gregyboy:
Most people believe the Portuguese had traded guns with benins inother to subjugate its enemies but that wasnt it, the Portuguese never gave guns to benina because the king of Portugal wont trade guns with a pagan nation attempt made by oba to convert to Christianity to get gun supply was rejected violently by the royal court and it died a natural death with benin still not having guns

1486 João de Barros: Pre-Protuguese Christian influence in Benin - Ibid., 126-7

Among the many things which the King D. João learnt from the ambassador of the king of Benin, and also from João Afonso d'Aveiro, of what they had been told by the inhabitants of these regions, was that to the east of Beny at twenty moons' journeywhich according to their account, and the short journeys they make, would be about two hundred and fifty of our leaugesthere lived the most powerful monarch of these parts, who was called Ogané. Among the pagan chiefs of the territories of Beny he was held in as great veneration as is the Supreme Pontif with us. In accordance with a very ancient custom, the king of Beny, on ascending the throne, sends ambassadors to him with rich gifts to announce that by the decease of his predecessor he has succeeded to the kingdom of Beny, and to requesst confirmation. To signify his assent, the prince Ogané sends the king a staff and a headpiece of shining brass, fashioned like a Spanish helmet, in place of a crown and sceptre. He also sends a cross, likewise of brass, to be worn round the neck, a holy and religious emblem similar to that worn by the Knights of the Order of Saint John. Without these emblems the people do not recognize him as lawful ruler, nor can he call himself truly king. All the time this ambassador is at the court of Ogané, he never sees the prince, but only the curtains of silk behind which he sits, for he is regarded as sacred.

AreaFada2:


This is interesting.

One other misconception is that Benin used others to do slave trade.

Oba had banned slavery long before the British. But as an empire, the Igbo & Yoruba were granted permit to buy and sell themselves only. They requested for it. No Benin trader or slave. I have given evidence of this here on NL years ago.

There was also a detailed European record of slave origins in Africa. None from Benin. I had said it for years and somebody else innocently posted the record here. Vindicating my assertion all along.

Benin eventually began making own guns. The skill lives till today. Even the police armoury still uses descendants of those gun-makers to service guns. They can still make guns with police permit.

