History – Week 6

Benin

Quick Quiz

1. Where is Benin?

2. What is name of the person who is in charge of Benin?

3. What was sold at the Benin Markets?

4. What did the armlets show?

5. Why did the British invade Benin?

Quick Quiz Answers

Where is Benin?Nigeria, Africa.What is name of the person who is in charge of Benin?The ObaWhat was sold at the Benin Markets?Spices such as pepper, bronze goods and homemade drums. What did the armlets show?The armlets showed the social standing of someone in society. They were also used to ward off evil spirits. Why did the British invade Benin?As they wanted to trade with their goods such as margarine, soap and tyres.

Today we are going to be answering our big question:

What was life like in the Kingdom of Benin?

Let’s think about all that we have learnt about Benin over the past 6 weeks. What do you think life was like in the Kingdom during this period.

Can you remember how the Kingdom of Benin started?The Kingdom of Benin began in the 900s when the Edo people settled in the rainforests of West Africa. By 1400s they had created a wealthy kingdom with a powerful ruler, known as the Oba. The Obas lived in beautiful palaces decorated with shining brass.

What was Benin famous for?

What was society in Benin like during this time?

Society in the Kingdom of Benin was very spiritual, objects recovered from Benin over 1,000 years ago were all in some way used to connect with the afterlife.

This object is a horn or the oko. The Oko’s were used during the Oba’s processions through the city.

The people of Benin believed that they could appease witches by offering them gifts of food. Small side-blown horns such as this were used to call witches to feasts specifically set out for them. This shows that the people of Benin were very spiritual and had lots of different rituals.

By the end of the 1860s, Benin was no longer a powerful empire and the Obas struggled to rule their people.

Benin was also under threat from Britain. The British wanted to gain control of Benin so they could get rich by selling some of it’s goods. The Oba tried to stop all contact with Britain, but the British insisted on their right to trade.

Can you remember which 3 items the British wanted to trade?

In 1897 a group of British officials tried to visit Benin to gather resources such as soap, tyres and margarine. They were sent away because the Oba was busy with a religious ceremony, but they decided to visit anyway. As they approached the borders of Benin, a group of warriors drove them back and several British men were killed.

This attack made the British army very cross. They sent over a thousand soldiers to invade Benin. Benin City was burnt to the ground and the kingdom of Benin became part of the British Empire.

Why were these 3 items important?

Key dates Benin re-cap.

‘What was life like in the Kingdom of Benin?’

Task: You are going to imagine that you lived in the Kingdom of Benin. You are going to write a letter to someone in the future telling them what life was really like. In your letter, remember to talk about:

• How the Kingdom started.• Who was in charge.• Where the person in charge lived, did they do anything special through the streets?• Was Benin famous for anything?• What society was like at the time based on the artefacts that have been found. • How the Kingdom ended.

Don’t forget to send in your letters, we love to read them