THE DESTRUCTION OF GWATO, THE BENIN PORT Although it housed the first factory ever built on this side of the West African coastline, Ughoton (Gwato) wasn’t a big or busy port. As early as 1516, Oba Esigie closed down the factory, which was built by the Potoki as part of his ban on the European trade in humans. Ughoton nonetheless was a critical port for Benin kingdom in its inter-nations trade in palm oil in particular, including palm kernels, pepper and non perishables like cloth. For this reason, Ughoton was one of the key places the British were keen to destroy in their 1897 invasion of the kingdom of Benin. According to oral history, Ughoton was founded by Prince Ekaladerhan, the only child of Ogiso Owodo, the last Ogiso of the Ogiso dynasty of the Benin Kingdom (Oronsaye, 1995). From its rudimentary stage, Ughoton witnessed rapid social, political and economic transformation from early on due to its vantage position as a market, fac