Youngjohnosas:
the whites had heavy casualties alot of the British commanders at the vanguard of the expedition did not go home alive. the head of general Philip was seen hanging in the palace when the British finally took over Benin.

It doesn't mean the Binis won right? The Binis were warriors themselves but if you bring spears and bows to a gun fight, you are a goner. The efficacy of the so called Juju has been stretched far beyond what they are really capable of, partly because we Africans needed something to also boast about, partly because of Nigeria's Pentecostals, partly because of Nollywood always slapping "real life story" on stories that are based on fiction, folklore and the writer's imagination. Nuff said.

xx

xx

RoyalPriesthuud:
It doesn't mean the Binis won right? The Binis were warriors themselves but if you bring spears and bows to a gun fight, you are a goner. The efficacy of the so called Juju has been stretched far beyond what they are really capable of, partly because we Africans needed something to also boast about, partly because of Nigeria's Pentecostals, partly because of Nollywood always slapping "real life story" on stories that are based on fiction, folklore and the writer's imagination. Nuff said.

DAT was the best they could offer at that time.they believed more in the spiritual.take for example Asoro the great, he almost singlehandedly held the British forces for five days from entering Benin his statue still stands today in the spot he was killed. He needed more than the bows and arrows to accomplish such a feat

elopee3000:
Europeans are not wicked what of Arabs?today fulani people are still killing people to take over their farm lands Europeans even pity us sef

Europeans practiced the worse form of slavery known within this recent period. If you read what the conquistador did in Americans, what Africans suffered, what Native Americans went through and what Aboriginals of Australia suffered, you will not defend them.

They as a people have accepted and apologized for the wrong doings of their ancestors, so their isn't a need absolving them.

All empires rises with the blood and sweat of their does and the recent menance of Fulani herdsmen is also worrisome.

The Chinese industrial revolution during Mao Zedong time started as a result of him and his people consciously revisiting their history to know how great they were in the past and deciding that they would do whatever it takes to get their glory back, We all know what China has become in this millennium.

You cannot downplay the importance of historical facts my brother.

That's the way of the world

Strong countries conquer and exploit the weak

It has been that way since the days id Ancient Egypt

So why do Africans run their mouth the way they do?

If roles were reversed, the same will still happen


Humanity is guilty of such

cooljude:


Europeans practiced the worse form of slavery known within this recent period. If you read what the conquistador did in Americans, what Africans suffered, what Native Americans went through and what Aboriginals of Australia suffered, you will not defend them.

They as a people have accepted and apologized for the wrong doings of their ancestors, so their isn't a need absolving them.

All empires rises with the blood and sweat of their does and the recent menance of Fulani herdsmen is also worrisome.

The Chinese industrial revolution during Mao Zedong time started as a result of him and his people consciously revisiting their history to know how great they were in the past and deciding that they would do whatever it takes to get their glory back, We all know what China has become in this millennium.

You cannot downplay the importance of historical facts my brother.

The Europeans did not practice the worst The Arabs did

Arabs sold slaves for a longer period, castrated the males so they don't reproduce and so many other evils.

Since you talk a lot about "history" that's some history too.

Irokoroots:


Chairman, you can thank the wicked gods our forefathers served for inflicting us with self-hate. It’s the old gods our forefathers served that made us believe that it was ok for us as a race to sell our brothers to oyibo men or sacrifice human beings (just because we there are not related to us) just to gain small fortune or healing. In all the years our forefathers served these evil gods none had gave us the idea to form our own written language or stop us from naturally hating each other.

I will not blame Christianity. There are Asian Christians in china and India and their race seems to be doing way better than the black race. Ethiopians are mainly Christians but they were still able to develop their own written language. This made them the only African country not to be colonized. I can go on and on about this but maybe another day. However imperfect Christianity may be it is a lot better than the old selfish wicked gods our forefathers served.

True

Many "African" gods of the past were malevolent.

