Sometimes this fire is described as unintentional, but 281 00:18:19,160 --> 00:18:22,120 Speaker 1: it really may have been an intentional blaze that just 282 00:18:22,320 --> 00:18:26,320 Speaker 1: spread a lot farther than the British force had anticipated. 283 00:18:26,680 --> 00:18:29,080 Speaker 1: Eight members of the British force are known to have 284 00:18:29,119 --> 00:18:33,359 Speaker 1: been killed during this punitive expedition. The death toll among 285 00:18:33,400 --> 00:18:36,639 Speaker 1: Benin's military and civilians is not really known, but it 286 00:18:36,720 --> 00:18:40,119 Speaker 1: is assumed to be much much higher. None of the 287 00:18:40,200 --> 00:18:44,360 Speaker 1: sources that I used for this episode even like attempted 288 00:18:44,400 --> 00:18:48,240 Speaker 1: to estimate they were not keeping track at all, they 289 00:18:48,320 --> 00:18:52,520 Speaker 1: being the British force that was carrying this out. As 290 00:18:52,640 --> 00:18:56,280 Speaker 1: it was looting the capital, this British force found nine 291 00:18:56,359 --> 00:19:00,480 Speaker 1: hundred brass plaques in a warehouse. These had been removed 292 00:19:00,480 --> 00:19:04,040 Speaker 1: from the palace during a remodeling. There were also life 293 00:19:04,080 --> 00:19:09,800 Speaker 1: sized brass heads depicting various monarchs and other ancestors. Other 294 00:19:09,840 --> 00:19:14,080 Speaker 1: objects included brass depictions of animals, a store of ivory, 295 00:19:14,200 --> 00:19:18,760 Speaker 1: tusks and various works of art and cultural objects. Members 296 00:19:18,800 --> 00:19:21,560 Speaker 1: of the punitive expedition were given some of these items 297 00:19:21,600 --> 00:19:24,720 Speaker 1: to keep. The rest were taken back to Britain, where 298 00:19:24,720 --> 00:19:27,639 Speaker 1: about two hundred were given to the British Museum and 299 00:19:27,680 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: the rest were auctioned off to pay for the expedition. 300 00:19:31,119 --> 00:19:34,040 Speaker 1: It is not known exactly how many objects were taken, 301 00:19:34,080 --> 00:19:36,720 Speaker 1: since they were not cataloged at the time, but it 302 00:19:36,800 --> 00:19:39,760 Speaker 1: is estimated to be about three thousand works of art 303 00:19:39,880 --> 00:19:44,560 Speaker 1: and other objects. The British force departed from Beneen City 304 00:19:44,640 --> 00:19:49,360 Speaker 1: on February. The Oba and his surviving court had fled, 305 00:19:49,560 --> 00:19:51,800 Speaker 1: but in the days and weeks that followed, they were 306 00:19:51,920 --> 00:19:56,239 Speaker 1: captured and tried opan round when's chiefs testified that he 307 00:19:56,359 --> 00:20:00,919 Speaker 1: had never left his compound during Phillips's earlier expedition and 308 00:20:00,960 --> 00:20:03,919 Speaker 1: that he had ordered that no harm come to that 309 00:20:04,000 --> 00:20:08,399 Speaker 1: British force, but he was convicted and exiled to Calibar. 310 00:20:09,240 --> 00:20:12,679 Speaker 1: His chiefs were sentenced to be executed. One of them 311 00:20:12,720 --> 00:20:15,960 Speaker 1: took his own life while awaiting trial, and British soldiers 312 00:20:16,000 --> 00:20:19,360 Speaker 1: had his body hanged outside the palace, where they used 313 00:20:19,400 --> 00:20:24,480 Speaker 1: it for target practice. After the Punitive Expedition. One subject 314 00:20:24,560 --> 00:20:28,760 Speaker 1: dominated European discussions of Britain's actions in the Kingdom of Benin, 315 00:20:29,480 --> 00:20:32,639 Speaker 1: and that was human sacrifice. And we're going to get 316 00:20:32,680 --> 00:20:46,080 Speaker 1: into that after a sponsor break. Before James Phillips left 317 00:20:46,160 --> 00:20:52,240 Speaker 1: for Benin City in early Britain's primary rationale for planning 318 00:20:52,280 --> 00:20:57,280 Speaker 1: to remove the Oba was trade. Then the Punitive Expedition 319 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,440 Speaker 1: set out to punish Benin for the deaths of Phillips 320 00:21:00,480 --> 00:21:03,399 Speaker 1: and most of the rest of his party. But after 321 00:21:03,480 --> 00:21:07,080 Speaker 1: the Punitive Expedition was over, the focus shifted to the 322 00:21:07,160 --> 00:21:11,639 Speaker 1: idea that Britain needed to take control of Benin to 323 00:21:11,760 --> 00:21:15,720 Speaker 1: put a stop to horrifying practices there, particularly the practice 324 00:21:15,760 --> 00:21:20,119 Speaker 1: of human sacrifice. Sort of rewrote that earlier history to 325 00:21:20,240 --> 00:21:23,680 Speaker 1: make it seem as though this had always been the rational. 