gregyboy:
Impact Of Portuguese Diplomacy With Benin
It was the information gathered from the Ohen-Okun of Ughoton in 1486 about the supposedly
legendary Prester John which encouraged the expedition headed by Bartolomew Diaz the following year,
August 1487.
All in all, this first contact with Benin had more than fulfilled Portuguese expectations (Ryder, 1969;
32). The discovery that Africa had a bottom – the Cape of Good Hope – gave great hope to Europe and created
new access to the exotic lands of the East – India, China etc. This discovery enriched Europe, enhanced her
expectations and provided her with a new and more accurate geography of the world. It enabled Europe to break
free from her encirclement by Islam.
Interestingly and unknowingly to the Portuguese, it was a priest around the river benue axis Ohen-Okun talked about in
Lisbon. But his description of the „Oghene‟ and the mention of the maltese cross especially, led the officials in
the Court of John II of Portugal to believe that the Ohen-Okun was describing the Kingdom of Prester John, the
legendary Christian Monarch in Africa. However, history has it that the legendary Kingdom of Prester John was
the ancient Kingdom of Abyssinia - modern - day Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the only Christian state in the Horn of
Africa. She has practised Coptic Christianity since the 4
th century AD, before the birth of Mohammed.
Incidentally, Ethiopia was also one of those two countries (the other being Liberia) in Africa that did not comenot cooperating sufficiently with Portugal on trade-related matters, Benin seemed unperturbed with such an arm￾twisting measure, especially as other Europeans such as the French and the Dutch continued to trade with the
Kingdom (Blake, 1939; 134). But today a ban in trade by one western nation would in all likelihood, result in a total ban by all Western Powers. But on the part of Portugal there was increased frustration as the trade embargo against the Oba only seemed to have highlighted the importance of Benin in the scheme of things. They desperately searched for other markets but agreed that none matched the trade with Benin or could adequately replace it (Blake, 1939;
134). Benin, being a highly centralized kingdom, operated a pattern of trade that favoured external trade relations. When, for instance, the trade in elephant tusks began early in the 16th century, the Oba immediately instituted a guild for the hunting of elephants (Ryder, 1969; 53). That area of Ikpoba Hill in modern Benin City
known as Ore-Ogbeni (meaning the community of elephant hunters) was where the Oba settled this group of hunters, and the trade structure of the state ensured that every single elephant tusk obtained was sold only through the agents of the Oba; this also applied to other commodities of international trade - pepper, stone beads etc.
However, it is uncertain whether it was the difficulties between the Obas and the European meddlers alone that led to the decay of Portuguese trade with Benin in the second half of the 16th century. There was the
view that as many more European Powers broke the Portuguese monopoly of the West Coast trade, there emerged a general decline in Portuguese commerce and therefore power in West Africa. Expectedly, the government in Portugal then decided to concentrate its limited resources to the exploitation of its trade and
possessions in the Indies and Brazil. This shift in trade relations affected her trade not only in marginal areas Like Benin but also in the Island settlements of Principe and Sao Tome (Ryder, 1969; 75).Furthermore, Portugal did not find the trade with Benin as profitable as she had envisaged. Both the land and weather were also hostile and unhealthy for Europeans (Ling Roth, 1968; 5).However, since the economic and political intercourse between Portugal and Benin500 years or more ago, major transformations have evolved in the form of structures and nature of actors in the International System. Monarchs and Emperors have given way to Nation-States as the representatives of their people in International affairs. The monarchy in Portugal has ceased to exist since 1910, has been the case with many
others in Europe at different times in their history. However, the Benin monarchy has survived, not as the political and economic entity it was 500 or more years ago, but rather, as a cultural entity – something fairly
akin to the monarchy in Britain – her former colonizer.
References
[1]. Adeniran .T. (1983); Introduction to International Relations, Lagos Macmillan Nigerian Press Ltd.
[2]. Acemoglu .D. and Robinson .J. (2012); Why Nations Fail, New York Crown Publishing Group.
[3]. Aisien .E. (2001); The Benin City Pilgrimage Stations, Benin City, Nigerian; University of Benin
Printing Press.
[4]. Aisien .E. (2012); Ewuare: The Oba of Benin; Benin City; Nigeria, Mindex Publishing Co. Limited.
[5]. Blake .J. (1939), European Beginnings in West Africa, London Vol. 2, Haluyt Society.
[6]. Brasio .A. (1952); Lisbon: Monumenta Missionaries Vol. I, Africa Ocidental.
[7]. Bradbury R. E. (1957); London: The Benin Kingdom and the Edo Speaking Peoples of South-Western

Astark:
that's why they are trying everything to distort Benin history.

Imagine selling yourself and your people as slaves, God forbid.

I think Benin is the only ethnic group in Nigeria that wasn't taken as slaves

Astark:
that's why they are trying everything to distort Benin history.

Imagine selling yourself and your people as slaves, God forbid.

I think Benin is the only ethnic group in Nigeria that wasn't taken as slaves

MetaPhysical:


You dont even know the history of Benin Where have you been?

Benin was selling slaves upto a point! They stopped selling slaves because they were running out of stock to use for ritual sacrifice.

The court continued to capture and keep Oruh as slaves and instead of selling they were used to appease Yoruba gods.

