Empires and the Benin Bronzes

in his body mere hours before had largely dissipated. After five days of moving through dense forest and facing gorilla attacks from Eto's soldiers. It was a relief, no a triumph, to be strolling the streets the Kingdom of Benin's king or Oba, and everyone else in the Kingdom of Benin's capital city had fled. That was an unfortunate outcome of the attack, as Admiral Rawson and his British forces had hoped to capture the Oba. The campaign was known as

the quote punitive expedition. After all, in the minds of the British people, the Edo people, especially their Oba, needed to pay for killing British soldiers earlier that year. But regardless, the British had the city now. The British forces hadn't even known the exact location of Edo, and yet here they were. Admiral Rawson chalked that up to British superiority.

As the British force of twelve hundred people continued to explore the abandoned city, they took it upon themselves to inspect the larger buildings, including the Soba's Palace and the

religious spaces. As Admiral Rawson and his men explored the palace, they first came upon stores of what they initially deemed quote cheap rubbish, but in sorting through the piles, they found quote several hundred unique bronze plaques of really superb casting castings of wonderful delicacy of detail, some magnificently carved tusks, and bronze groups of idols. In the buildings clearly meant

for religious ceremonies. They also found quote handsomely carved ivory tusks placed on the top of very antique bronze heads. The precious items were swiftly collected and packed up to be taken out of the Kingdom of Benin and transported to London for sale. Something had to pay for the expensive expedition might as well be these. Once they were done exploring the royal residences and the religious buildings, the

British started destroying the city. On one hand, this was personal, the Edo had killed British soldiers and now they were facing the mighty wrath of the British Empire. But on the other hand, this was standard practice for the British in Africa, a scorched earth policy adhering to this maximum quite literally. After demolishing parts of the palace and some religious buildings, the British set the city ablaze. Admiral Rawson basked in the glow of the fire rolling through Edo

he had more than accomplished his mission. He left behind a few soldiers to hold the conquered territory until the British could return and fortify their new stronghold, and with the smoke emanating from still smoldering ruins, the admiral set off back to London. Just four days after they had arrived. The British had toppled the King of Benin, destroyed the capital city, and looted the kingdom's most precious religious masterpieces.

As they marched back through the forest. They carried with them what would become some of the most controversial artifacts of the twenty first century, artifacts that still remain in the British Museum today, the Benin Bronzes. I'm Danish sports and this is noble blood. The Benen Bronzes might be familiar to some of you already. They are some of the world's most talked about artifacts, and for good reason.

These pieces of art, which include items cast in bronze and brass as well as ivory carvings, are as of this episode scattered across the world in private collections and museums, including most notably the British Museum. Nigeria, the modern state which encompasses the Kingdom of Edo, has been working diligently to try to get these pieces back for almost a century. But while some of the bronzes have been returned, most known Benin Bronzes still reside in the hands of others.

These pieces have made incredible journeys from their creation to their use by the Kingdom of Edo as ceremonial and religious objects, to their seizure as looted items, to their status as hotly contested artifacts across the Globe today will trace that story, and that begins in the back alleys of Benin City. Benin City or Edo, was the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, not to be confused with

the modern nation of Benin. The Kingdom of Benin ruled over a portion of the Niger River delta from around eleven eighty a d. To eighteen ninety seven a d. The kingdom, also known as the Kingdom of Edo, began as a city state and relied on simple tributary relationships. The Oba or king would offer military protection in exchange for tributes. As a reference point, their system was strikingly similar to European fiefdom. The kingdom started developing into a

highly centralized empire in the fourteenth century. With this centralization of power under way, Oba Aguolo was able to create guilds, including those fours metal workers and brass casters, which still to this day have their headquarters and workshops located in a back alley in Edo. But we can point to this fifteenth century creation of guilds as a turning point

in the development of Edo art. The artisans of Edo would make pieces of art out of brass, bronze, ivory, and coral works of art which are collectively known as the Benin Bronzes. The Moniker the Benin Bronzes is a bit deceiving, however, the name is used to refer to these sculptures and reliefs made from the thirteenth century onward in the Kingdom of Benin. Regardless of what material the works are made out of. The pieces that are categorized

as Benin Bronzes are incredibly diverse. There are some exaggerated faces, some individuals, and some scenes groups together, the works depict court life, military victories, and important trade relationships, the story of a people's history told through art. If you've never seen them, I urge you to look up the Benien Bronzes to get a sense of the artistic style and their conventions. Fundamentally, Edo art was meant for the court,

and it served two purposes. First, these sculptures and engravings were meant to record history. For the Edo people, history was an oral tradition, but they used these pieces of art to supplement their stories. For example, some images represented battles in their successful conquest of their neighbors, while other sculptures preserved the likenesses of important rulers and members of the nobility. Wrapped Up in that purpose were of course,

political motivations. Politicians, kings, and noblemen trying to make themselves seem more important Obas would commission pieces that depicted them in a positive light. Not to get meta, being that this is a history podcast, but what is chosen to be remembered as history is never objective. The Obas, the kings of the Kingdom of Edo knew that and certainly used that to their advantage. The bronzes also served as religious objects central to the beliefs of the Edo people.