326 00:21:25,000 --> 00:21:28,320 Speaker 1: As one example, Consul General Ralph Moore wrote to Lord 327 00:21:28,400 --> 00:21:31,920 Speaker 1: Salisbury saying, quote, it is imperative that a most severe 328 00:21:32,040 --> 00:21:35,200 Speaker 1: lesson be given the King's chiefs and jujumen of all 329 00:21:35,320 --> 00:21:39,440 Speaker 1: surrounding countries, that white men cannot be killed with impunity, 330 00:21:39,480 --> 00:21:42,440 Speaker 1: and that human sacrifices, with the oppression of the weak 331 00:21:42,520 --> 00:21:47,160 Speaker 1: and poor, must cease. This, of course, ignores the fact 332 00:21:47,240 --> 00:21:50,720 Speaker 1: that the Punitive expedition had killed the citizens of Benin 333 00:21:50,880 --> 00:21:54,399 Speaker 1: with impunity, including the weak and poor, over the course 334 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:59,600 Speaker 1: of the Punitive expedition. To contextualize this, human sacrifice was 335 00:22:00,040 --> 00:22:04,040 Speaker 1: distant multiple nations and kingdoms in Western Africa prior to 336 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:08,760 Speaker 1: contact with Europeans. Most sacrifices were carried out to honor 337 00:22:08,840 --> 00:22:13,159 Speaker 1: deities or ancestors, or so the sacrificed person could carry 338 00:22:13,160 --> 00:22:16,560 Speaker 1: a message to them. In some kingdoms, when a high 339 00:22:16,640 --> 00:22:21,000 Speaker 1: ranking person died, especially the Oba, others would be sacrificed 340 00:22:21,080 --> 00:22:25,440 Speaker 1: to accompany that person into the afterlife. Usually living people 341 00:22:25,480 --> 00:22:28,840 Speaker 1: would be entombed with the deceased person's body, and they 342 00:22:28,840 --> 00:22:33,040 Speaker 1: were understood to have done this willingly, although societal expectations 343 00:22:33,080 --> 00:22:37,760 Speaker 1: that a person would sacrifice themselves also influenced these decisions 344 00:22:37,960 --> 00:22:42,080 Speaker 1: enormously and then many kingdoms most are all of the 345 00:22:42,119 --> 00:22:45,400 Speaker 1: people who did not offer themselves as sacrifices had been 346 00:22:45,440 --> 00:22:49,119 Speaker 1: condemned to death for committing a crime. This was usually 347 00:22:49,119 --> 00:22:52,160 Speaker 1: the case in the Kingdom of Benine. In some places, 348 00:22:52,240 --> 00:22:56,920 Speaker 1: prisoners of war or enslaved people were also sacrificed. Today, 349 00:22:56,960 --> 00:23:00,760 Speaker 1: all of this sounds deeply and irrevocably horror fining, but 350 00:23:00,920 --> 00:23:04,240 Speaker 1: the first Europeans to witness or learn about this practice 351 00:23:04,520 --> 00:23:07,679 Speaker 1: did not have quite the same response because where they lived, 352 00:23:07,840 --> 00:23:13,879 Speaker 1: public executions were commonplace. Portugal conducted public executions until ending 353 00:23:13,920 --> 00:23:18,680 Speaker 1: executions altogether in eighteen forty six. The United Kingdom did 354 00:23:18,680 --> 00:23:22,439 Speaker 1: not outlaw public execution until eighteen sixty eight, and the 355 00:23:22,560 --> 00:23:26,800 Speaker 1: last public guillotining in France was in nineteen thirty nine. 356 00:23:27,240 --> 00:23:31,000 Speaker 1: From the fifteenth through the seventeenth centuries, Europeans often drew 357 00:23:31,000 --> 00:23:35,200 Speaker 1: a parallel between public executions in Europe and human sacrifices 358 00:23:35,240 --> 00:23:38,480 Speaker 1: in parts of Africa. This was especially true when the 359 00:23:38,520 --> 00:23:41,800 Speaker 1: people being sacrificed had been condemned for committing a crime. 