ARTICLE X The British Pre and post colonial Propaganda Against the Benin Empire. The Benin Empire was the only West African kingdom that rejected the transatlantic slave trade. For over 350years and starting with Oba Esigie in the 1506, ie before the European Slave Trade took hold, the kingdom resisted the Europeans hankering at its borders for a supply of humans. The European Slave Trade, which lasted for 400 years only to break into the so-called 'colonization of Africa', was anticipated by Esigie who, as early as 1516, had a full ban in place. Yet, or precisely for these reasons, a long and feverish propaganda was begun by the Brits to insinuate the Benin Kingdom in a smear campaign eagerly consumed by the colonizers themselves and the newly minted 'colonized', eager to acquiesce to the smearing of fellow Africans . After the invasion of 1897, the propaganda took flight in malicious print publications touted as 'history books' by the likes of Ling Roth, w