The Edo religion involved belief in an invisible, supernatural world full of gods and spirits. In addition to traditional ancestor veneration, one important aspect of their religion was divine kingship, which combined their belief in spirits as well as ancestor worship. Obas, both living and dead, were seen as holding the power of life and death. Every new Oba, once the former Oba his father had passed and he rose to the throne, was tasked with putting together an altar for the recently

deceased king. On this altar would be carved ivory tusks and brass heads cast to represent the former Oba or the former queen the new Oba's mother. These altars also included statues of leopards, as they were symbols associated with kingship and power. The Obas of Benin did have substantial power in the region. The kingdom began expanding in earnest starting in the sixteenth century. What brought the kingdom more power was their trade relationships with European countries like Portugal,

England and France. Their location on the Niger River delta primed them to act as middlemen between European traders and other African states further inland, especially with regards to the slave trade. The Edo benefited greatly through the slave trade. When the Edo would expand their kingdom and take prisoners of war, they could turn around and sell those prisoners to European traders. So military expeditions allowed the Edo not only to expand their sphere of control, but also to

trade with the Europeans. In the seventeenth century, the Edo Empire started to contract, having reached its largest in the sixteenth century, when it extended from the coast of the

Bite of Benin almost to Acra in the west. The kingdom recovered some of its previous power in the eighteenth century, but declined somewhat again in the nineteenth All this being said, by the nineteenth century, despite no longer being the powerhouse it once had been, the Kingdom of Ito was still powerful and controlled much, if not all, of the palm oil trade through the Niger Delta. Unfortunately, it was their control of those trade routes in the region that put

the kingdom at odds with the British. And when you were at odds with the British Empire in the nineteenth century, there was little that could be done to save you. In the nineteenth century, European nations were coming up against

the economic necessities of the Industrial Revolution. In order for their economies to continue growing and thereby allow their state to become more powerful, countries like Great Britain, France, Germany, Belgium, Spain, Portugal and Italy had to find new markets and new resources, but they couldn't look to Europe for those as industrial economies had already consumed the entire continent. So these European governments looked to Africa. Obviously, this is an oversimplification, but

I think it's a helpful overview. Having colonized or established strong trade monopolies in most of the rest of the world. Europeans felt that Africa could satisfy their economic quote needs. Many countries already had trade relationships with nations in Africa, where they traded things like ivory, palm oil, and enslaved people.

European states had trade relationships with African states south of the Sahara for hundreds of years, but in the eighteen eighties the European outlook towards the entire African continent changed as the European quote scramm for Africa ensued. In the late nineteenth century, European countries had led colonial excursions into

various parts of Africa. For example, Britain assumed control over Egypt and South Africa, while Belgium, or more specifically, King Leopold of Belgium horrifically took over the Congo region of the African interior, which we covered on this podcast a while back in the episode The Red Paint on Leopold

the Second. But as each European country gained a foothold in one part of the continent, the other European nations grew all that more eager to establish their own colonies, if for no other reason than preventing other countries from becoming more powerful. As tensions arose, it soon became clear that unless they did something, war would break out over

the issue. In eighteen eighty four and eighteen eighty five, in order to avoid war in Europe, Attovon Bismarck of Germany convened the Berlin Conference, where the seven major European powers met to discuss quote the Africa problem. At this conference, the representatives of the Western powers took a map and

divided up the African continent amongst themselves. Essentially, they decided who was to pursue control over which specific portions of Africa, with no regard for the nations and tribes and kingdoms who already inhabited the land. As I said, European countries had already begun to colonize Africa, but the Berlin Conference

formalized those efforts. I could go off on a tangent to discuss the rationale that supported this incredibly racist entitlement to the continent, But instead, I think, for the purposes of this story, it'll be most illuminating to put Great Britain and their colonial efforts specifically in modern day Nigeria under a microscope, so to speak. After the Berlin Conference, Great Britain walked away with a fair amount of the

European continent designated as theirs. Included in quote their territory was the land of the Niger Delta, where the Kingdom of Edo already held power. The British already had an established trade relationship with the Kingdom of Edo, which at this point in time was almost entirely the trade of palm oil, but had, as I mentioned previously, included human

trafficking for the Transatlantic slave trade and trade of ivory. Ultimately, not much changed after the Berlin Conference in that particular region, as the British and their company, the Niger Coast Protectorate, were already heavily engaged in regional trade. The biggest change was an increase in Britain's determination to take formal control. The Kingdom of Itdo was one of the last independent states in Africa, which posed a problem for the British.