360 00:23:42,480 --> 00:23:47,199 Speaker 1: Around the eighteenth century, though European attitudes towards human sacrifice 361 00:23:47,240 --> 00:23:52,199 Speaker 1: started to shift. Human sacrifice then became a justification for 362 00:23:52,240 --> 00:23:56,320 Speaker 1: the practice of slavery, even though nations in Europe were 363 00:23:56,359 --> 00:24:01,240 Speaker 1: still carrying out public executions. Europeans in braazingly saw human 364 00:24:01,280 --> 00:24:06,680 Speaker 1: sacrifice in Africa as barbaric, uncivilized, and cruel, so many 365 00:24:06,720 --> 00:24:11,520 Speaker 1: Europeans this reinforced the idea that Africans were innately inferior 366 00:24:11,640 --> 00:24:17,560 Speaker 1: and therefore deserved to be enslaved. Europeans also suggested that 367 00:24:17,720 --> 00:24:21,840 Speaker 1: being enslaved was a better outcome than being sacrificed. This 368 00:24:21,960 --> 00:24:26,080 Speaker 1: was an idea that people expressed explicitly. In a new 369 00:24:26,119 --> 00:24:28,959 Speaker 1: account of some parts of Guinea and the slave Trade, 370 00:24:29,320 --> 00:24:33,240 Speaker 1: William Snellgrave wrote, quote, it is evident that abundance of 371 00:24:33,320 --> 00:24:37,960 Speaker 1: captives taken in war would be inhumanely destroyed. They're not 372 00:24:38,080 --> 00:24:42,000 Speaker 1: an opportunity of disposing of them to the Europeans, so 373 00:24:42,040 --> 00:24:45,160 Speaker 1: that at least many lives are saved and great numbers 374 00:24:45,200 --> 00:24:49,720 Speaker 1: of useful persons kept in being. By the nineteenth century, 375 00:24:49,920 --> 00:24:53,480 Speaker 1: as European nations started to outlaw the slave trade and 376 00:24:53,560 --> 00:24:58,080 Speaker 1: the practice of slavery within their empires, more people started 377 00:24:58,119 --> 00:25:02,399 Speaker 1: to view slavery itself as barbaric, but a lot of 378 00:25:02,480 --> 00:25:06,960 Speaker 1: European writing about Africa continued to focus on the practice 379 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:10,760 Speaker 1: of slavery there, as well as the continuing practice of 380 00:25:10,840 --> 00:25:16,240 Speaker 1: human sacrifice, as evidence that Africans were inferior. Over time, 381 00:25:16,560 --> 00:25:21,560 Speaker 1: human sacrifice became increasingly associated with the Kingdom of Benin. Specifically, 382 00:25:22,440 --> 00:25:25,959 Speaker 1: European descriptions of Benin from the nineteenth century are nothing 383 00:25:26,040 --> 00:25:28,760 Speaker 1: like those seventeenth century accounts that we read earlier in 384 00:25:28,800 --> 00:25:32,760 Speaker 1: the show. For example, Sir Richard Burton visited Benin in 385 00:25:32,800 --> 00:25:35,520 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty three and described it as a place of 386 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:40,640 Speaker 1: quote gratuitous barbarity which stinks of death. He also wrote 387 00:25:40,720 --> 00:25:44,040 Speaker 1: a lurid and gruesome account of fetish worship and human 388 00:25:44,080 --> 00:25:48,760 Speaker 1: sacrifice in the region. Western observers reported an increase in 389 00:25:48,800 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: the number of sacrifices happening in Benin in the late 390 00:25:51,600 --> 00:25:55,320 Speaker 1: nineteenth century, although it's not clear how much these reports 391 00:25:55,359 --> 00:25:59,639 Speaker 1: may have been exaggerated or influenced by evolving European attitudes 392 00:25:59,720 --> 00:26:04,159 Speaker 1: to Africans as inferior and backward. To return to the 393 00:26:04,200 --> 00:26:09,359 Speaker 1: Punitive Expedition, various colonial officials had mentioned human sacrifice and 394 00:26:09,400 --> 00:26:12,560 Speaker 1: their letters before this point, and in some cases they've 395 00:26:12,560 --> 00:26:15,480 Speaker 1: discussed putting a stop to it, but even in these 396 00:26:15,520 --> 00:26:19,359 Speaker 1: earlier mentions that was often ancillary to the idea of 397 00:26:19,440 --> 00:26:23,840 Speaker 1: opening up trade. Knowledge of the