gregyboy:
Impact Of Portuguese Diplomacy With Benin
It was the information gathered from the Ohen-Okun of Ughoton in 1486 about the supposedly
legendary Prester John which encouraged the expedition headed by Bartolomew Diaz the following year,
August 1487.
All in all, this first contact with Benin had more than fulfilled Portuguese expectations (Ryder, 1969;
32). The discovery that Africa had a bottom – the Cape of Good Hope – gave great hope to Europe and created
new access to the exotic lands of the East – India, China etc. This discovery enriched Europe, enhanced her
expectations and provided her with a new and more accurate geography of the world. It enabled Europe to break
free from her encirclement by Islam.
Interestingly and unknowingly to the Portuguese, it was a priest around the river benue axis Ohen-Okun talked about in
Lisbon. But his description of the „Oghene‟ and the mention of the maltese cross especially, led the officials in
the Court of John II of Portugal to believe that the Ohen-Okun was describing the Kingdom of Prester John, the
legendary Christian Monarch in Africa. However, history has it that the legendary Kingdom of Prester John was
the ancient Kingdom of Abyssinia - modern - day Ethiopia. Ethiopia is the only Christian state in the Horn of
Africa. She has practised Coptic Christianity since the 4
th century AD, before the birth of Mohammed.
Incidentally, Ethiopia was also one of those two countries (the other being Liberia) in Africa that did not comenot cooperating sufficiently with Portugal on trade-related matters, Benin seemed unperturbed with such an arm￾twisting measure, especially as other Europeans such as the French and the Dutch continued to trade with the
Kingdom (Blake, 1939; 134). But today a ban in trade by one western nation would in all likelihood, result in a total ban by all Western Powers. But on the part of Portugal there was increased frustration as the trade embargo against the Oba only seemed to have highlighted the importance of Benin in the scheme of things. They desperately searched for other markets but agreed that none matched the trade with Benin or could adequately replace it (Blake, 1939;
134). Benin, being a highly centralized kingdom, operated a pattern of trade that favoured external trade relations. When, for instance, the trade in elephant tusks began early in the 16th century, the Oba immediately instituted a guild for the hunting of elephants (Ryder, 1969; 53). That area of Ikpoba Hill in modern Benin City
known as Ore-Ogbeni (meaning the community of elephant hunters) was where the Oba settled this group of hunters, and the trade structure of the state ensured that every single elephant tusk obtained was sold only through the agents of the Oba; this also applied to other commodities of international trade - pepper, stone beads etc.
However, it is uncertain whether it was the difficulties between the Obas and the European meddlers alone that led to the decay of Portuguese trade with Benin in the second half of the 16th century. There was the
view that as many more European Powers broke the Portuguese monopoly of the West Coast trade, there emerged a general decline in Portuguese commerce and therefore power in West Africa. Expectedly, the government in Portugal then decided to concentrate its limited resources to the exploitation of its trade and
possessions in the Indies and Brazil. This shift in trade relations affected her trade not only in marginal areas Like Benin but also in the Island settlements of Principe and Sao Tome (Ryder, 1969; 75).Furthermore, Portugal did not find the trade with Benin as profitable as she had envisaged. Both the land and weather were also hostile and unhealthy for Europeans (Ling Roth, 1968; 5).However, since the economic and political intercourse between Portugal and Benin500 years or more ago, major transformations have evolved in the form of structures and nature of actors in the International System. Monarchs and Emperors have given way to Nation-States as the representatives of their people in International affairs. The monarchy in Portugal has ceased to exist since 1910, has been the case with many
others in Europe at different times in their history. However, the Benin monarchy has survived, not as the political and economic entity it was 500 or more years ago, but rather, as a cultural entity – something fairly
akin to the monarchy in Britain – her former colonizer.
References
[1]. Adeniran .T. (1983); Introduction to International Relations, Lagos Macmillan Nigerian Press Ltd.
[2]. Acemoglu .D. and Robinson .J. (2012); Why Nations Fail, New York Crown Publishing Group.
[3]. Aisien .E. (2001); The Benin City Pilgrimage Stations, Benin City, Nigerian; University of Benin
Printing Press.
[4]. Aisien .E. (2012); Ewuare: The Oba of Benin; Benin City; Nigeria, Mindex Publishing Co. Limited.
[5]. Blake .J. (1939), European Beginnings in West Africa, London Vol. 2, Haluyt Society.
[6]. Brasio .A. (1952); Lisbon: Monumenta Missionaries Vol. I, Africa Ocidental.
[7]. Bradbury R. E. (1957); London: The Benin Kingdom and the Edo Speaking Peoples of South-Western

darfay:


So the old Benin empire traded elephant tusk, I was personally wondering why we have a word it (urhobo and isoko people) if it isn't found in those areas where this ethnicities reside in. There is an urhobo town named evreni (elephant town) . Maybe it was hunted to extinction, but again elephant are know to habit grasslands and not dense forest. Well, who knows?

darfay:



I am more interested in how bini/ Edo speaking people existed and were an organized society in the 1400's but a minority ethnic group today. An investigation should be carried out on that. No history of plagues etc. I actually meant to quote you in the ogane thread

Cc gregboy

AreaFada2:


A few Benin people were taken as slaves. Like narcotics today worldwide, one or two people will find a way to flout stringent laws risking even capital punishment.