The British had sent along many emissaries throughout the eighteen sixties, eighteen seventies and eighteen eighties to try to convince the Obas to become their protectorate, but the obas Oba Adolo and then his son Oba Ovan Amarin had repeatedly refused that.

Being said, the Obas had signed trade treaties which the British hoped they could leverage and turn into control of the almost eight hundred year old kingdom seven centuries after its found By the nineteenth century, Edo or Benin City was a capital full of courthouses, mausoleums, religious compounds and palaces. Not to mention people, the expansive metropolis bore evidence of every era of royal power and type of religious observance.

I want to note here that much, if not all, of what we know about the Kingdom of Benin in the nineteenth century and the punitive expedition of a eighteen ninety seven, comes from the British perspective, and almost all of those records are tainted by racist and imperialist notions. For example, many descriptions of the Kingdom of Edo describe gratuitous descriptions of human sacrifice that the Edo supposedly practiced.

According to Admiral Rawson, the British commander at the opening of this episode, the capital Edo stunk quote of human blood sacrifices and corpses everywhere, with one area of the city quote simply strewn with bodies in every stage of decomposition, skulls and bones end quote. Rawson was not alone in describing evidence of human sacrifice. It was pervasive in British

writings about the Kingdom of Edo. Now, I won't dispute that the Edo practiced human sacrifice, but many historians assert that the British over emphasized the practice in their writings in order to provide justification for their colonial expeditions. In the words of famous brit Rudyard Kipling, it was the white man's burden to bring civility to Africa. Human sacrifice sufficed as evidence that the Edo people were uncivilized and needed to be ruled and shown the way of civilization

by the British Empire. We can even see evidence of that British justification as well as its true desires to control trade, in the comments of Ralph Moore, who was acting consul of the Niger Coast Protectorate, concerning British incursions on the Kingdom's sovereignty quote. The object of the expedition was to open up that country for trade. The tyranny and oppression of its rulers, prevent any civilizing influences extending into it, and render life and property so insecure as

to prevent nearly all trade end quote. Obviously, then the only conclusion you can draw from that is they need to colonize. The British clearly had the supposed moral rationale to support a military invasion of the Kingdom of Edo's territory, and in eighteen ninety seven they were finally given the opportunity to act on them desires, setting into motion the chain of events which would ultimately bring about the looting

of the Benin Bronzes. The British had hoped to use military force to topple the Oba and the Kingdom of Benin for some time, but they had always refrained for one reason or another. It was a tenacious acting Consul General of the Niger Coast Protectorate named James Robert Phillips who defied orders and in January eighteen ninety seven headed towards Edo to begin efforts to topple the Oba Oba

Ovan Ramwin. As Phillips and his crew trekked through the forest towards Edo, they sent add a message to the Oba that they wished to discuss trade and peace in the region. In reality, they hoped to take the capital by force and either force the Oba into submission or to capture him. The Oba sent soldiers with a message for Phillips to halt. The Obo was unable to welcome any guests at that time, as it was the Igy

festival and he had ceremonial duties to attend to. Further, if Phillips wanted to enter the capital later, he would have to come alone, attended only by a local chief. Phillips refused to heed that request and the multiple reiterations of it that followed, and the expedition pressed on. On January fourth, as Phillips and his men marched closer to the capital, Edo's soldiers ambushed them. Without even emerging from the foliage. Soldiers fired at the troop, killing all but

two members of the British expedition. This act, which could be interpreted as an act of defense or an act of aggression, gave the British the opportunity they needed to invade the Kingdom of Edo and topple the Oba and the kingdom once and for all. Immediately upon hearing of the massacre, the British launched what they labeled a punitive expedition. They assigned Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, who we met in

the beginning of the episode, to lead the charge. The name Punitive Expedition reveals the sentiment behind raws and mission, which was to take Benin city and, if possible, capture the Oba. He assembled a force of about twelve hundred men and on February ninth headed up the Niger River and into the forest towards Edo. While they didn't know exactly where they needed to head to get to the capitol, as few British had ever made it to the city,

their determination wiped away any doubt in their minds. This anchoring proved helpful as they faced attacks from Edo's soldiers who were trying to protect their kingdom and their king The Edo's soldiers stayed hidden in the trees, therefore able to attack with the elements of surprise without revealing themselves

and opening themselves up to attack in return. Despite the best defensive efforts of the Edo's soldiers, just over a week after the British launched their Punitive expedition, they captured the city by force. As I discussed in the opening of the episode. Admiral Rawson and his men were able to wander the city freely, as it had been abandoned by the Oba, who would surrender himself to the British later that year. Rawson's expedition's most important find was the