practice of human sacrifice 398 00:26:23,920 --> 00:26:28,040 Speaker 1: in Benin also hadn't gone far beyond colonial and military 399 00:26:28,119 --> 00:26:34,440 Speaker 1: leadership after the Punitive Expedition, though British eyewitness accounts were horrifying, graphic, 400 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:39,040 Speaker 1: and publicly available. For example, Sir Reginald H. Bacon wrote 401 00:26:39,040 --> 00:26:42,200 Speaker 1: a book about the expedition in eighteen seventy nine titled 402 00:26:42,520 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: Benin the City of Blood, and in it he wrote, 403 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:50,720 Speaker 1: quote crucifixions, human sacrifices, and every horror the eye could 404 00:26:50,720 --> 00:26:54,560 Speaker 1: get accustomed to a large extent, but the smells no 405 00:26:54,760 --> 00:26:59,880 Speaker 1: white man's internal economy could stand. Blood was everywhere, smeared 406 00:27:00,000 --> 00:27:05,080 Speaker 1: over bronzes, ivory, and even the walls. Others described the 407 00:27:05,080 --> 00:27:08,600 Speaker 1: British force finding a scene of slaughter in the capital, 408 00:27:08,960 --> 00:27:12,560 Speaker 1: with victims of human sacrifice scattered through the city, some 409 00:27:12,680 --> 00:27:16,439 Speaker 1: of whom had been members of Phillip's earlier expedition. And 410 00:27:16,520 --> 00:27:20,240 Speaker 1: instead of the impressive walled streets that were so safe 411 00:27:20,280 --> 00:27:23,080 Speaker 1: that people didn't feel the need for doors, there was, 412 00:27:23,320 --> 00:27:26,560 Speaker 1: in the words of Captain Allen Wasser Gone quote, a 413 00:27:26,640 --> 00:27:30,200 Speaker 1: collection of half ruined mud houses, not better than the 414 00:27:30,280 --> 00:27:34,639 Speaker 1: huts in an ordinary native village. By the eighteen nineties, 415 00:27:34,720 --> 00:27:38,720 Speaker 1: British visitors to Benin were describing these post expedition accounts 416 00:27:38,760 --> 00:27:43,760 Speaker 1: as exaggerated. In more recent decades, some people, particularly historians 417 00:27:43,800 --> 00:27:47,200 Speaker 1: and scholars from West Africa, have also put forth other 418 00:27:47,280 --> 00:27:52,240 Speaker 1: explanations for what people like Reginald Bacon described. One is 419 00:27:52,280 --> 00:27:55,000 Speaker 1: that many of the bodies assumed to have been victims 420 00:27:55,000 --> 00:27:58,240 Speaker 1: of human sacrifice were really people who had been killed 421 00:27:58,280 --> 00:28:01,439 Speaker 1: by British machine guns while high in the bush, whose 422 00:28:01,480 --> 00:28:04,160 Speaker 1: bodies had been brought back to the capital to be buried. 423 00:28:05,000 --> 00:28:08,480 Speaker 1: Another hypothesis is that the city's residents, knowing it was 424 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:11,879 Speaker 1: about to be captured by the British, intentionally defaced it 425 00:28:11,960 --> 00:28:16,119 Speaker 1: to try to make it uninhabitable to them. Regardless, the 426 00:28:16,200 --> 00:28:20,040 Speaker 1: accounts written by Bacon and others really painted the Kingdom 427 00:28:20,040 --> 00:28:24,320 Speaker 1: of Benin as a horrific, violent place that was deserving 428 00:28:24,480 --> 00:28:28,640 Speaker 1: of Britain's wrath. It influenced the way that people thought 429 00:28:28,680 --> 00:28:34,080 Speaker 1: about Benin and about Africa more generally. News coverage was 430 00:28:34,160 --> 00:28:37,679 Speaker 1: just effusive in its praise of British forces, and that 431 00:28:37,720 --> 00:28:41,400 Speaker 1: coverage focused on the idea that Britain was freeing Benin 432 00:28:41,600 --> 00:28:45,400 Speaker 1: from its own barbarism. Some of this was also threaded 433 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:49,360 Speaker 1: through with the idea that Britain needed and even deserved 434 00:28:49,480 --> 00:28:53,840 Speaker 1: access to Benin's palm oil. This framing also implied that 435 00:28:53,880 --> 00:28:57,120 Speaker 1: Britain deserved the artwork that had been looted from Benin 436 00:28:57,320 --> 00:29:00,959 Speaker 1: during the expedition. Britain was entitled to it by virtue 437 00:29:00,960 --> 00:29:05,000 Speaker 1: of being superior and as compensation for the expense involved 438 00:29:05,000 --> 00:29:09,160 Speaker 1: with the invasion. After the fact, the idea of human 439 00:29:09,200 --> 00:29:13,200 Speaker 1: sacrifice became a major justifying factor for all of this, 440 00:29:13,320 --> 00:29:16,760 Speaker 1: for the expedition itself, for British claims to the Kingdom's 441 00:29:16,800 --> 00:29:21,040 Speaker 1: artistic and cultural property, and for Britain's colonial rule of 442 00:29:21,040 --> 00:29:24,360 Speaker 1: the Kingdom, even though what had motivated all this in 443 00:29:24,400 --> 00:29:27,840 Speaker 1: the first place was first trade and then retribution for 444 00:29:27,880 --> 00:29:32,440 Speaker 1: the Phillips Expedition's death. As we said earlier, the artwork 445 00:29:32,560 --> 00:29:35,960 Speaker 1: British forces took from Benin was not kept as one collection. 446 00:29:36,480 --> 00:29:40,719 Speaker 1: Pieces were auctioned off to museums around the world. At first, 447 00:29:41,000 --> 00:29:43,800 Speaker 1: most of the museums who bought these pieces were ethnographic 448 00:29:43,960 --> 00:29:47,760 Speaker 1: museums rather than art museums. Some of this was because 449 00:29:47,800 --> 00:29:51,720 Speaker 1: many ethnographic museums were actively working to expand their collections 450 00:29:51,720 --> 00:29:54,520 Speaker 1: at the turn of the twentieth century, but there was 451 00:29:54,600 --> 00:30:00,080 Speaker 1: also implicit or sometimes explicit racism involved. Even though the 452 00:30:00,160 --> 00:30:03,880 Speaker 1: objects taken out of Benin fit into European definitions of art, 453 00:30:04,440 --> 00:30:08,000 Speaker 1: the fact that it was African led institutions to categorize 454 00:30:08,000 --> 00:30:11,840 Speaker 1: it as ethnography. It wasn't until around the nineteen thirties 455 00:30:11,880 --> 00:30:14,160 Speaker 1: that Art Museum started to show an interest in the 456 00:30:14,200 --> 00:30:17,800 Speaker 1: Benin bronzes, as art or started to curate them as 457 00:30:17,840 --> 00:30:21,520 Speaker 1: part of their art collections rather than their ethnography collections. 458 00:30:22,680 --> 00:30:26,080 Speaker 1: Although Benin had managed to retain most of its sovereignty 459 00:30:26,120 --> 00:30:30,960 Speaker 1: before eighteen seven, including after possibly signed the Galway Treaty, 460 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:35,000 Speaker 1: Britain took full control of the kingdom after the Punitive Expedition. 461 00:30:35,600 --> 00:30:39,360 Speaker 1: Britain replaced the Oba with a system of colonial administration 462 00:30:39,400 --> 00:30:43,600 Speaker 1: that involved in native council and warrant chiefs. Britain struggled 463 00:30:43,640 --> 00:30:46,320 Speaker 1: to make this system work, though, and started trying to 464 00:30:46,400 --> 00:30:49,840 Speaker 1: restore the monarchy with Opan round One's son, Awaka the Second, 465 00:30:49,880 --> 00:30:54,120 Speaker 1: as a figurehead. When Oban Roun One died in nineteen fourteen, 466 00:30:54,200 --> 00:30:57,080 Speaker 1: Britain placed his son on the throne, but with the 467 00:30:57,120 --> 00:31:01,800 Speaker 1: monarchy positioned as subordinate to the colonial it administration. The 468 00:31:01,840 --> 00:31:05,680 Speaker 1: British Protectorates of Northern and Southern Nigeria were joined to 469 00:31:05,760 --> 00:31:09,800 Speaker 1: form Nigeria in nineteen fourteen as well. In Nigeria became 470 00:31:09,840 --> 00:31:14,479 Speaker 1: an independent nation on October one, nineteen sixty In nineteen 471 00:31:14,520 --> 00:31:18,400 Speaker 1: sixty three, Nigeria adopted a constitution that established itself as 472 00:31:18,400 --> 00:31:21,920 Speaker 1: a republic, removing the monarchs of its many kingdoms from 473 00:31:22,000 --> 00:31:26,920 Speaker 1: formal political power. Many many kingdoms still exist today, though 474 00:31:26,920 --> 00:31:30,800 Speaker 1: with their monarchs still playing a cultural and less