The victims were usually communities on the fringes of Benin border with other non-Benin part of the empire. Usually areas nothing serious happens normally. So not militarily guarded.

I know this because preventing such rare ocassional raids into Benin was a big part of my family history.
There is also evidence of Benin clash or disagreement with Europeans long before 1897.

At Ughoton port, intelligence got to Benin that there were at times a couple of Benin people among slaves in cell blocks waiting for shipment.

So soldiers began to patrol the area more. To free any Benin they might have hidden among their transport to Ughoton. In case some escaped detection, at Night the soldiers will go to cell blocks asking if there were any Benin people.

If anyone spoke Benin they would break the cell open to free them. Generally all in the that broken cell would flee. Their lucky Day.
But that was a big economic loss to the Europeans. Because by agreement soldiers should not come to the cell area.

But Oba had a ready answer. That such an agreement only held water as long as no Benin person was held there.

If they have not kept their end of the bargain, Benin had no obligation whatsoever. Not even to keep the non-Benin inside the broken cells.

It lead to a serious between an Oba and Europeans. Something I'd prefer not to publicly state here.
Meanwhile Oyo Empire began to really flourish based on slave trade and Benin's economy suffered for refusing slave trade.

Benin even stopped trading with Europeans altogether as Europeans would only buy other things only if slaves were included.

People often cite Oba supporting slave trade in Lagos. That he supported Akintoye and supported Kosoko. Oba already did not control slave trade in territories or areas loyal to Benin.

Their had that autonomy already. He only supported the rule of his loyalists in their domains.

darfay:



I am more interested in how bini/ Edo speaking people existed and were an organized society in the 1400's but a minority ethnic group today. An investigation should be carried out on that. No history of plagues etc. I actually meant to quote you in the ogane thread

Cc gregboy

Efewestern:


The Bini never imposed their culture or language on conquered territory, if they did, Delta, Ondo and some part of Lagos would been Bini speaking today, meaning they'd be a major ethnic group.

What happened then was the Bini empire was relaxed, despite having administrative heads on several territory, they never cared about imposing their language on the people they govern, how the hell did a group like Itsekiri retain their core Yoruboid dialect despite being ruled by a Bini prince and being surrounded by Edoid groups?

darfay:


Oyo empire had non Yorubas in it too like barubas and they didn't impose their language.
Benin should have a history of close to a thousand years,there about. At least the Portuguese had contact with them in the 1400's and their history goes beyond that.
They recognized that Benin was among one of the foremost settlements then, that means aside it's influence, it most have had one of the largest population among the tribes (like mein, ikales, ekitis not ethnicities like Yoruba, Igbo et Al) of southern Nigeria as then at least populated enough to warrant being the major trading partner.
I personally (entirely my opinion) think that they may be other reasons for the low population
(1) historically low birth rate among the binis in comparison to other neighboring tribes like Igbo (whose population is waay too much for their land mass, which would have suggested a period of rapid population explosion along their history (my opinion)
(2) Some kind of unrecorded plagues might have reduced their population or suffered some unrecorded devastating wars, natural disasters etc
(3) maybe they experienced language shift a faster rate (breakup of the common edoid language into smaller groups which became ethnicities or language shit as results of massive emigration to non edoid speaking countries like Igbo, Yoruba et Al)

(4)Or language shift due to inferiority complex of their language as being inferior like urhobo people. Warri for instance is surrounded by urhobo speaking towns and yet warri has not bin urhobonized, same with itsekiri in sapele and oghara (someone told me it's now an itsekiri town sef) and history gave them a second chance with current status of Benin City, it would have been a perfect avenue to spread their language, don't even talk about it being Cosmopolitan, there is no way a Yoruba and hausas town would be cosmopolitan that either languages won't be dominant

My points might be a wild guess but there is something fishy about their population for a people with a history of 800 - 1,000 yrs

atheistandproud:
The Bini kingdom had some massive exoduses that led to the formation of some new ethnic groups like the Urhobos, Isoko and if you believe some textbooks the Ukwuani etc. due to some internal unrest.