Benin Bronzes. The British had mixed reactions to the bronzes, all of which, however, were tainted by their racist beliefs. On one end of the spectrum, Officer Ralph Moore declared they had been quote hideously constructed. Reginald Bacon, the most complimentary of the bunch, wouldn't even attribute the brilliant and talent of the artwork to the Edo people, instead suggesting that the pieces were quote suggestive of almost Egyptian design

and of quote Chinese work. Regardless of the British opinions, the British, ever, conscious of money, recognized the value in these pieces of art and swiftly packed them up. The bronzes were eventually brought to London, where forty per cent of the looted art was accessioned by the British Museum. Another chunk given to the soldiers of the expedition as trophies and the rest were sold largely to museums around the world and in the hands of others. Was where

the Benin Bronzes would remain for decades. The punitive expedition ultimately brought about the end of the Kingdom of Edo as the reigning power in the Niger Delta. After the sack of Itedo or Benin City, the Kingdom of Benin became absorbed into the British Colony of Nigeria. However, the Edo people did not just disappear as the British assumed control of their land, nor did the monarchy entirely dissolve. In fact, the Kingdom of Edo still exists within the

Nigerian state and there is a currently reigning Oba. Youare the second, the fortieth in an unbroken line of rulers. Efforts in Nigeria to reclaim the bronzes began in the nineteen thirties and really took hold after Nigerian independence from

Britain in nineteen sixty. It wasn't until twenty twenty one, over one hundred years after the sack of Edo and almost one hundred years after Nigerian's first started calling for repatriation, that their efforts finally bore fruit when Jesus College, Cambridge returned the first Benin bronze, a brass casting of a cockrel to Nigeria. Hundreds of pieces have since been returned

to Nigeria or Nigerian ownership. I specified Nigerian ownership because some pieces are still located in museums in for example, Germany, but as opposed to being owned by that museum, they are now there on loan. The question remains, however, who in Nigeria should get ownership over the pieces of art. Some argue that the Oba and royal family of the Kingdom of Benin should have ownership over the pieces, after all, these sculptures and reliefs were originally created as religious pieces

for use by the royal family. Others argue that the Nigerian state should have ownership over the pieces, which should be displayed in museums like the new Edo Museum of West African Art. Unfortunately, this debate over ownership has created tension within Nigeria over the objects and has slowed down the repatriation process. But the Nigerian government and the Nigerian people continue to advocate to bring home the beautiful objects

known as the Benin Bronzes. Only time will tell when or if they will ever be fully returned to Edo. That's the story of the Benin Bronzes. But keep listening after a brief sponsor break to hear about a fascinating discovery about where the material for the bronzes actually came from. Earlier, I touched briefly on how the Kingdom of Edo benefited

from the slave trade with Europeans. As the Edo conquered more territory, they would sell their prisoners of war from those battles to first the Portuguese and later the British. We know how important these trade relationships were to the Edo because they made reliefs that featured Portuguese traders. As I discussed, the bronzes chronicled the history of the Edo people in addition to acting as religious objects. Clearly, the Portuguese were important enough to the Edo's history that they

felt compelled to preserve their image. But the connection between the Benin Bronzes and the Portuguese slave trade goes deeper than just some de pictions of Europeans. Scientists and archaeologists have been working for decades to determine the source of the brass used in the metal pieces of the Benine bronzes as a reminder, the bronzes were not actually made

of bronze, or not all of them. Brass is an alloy mainly composed of zinc and copper, but also includes other elements for our purposes, the most important of these additional metals is lead. By studying the lead isotopes in the pieces, scholars can determine the origins of the brass. Now, it's long been suspected that the brass for the Benin bronzes came from manilas, or brass rings that the Portuguese used as currency when trading enslaved peoples with West African tribes.

So scholars put that hypothesis to the test and compare aired the composition of the bronzes to the composition of manilas recovered from five shipwrecks and three land sites in West Africa, Western Europe, and off the east coast of the United States. And as it turns out, the bronzes were indeed made of metal from the manilas, specifically early

versions of the rings called taquis. So, in another meta moment in this episode, the reliefs depicting Portuguese traders were made out of the very metal that the Itedo received through trade from the Portuguese. Noble Blood is a production of iHeartRadio and Grimm and Mild from Aaron Menkey. Noble Blood is hosted by me Danish Forts, with additional writing and researching by Hannah Johnston, Hannah Zewick, Courtney Sender, Julia Milani,

and Armand Cassam. The show is edited and produced by Noemi Griffin and rema Il Kaali, with supervising producer Josh Thain and executive producers Aaron Mankey, Alex Williams and Matt Frederick. Four more podcasts from iHeartRadio. Visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.