formalized 475 00:31:30,840 --> 00:31:35,800 Speaker 1: political role. In nineteen seventy seven, a festival of arts 476 00:31:35,840 --> 00:31:39,120 Speaker 1: and culture was being planned in Lagos, Nigeria that had 477 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:43,160 Speaker 1: adopted an ivory pendant of Queen Idia of Benin as 478 00:31:43,160 --> 00:31:47,920 Speaker 1: its emblem. The festival's planning committee asked the British Museum 479 00:31:48,000 --> 00:31:51,320 Speaker 1: to loan it the sixteenth century mask of this queen 480 00:31:51,400 --> 00:31:56,000 Speaker 1: from its collection. There are contradictory reports of what happened next. 481 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:59,000 Speaker 1: According to the British Museum, this mask was just too 482 00:31:59,000 --> 00:32:02,880 Speaker 1: fragile to move, but Nigerian sources reported that the museum 483 00:32:02,920 --> 00:32:07,080 Speaker 1: had required the festival to provide three million dollars in insurance. 484 00:32:07,760 --> 00:32:11,440 Speaker 1: This incident started to raise global awareness of the objects 485 00:32:11,440 --> 00:32:14,480 Speaker 1: that have been taken out of Benin, collectively called the 486 00:32:14,520 --> 00:32:17,200 Speaker 1: Beniin Bronzes. Even though most of the items are made 487 00:32:17,200 --> 00:32:21,200 Speaker 1: of brass and some are made of other materials, efforts 488 00:32:21,240 --> 00:32:24,040 Speaker 1: to repatriate at least some of the pieces have gone 489 00:32:24,040 --> 00:32:28,200 Speaker 1: on for decades, and there are some real complexities involved, 490 00:32:28,320 --> 00:32:31,840 Speaker 1: like if the bronzes are returned, who exactly should they 491 00:32:31,840 --> 00:32:36,320 Speaker 1: be returned to? Most came from Beni City, specifically from 492 00:32:36,320 --> 00:32:39,880 Speaker 1: the Oba's palace, so should they be repatriated to the 493 00:32:39,960 --> 00:32:43,880 Speaker 1: Oba or to the Kingdom of Benin, or to Edo State, 494 00:32:43,960 --> 00:32:48,120 Speaker 1: where Benien City is located, or to Nigeria as a nation, 495 00:32:48,360 --> 00:32:52,200 Speaker 1: or to some museum or cultural institution built specifically to 496 00:32:52,280 --> 00:32:56,120 Speaker 1: house these works. Such a museum is planned for Benin City, 497 00:32:56,360 --> 00:32:59,520 Speaker 1: with the Beni Royal family and the Nigerian government involved, 498 00:32:59,560 --> 00:33:02,160 Speaker 1: but that mean Zum has not been built yet. The 499 00:33:02,240 --> 00:33:05,200 Speaker 1: Benin Dialogue Group was established in two thousand seven to 500 00:33:05,360 --> 00:33:08,480 Speaker 1: work through these questions and other issues, and its most 501 00:33:08,560 --> 00:33:12,440 Speaker 1: recent mission statement specifically references the creation of a royal 502 00:33:12,560 --> 00:33:17,040 Speaker 1: museum to reunite Bening's historical artifacts, but progress toward that 503 00:33:17,120 --> 00:33:20,880 Speaker 1: end has been slow. In eighteen, the late ful Laurens 504 00:33:20,920 --> 00:33:25,080 Speaker 1: Hyland published an article in Art, Antiquity and Law titled 505 00:33:25,200 --> 00:33:30,160 Speaker 1: Bening Dialogue Group Bening Royal Museum, Three Steps Forward, Six 506 00:33:30,200 --> 00:33:34,200 Speaker 1: Steps Back. One reason why progress has been slow is 507 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,360 Speaker 1: that there is debate about the best path forward, including 508 00:33:37,440 --> 00:33:40,880 Speaker 1: from within Nigeria, and there are also people who argue 509 00:33:40,920 --> 00:33:43,840 Speaker 1: that the bronzes should not be returned, at least not 510 00:33:44,040 --> 00:33:48,960 Speaker 1: all of them. In while at the British Museum, Nigeria's 511 00:33:49,040 --> 00:33:53,880 Speaker 1: Edo State Governor Godwin Obaseki said, quote, these works are ambassadors. 