People sought their powers to afflict people

When I'm told stories about what used to happen in the centuries past, I shudder.

AreaFada2:


God bless you.

People are so ignorant. In my place people suspected or caught trying to use spiritual powers to cause evil were seriously rebuked, exiled or fined and be used to swear ancestral/land deity, akin to "alale". Babalawos and such priests were essentially learned traditional practitioners who primarily helped to solve people's problems: ill health, misfortune, infertility, self & family protection against evil, etc.

Nollywood gave people the impression that every stepmother or uncle is killing everyone out of envy or to claim land. Patience Ozokwor, Chiwetalu Agu & Kanayo O. Kanayo typical characters are what people now think African traditional worship is all about.

African gods were malevolent


Wicked


Well at least the people used the powers for wicked things
We all know this, but in a bid to form "pan African" we deceive ourselves.


As it was commonplace in other African societies, when you mention "ARUSi" in Igbo circles, we know what that did and is still doing for those who are into it.


My ancestors were into the "offor" thing, and as the story was passed down generations, it did terrible things, until my great grand father had to burn them all and sever his lineage from such fvcked up thing


Me I know the truth and refuse to be deceived, most of those spirits were up to no good

codemaniacs:

a foreign religion or a foreign product is what promotes self-hate...

Africans never sold anyone into slavery as Africa was and is still the richest continent... the europeans only created paper called money to manipulate people into thinking paper money is wealth..

Africans had written and spoken language long before the europeans, arabs and any other caucasian race...

blaming traditional religion for self-hate is ignorance..

Did you say Africans never sold Africans into slavery,


You need a trip to Ouidah and Goreé
You will know the truth there

And besides, the world has resources deposited in different parts of the world, and Africa was blessed, but what is the use when they were too dumb to know what is beneath their feet, and exploit it to a large extent (well at least a few African kingdims were doing good with gold mining and processing, I have to add, because it's the truth)


It took criminals from Europe to subjugate them and exploit the riches


Well all that is past

Africans today especially the millennial Africans need to make that conscious choice that the exploitation is enough, and we need to build homeland that the generation after will be proud of.


there is no such thing as morality, so I propose that Africans go out there, steal as much secrets and intellectual works and designs that they can, and come home to replicate it (the Chinese style, and a few others in that region. they went the world, stole intellectual property and replicated it at home, to the chagrin of the west. If they have said its morally wrong to steal, they will not have got to the position they are today)


So Africans should do same.

Youngjohnosas:
as a matter of fact over 5000 local personnel were brought to Benin.

Prove that they were from the north.
Need I remind you the European conquest was generally from south to north?

irepnaija4eva:
My own is where were the so called deities when their land were invaded by the white man? .

A whole oba the chief custodian of the land was banished by a foreigner neither the god of thunder or fire not even the village people (witches and wizard) could save him and themselves.
They even went to the shrines and stole most of the sacred artifacts yet nothing happened. No records of any white men going mad or been struck by lightening.....But if na osas or Kufre manage somehow borrow(thief) yams or goat due to hunger,them gods go dey flex muscles abi them dey fear white man face ni?

Infact thunder fire them der ....

Nonsence.

SEE SUMMARY OF TWO BRITISH OFFICERS INVOLVED IN THE BENIN CAMPAIGN.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ralph_Moor


https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Harry_Rawson

xx

It was just bad luck that Benin had to defend itself against the British. These guys were conquerors and basically did conquer the world. Benin kingdom conquered many towns and villages and they were indeed strong but nothing compared to the British. It was a fight they were destined to lose. We understand this loss to a superior military might. After all, Benin did same to other tribes. What makes it wrong was the way the city and its civilisation was thoroughly destroyed. Practically all the houses were burnt down. All the priceless Artifacts were looted and the true glory and story of Benin twisted beyond recognition. Benin basically had to start from scratch. And I will say that the subsequent Obas have done really well to revive the tradition of the Binis even though we now find ourselves as a minority tribe in a corrupt country ruled by the most selfish, vilest, inefficient and unqualified persons. But still we thrive. Oba GHA to kpe're.

