Architecture of Unforgetting

The Benin State, History and Art. As early as January 1897 a name was already being suggested in England for what the British hoped would be their final take over what they termed the ‘Oil Rivers’. The name was ‘Nigeria’ and the Oil Rivers Protectorate was after the palm oil laden lands of Niger Delta belonging principally to the Benin Kingdom. The Oba of Benin held great influence and prevented the British ‘Royal Niger Company’ from forming a monopoly in the region. Since the so-called ‘scramble for Africa’ of 1884, Benin was a target for the colonial efforts of Britain. By the following February the British would invade the administrative center of the kingdom, Benin City, on the pretext of retaliation over the ambush of an ‘unarmed and friendly’ visit, and on February 18 1897 set the city on fire, burning as much as they could and looting works of arts and sacred documents and courtly objects directly from the palace of the Oba of Benin in the ancient city Benin City. Shortly after,...

From the Universal Museum’s Ruins – by Steven Gambardella In February 1897 a punitive attack was launched by the British on the city of Benin, the capital of the West African empire of the same name. 1,400 soldiers took part in the operation equipped with the latest technology developed for bush fighting. This arsenal included rockets, artillery with incendiary shells purposefully chosen to burn thatched roofs, flares to aid night fighting, and thirty-eight Maxim machine guns with around two-million rounds of ammunition. The Maxim fired 10 bullets a second. By one account, victims were “cut in two” by the hails indiscriminately fired into the bush as three columns closed in on the capital. Rifle rounds were filed down to expand on impact with human skin. To use the modern parlance, this was “asymmetric warfare”. The technology used by the British was prohibited from being sold to local African populations, who defended themselves with obsolete muskets, improvised canons, spears and bow...

The Invasion of Benin The Maxim Gun was the first fully automatic machine gun in the world. First conceived in 1882 by Hiram Maxim, the gun was the era's most deadly weapon and it is no surprise that its release happened about the same time the Europeans had their 'scramble for Africa' meeting as this deadly weapon was primarily used first on Africans, then elsewhere in Asia and the South Pacific.  Though the inventor of the Maxim Gun was American, the gun was so effective in Britain slaughter at the so-called 'colonies', Queen Victoria bestowed a knighthood on the inventor in 1900. For the invasion of Benin Empire, the English were particularly eager to use this new weapons of mass destruction, bringing as many as 14 into the kingdom from Gwatto, with twice as much (i.e. 24 more) waiting on the ships at the port of (Gwatto) should need be.  Following the 14 deadly maxim guns into Benin City on that week in 1897 was a stronghold of 1400 soldiers (largely ‘Krewmen’n—...