512 00:33:53,920 --> 00:33:56,280 Speaker 1: They represent who we are and we feel we should 513 00:33:56,280 --> 00:34:00,840 Speaker 1: take advantage of them to create a connection with the world. Still, 514 00:34:00,920 --> 00:34:04,120 Speaker 1: others feel that it's impossible to create a museum display 515 00:34:04,160 --> 00:34:07,560 Speaker 1: they would really convey all the cultural and historical context 516 00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,520 Speaker 1: of these objects. As of now, only a few pieces 517 00:34:11,520 --> 00:34:15,719 Speaker 1: of artwork have been returned. Mark Walker traveled to Nigeria 518 00:34:15,800 --> 00:34:19,080 Speaker 1: in twenty fifteen to return two pieces he had inherited 519 00:34:19,120 --> 00:34:22,920 Speaker 1: from his grandfather, Captain Herbert Walker, who was part of 520 00:34:22,920 --> 00:34:28,799 Speaker 1: the expedition. We've discussed announcements from various universities and museums 521 00:34:28,800 --> 00:34:31,839 Speaker 1: and governments that they would return the bronzes that are 522 00:34:31,880 --> 00:34:34,600 Speaker 1: in their collections. We've talked about those in several installments 523 00:34:34,640 --> 00:34:37,799 Speaker 1: of Unearthed. Some of those returns haven't happened yet, and 524 00:34:37,800 --> 00:34:40,799 Speaker 1: they also represent just a fraction of the thousands of 525 00:34:40,800 --> 00:34:46,040 Speaker 1: pieces that were taken. So that is the context on 526 00:34:46,120 --> 00:34:48,120 Speaker 1: all of those pieces that have come up as just 527 00:34:48,200 --> 00:34:52,560 Speaker 1: a couple of sentences. Summaries on Unearthed episodes do you 528 00:34:52,640 --> 00:34:56,040 Speaker 1: have listener mail to wrap us up. I do before 529 00:34:56,040 --> 00:34:59,280 Speaker 1: we have listener mail. Uh. We just did our unearthed 530 00:34:59,480 --> 00:35:02,200 Speaker 1: of the a year end of one and we talked 531 00:35:02,200 --> 00:35:07,400 Speaker 1: about an announcement UM that that Homer Plessy was going 532 00:35:07,440 --> 00:35:12,040 Speaker 1: to be pardoned, but the Governor of Louisiana needed to 533 00:35:12,120 --> 00:35:14,400 Speaker 1: sign the pardon, and that was the final step that 534 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:18,880 Speaker 1: actually happened almost immediately after we recorded that episode. So 535 00:35:19,200 --> 00:35:23,839 Speaker 1: as was plans when we did that recording, UM, the 536 00:35:23,880 --> 00:35:27,400 Speaker 1: Governor of Louisiana, John Bell Edwards, did publicly sign the 537 00:35:27,440 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: pardon of the late Homer Plessy, and there were people 538 00:35:31,520 --> 00:35:34,239 Speaker 1: from both the Plessy and the Ferguson families there at 539 00:35:34,239 --> 00:35:37,160 Speaker 1: the ceremony. So I just wanted to this is the 540 00:35:37,160 --> 00:35:40,000 Speaker 1: earliest opportunity go ahead and say yes, that did happen. 541 00:35:40,760 --> 00:35:44,680 Speaker 1: And then I also have email from Kelsey. Kelsey wrote 542 00:35:44,680 --> 00:35:47,200 Speaker 1: to say thank you so much for your podcast. I 543 00:35:47,239 --> 00:35:49,520 Speaker 1: first been listening years ago when I heard you did 544 00:35:49,560 --> 00:35:52,920 Speaker 1: one on Frankie Manning and Lindy Hop As a dancer myself, 545 00:35:52,960 --> 00:35:55,080 Speaker 1: it was so nice to hear his story and the 546 00:35:55,080 --> 00:35:57,920 Speaker 1: story of the dance. I love. This email is also 547 00:35:57,960 --> 00:36:01,719 Speaker 1: about a dance. I love the civic Northwest Ballets Nutcracker. 548 00:36:01,840 --> 00:36:04,280 Speaker 1: I've lived in Washington State my whole life, and traveling 549 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:06,680 Speaker 1: to Seattle for the Nutcracker at Christmas time is something 550 00:36:06,680 --> 00:36:08,560 Speaker 1: I've gotten to do a few times in my life 551 00:36:08,920 --> 00:36:11,480 Speaker 1: as a child. It was a transformative experience. In the 552 00:36:11,520 --> 00:36:15,040 Speaker 1: Mari sinback designs were all I knew. I was incredibly 553 00:36:15,120 --> 00:36:17,160 Speaker 1: sad when I heard they were doing away with the 554 00:36:17,200 --> 00:36:20,200 Speaker 1: sunback version, but the current production is fabulous. It was 555 00:36:20,280 --> 00:36:22,799 Speaker 1: so cool to hear you mentioned Pacific Northwest Ballet in 556 00:36:22,840 --> 00:36:26,280 Speaker 1: the podcast, as I think they are doing some incredible things. 