XaintJoel20:
This write up is lopsided and has no bearing with the truth...

Please do a better research next time in order to give facts.


Note: I am a full blooded Edo man.

lol. You expected to see the part where the Oba disappeared? Those r folktales my brother

Ugosample:


The Europeans did not practice the worst The Arabs did

Arabs sold slaves for a longer period, castrated the males so they don't reproduce and so many other evils.

Since you talk a lot about "history" that's some history too.

Slavery is Evil and you are intentionally shifting from the topic. The basic idea of slavery is to change humans to robot and commodities. Whether Arabs, European, Mongols and others maltreated slave.

We are discussing the influence of European slave trade in Bini Kingdom because they were the ones who affected the region most. Their was almost zero influence from Arab slave trade in areas bordering Southern Nigeria that had zero contact to Islam.

cooljude:


Slavery is Evil and you are intentionally shifting from the topic. The basic idea of slavery is to change humans to robot and commodities. Whether Arabs, European, Mongols and others maltreated slave.

We are discussing the influence of European slave trade in Bini Kingdom because they were the ones who affected the region most. Their was almost zero influence from Arab slave trade in areas bordering Southern Nigeria that had zero contact to Islam.

Slavery is evil, and all of humanity practised it.


Israelis were slaves for 450 years plus in the hands of Africans

Usman Dan Fodio ran riot in Northern Nigeria


African history is replete with stories of strong kingdoms subjugating he weak ones.


The Europeans exploited Africa no doubt about it, but thats the way of the world, whether we like it or not.

Throughout history, slavery and exploitation was the way.

cooljude:


Europeans practiced the worse form of slavery known within this recent period. If you read what the conquistador did in Americans, what Africans suffered, what Native Americans went through and what Aboriginals of Australia suffered, you will not defend them.

They as a people have accepted and apologized for the wrong doings of their ancestors, so their isn't a need absolving them.

All empires rises with the blood and sweat of their does and the recent menance of Fulani herdsmen is also worrisome.

The Chinese industrial revolution during Mao Zedong time started as a result of him and his people consciously revisiting their history to know how great they were in the past and deciding that they would do whatever it takes to get their glory back, We all know what China has become in this millennium.

You cannot downplay the importance of historical facts my brother.

so let's stop blaming the Europeans italy as a country have rescued more than 30000 Edo indigines from sea

Neddyogu:


Just like God did not save over 6million Jews from Hitler and his goons, like God did not save Christians from the romans or hell the Fulanis. This has nothing to do with God or gods. See beyond the prism of religion

exactly

naifizzy:


The ancient Egyptians were Africans. The modern Egyptians are decendants of settlers and invaders who ruled ancient Egypt for 2700 years.

Sir, do you mean Negroid ..and

PierreAbutu:




...one of the strongest empire that was bullied and defeated by IGALAS in a tribal war....smh

POWER PASS POWER

You mean to tell me The Igala people of present day Kogi state... defeated a mighty Benin Empire.. please when let me learn...

godofuck231:


He was not just a king, please acknowledge, he was an emperor, conquered kingdoms up cote de voir, togo, Benin, and parts of ghana

really Please where did you get this part of History.. I want to Read it

OKUCHI11:
Sir, do you mean Negroid ..and

Yes they were negroid.

