Benin Expedition of 1897

A British military expedition that captured Benin City in February 1897, deposed Oba Ovonramwen, and brought the Kingdom of Benin under British colonial rule.

Benin City: The historic capital of the Kingdom of Benin, in present-day southern Nigeria. British forces captured and burned the city during the expedition.
Kingdom of Benin: A West African kingdom centered on Benin City, ruled by the oba and renowned for its court arts. The expedition targeted this kingdom and ended its independent rule.
British colonial rule in Nigeria: The British political control of territories that became Nigeria, consolidated during the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. Benin’s annexation became one episode in Britain’s wider colonial expansion in Nigeria.
Benin Massacre of 1897: The killing of British officials and carriers near Benin in January 1897, before the punitive expedition. Distinguishing the earlier attack from the invasion clarifies competing accounts of cause and reprisal.
James Phillips: A British deputy commissioner whose 1897 mission to Benin was attacked, prompting the punitive expedition. The killing of Phillips and most of his party became Britain’s stated pretext for invasion.
Benin–British relations: The political and commercial dealings between the Kingdom of Benin and Britain before colonial annexation. Treaties and disputes shaped the confrontation that led to invasion.
Benin Bronzes: A broad collection of brass, ivory, and other artworks made for the royal court of the Kingdom of Benin. British forces looted thousands of court objects during the capture of Benin City.
Looted art: Cultural objects removed from their owners or communities through theft, coercion, or wartime seizure. The Benin collections are a prominent case in debates about art taken in conquest.
Harry Rawson: A British admiral who commanded the force that captured Benin City in 1897. Rawson directed the military operation that occupied the capital.
Benin Expedition of 1896: A failed British attempt in 1896 to send a diplomatic mission to Benin City under James Robert Phillips. Its postponement and replacement by the 1897 mission formed part of the immediate buildup.

Linked from 6 pages