557 00:36:26,440 --> 00:36:30,719 Speaker 1: One new thing this year is a sensory friendly Nutcracker performance. 558 00:36:31,200 --> 00:36:35,400 Speaker 1: Kelsey provided a link to UH document about that. The 559 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:38,640 Speaker 1: other is the introduction of the green tea cricket character 560 00:36:38,760 --> 00:36:41,799 Speaker 1: for the Chinese dance. They have been very intentional and 561 00:36:41,800 --> 00:36:44,480 Speaker 1: they're reworking of these dances. There are some pictures in 562 00:36:44,480 --> 00:36:47,239 Speaker 1: this article, and there's a link to a story about 563 00:36:47,280 --> 00:36:52,239 Speaker 1: the Nutcracker returning for the season with some of the 564 00:36:52,480 --> 00:36:55,680 Speaker 1: UH the cricket pictures. I went down a rabbit hole 565 00:36:55,760 --> 00:36:58,680 Speaker 1: looking for more about that cricket because that did seem amazing. 566 00:36:59,560 --> 00:37:01,399 Speaker 1: Kelsey and on to say I'm a band teacher now 567 00:37:01,719 --> 00:37:04,200 Speaker 1: in a suburb of Seattle, and my students performed the 568 00:37:04,239 --> 00:37:07,120 Speaker 1: Nutcracker Suite for our concert this Christmas, so I've been 569 00:37:07,160 --> 00:37:09,280 Speaker 1: listening to it quite a lot. You may also enjoy 570 00:37:09,360 --> 00:37:12,520 Speaker 1: this podcast, which focuses on the music by Tchaikovsky. I 571 00:37:12,520 --> 00:37:15,399 Speaker 1: have not listened to that podcast yet, but I did 572 00:37:15,440 --> 00:37:18,719 Speaker 1: go look at stuff about the sensory friendly Nutcracker performance 573 00:37:18,920 --> 00:37:22,040 Speaker 1: and the green tea cricket character for the Chinese stance. 574 00:37:22,520 --> 00:37:25,520 Speaker 1: If anyone can hear a cat mewing in the background, 575 00:37:25,760 --> 00:37:28,279 Speaker 1: that is my cat Onyx, who has struck up a 576 00:37:28,320 --> 00:37:35,560 Speaker 1: new behavior called be as disruptive during re recording as possible. Uh. 577 00:37:35,600 --> 00:37:38,799 Speaker 1: Thank you so much Kelsey for sending this email. I 578 00:37:38,880 --> 00:37:42,279 Speaker 1: tried to find some video maybe if the new green 579 00:37:42,360 --> 00:37:45,839 Speaker 1: tea cricket character in this ballet, and if if they 580 00:37:45,880 --> 00:37:47,960 Speaker 1: may put that on online sometime at the future. I 581 00:37:48,000 --> 00:37:49,359 Speaker 1: don't know. I don't want to speak for them, but 582 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,600 Speaker 1: that's not there yet, but the pictures of it looks 583 00:37:51,680 --> 00:37:55,320 Speaker 1: so interesting. Um, and that has been done in conjunction 584 00:37:55,400 --> 00:37:59,240 Speaker 1: with an organization that is just trying to move away 585 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:02,560 Speaker 1: from the anti Asian stereotypes in ballet. So thank you 586 00:38:02,600 --> 00:38:06,080 Speaker 1: so much. Kelsey for sending this um if you'd like 587 00:38:06,120 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: to send us a new or a history podcast at 588 00:38:08,160 --> 00:38:10,560 Speaker 1: i heeart radio dot com and we're all over social 589 00:38:10,600 --> 00:38:13,920 Speaker 1: media Missed in History, so you'll find our Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, 590 00:38:14,000 --> 00:38:17,040 Speaker 1: and Instagram. And you can subscribe to our show on 591 00:38:17,080 --> 00:38:19,400 Speaker 1: the I heart radio app and wherever else do you 592 00:38:19,400 --> 00:38:26,919 Speaker 1: like to get your podcasts. Stuff you Missed in History 593 00:38:26,960 --> 00:38:29,680 Speaker 1: Class is a production of I heart Radio. For more 594 00:38:29,760 --> 00:38:32,799 Speaker 1: podcasts from I heart Radio, visit the iHeart Radio app, 595 00:38:32,880 --> 00:38:36,080 Speaker 1: Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.