Youngjohnosas:
DAT was the best they could offer at that time.they believed more in the spiritual.take for example Asoro the great, he almost singlehandedly held the British forces for five days from entering Benin his statue still stands today in the spot he was killed. He needed more than the bows and arrows to accomplish such a feat

Yeah, you get my drift. We still haven't learnt from those lesson s though, we still do prayers when we should be working and mastering foreign affairs and power play. Those who do not appreciate history are bound to suffer from it.

codemaniacs:


like I replied to Irokoroots... if you were european would u write good things about the African kings/queens that killed your fellow europeans...

people like you seem to forget that the europeans stayed in west Africa for a while after the 1900s and they stayed mostly on islands meaning they could build "empty slave houses" on the coast add chains and other weapons they used on black american slaves and write history that slaves were sold from there...

they fought west Africans till the early 1900s... do you think if there was a slave house in those places you mentioned before the 1900s the other indigenes wouldn't have re-grouped and attacked the place to free their fellow Africans...

even this attack on the Bini empire only happened after the yorubas signed "security agreements" with the british to the war against the british and because the Bini nation fell the Nri (Igbo) nation also fell later before 1914....

Note: black Americans were slaves long before 1914 which means Africans had been fighting the europeans before the 1700s.

like I said to another NL user OldBeer on another thread... even if we learn their intellectual property and replicate it here.. our currency cannot keep the business running because its very easy for a single digit whyte american or british millionaire to acquire a Nigerian or west African multimillionaire or single digit billionaire company...

as black people we are already in europe and america... we can create a black economy in those countries and send money back to west Africa (this is already been done)... but like you said we also need indigenous Africans to learn the skills to, no matter how worthless whyte people make the African currency..

we need to combine our wealth... ₦360m = $1m...

if one whyte american has $1m it would take 360 Nigerians to equal that wealth with ₦360m..

this would lead to brain drain as Nigerians would either have to learn how to earn dollars or foreign currency from Nigeria or travel abroad to work there and become "Nigerian American" or "Nigerian British"..

you made me write an essay...

Sir, I understand the African's disposition to claim the victim mentality now but we should not be blind to history just to make ourselves feel good. Slave trading has been on for long and stronger African tribes and empires have been taking slaves and eventually trading with other African empires and Europeans before Europeans finally decided to annex/colonize Africa to get more than just slaves for themselves. Heck, Oyo takes slaves of other conquered Yoruba tribes and clans long before the colonial era.
This is the rule of the Jungle (the world is a jungle): the strong feed on the weak. The lion on the deer, Oyo on Ede, Genghis Khan(the Mongolians) on the Asians and Iran, the Egyptians on their weaker neighbors, the British(and other Europeans) on the rest of the world from the 19th century to the early 20th century, the Americans from then until now, the Chinese from about 2050 until nature knows when.

We Africans should quit whining and deal with it, it's how the world is. I repeat, : the weaklings will always be food to the strong. The jungle is not a socialist eldorado Now let's get to work, shall we?

OKUCHI11:
You mean to tell me The Igala people of present day Kogi state... defeated a mighty Benin Empire.. please when let me learn...

Go and read your history well
Afterwards u will be eligible to converse with me.....PS.....not wikipedia or Nairaland history

PierreAbutu:


Go and read your history well
Afterwards u will be eligible to converse with me.....PS.....not wikipedia or Nairaland history

sorry I didn't do history in secondary school... any history text to recommend??

grandstar:
I love history

It was just a matter of time before Benin fell into the hands of the British. They should have been reasonable.

What angers me most is the priceless artefacts that took.

Truth be told, they'd probably be heavily under-appreciated if they remained here.

The Benin Bronze head is most likely famous because it was stolen and not for its beauty and finesse

mehn this Benin Bronze head dey fine o. If you enter uniben auditorium you'll see its structure erected at the school's premises

lululiscious:
I lived in aiguobasimwin when I was in Benin.

really? So where you dey now?

OKUCHI11:
really Please where did you get this part of History.. I want to Read it

Everybody knows the names and meaning of most towns in Lagos and Benin were Benin tribe names e.g kotunu

OKUCHI11:
really Please where did you get this part of History.. I want to Read it

Everybody knows the names and meaning of most towns in Lagos and Benin were Benin tribe names e.g kotunu ,eko

codemaniacs:


bini kingdom only comprised of present day benin state...

the igbos were never used in the expedition... the f:ulanis were the ones used in the expedition.

Lmao