Seven Seas News - RAIDERS of the LOST ART - The Truth Behind the Benin Bronzes

[@jmichaelwalker0]

Quote from tDr Tobias Skowronek toward the end: "There would be no Industrial Revolution without the Transatlantic Slave Trade"

[@feeldennis]

The kingdom of benin is in the state of Edo, NIGERIA, Not the country of benin 🇧🇯 to the west of Nigeria . It is benin city . Edo state, please correct your map at the beginning of your video. Or you can reach out to me for clarity .

[@AndrewRoberts11]

Rubber is also native to South America, not West Africa.

[@minafirenze]

Why are they showing the modern state of Benin Republic instead of the Edo KINGDOM of BENIN in modern day Nigeria? Do your homework please and stop perpetuating incorrect information. Geography matters!

[@sophiaeribo]

Yes, please remove the map showing the country of Benin if you want to be more credible. The Republic of Benin (French speaking) is not Benin, Edo State, NIGERIA. This kind of mistake is insulting. Better to delete this video and re-upload one without the map than leave this one here. Yours, a concerned British Nigerian (from Benin state)

[@timothybradshaw8921]

Good introduction, but lacking depth. How expensive were the manillas to make, how much did the Portuguese pay for them? If they were brass in the Ruhr, how did they become bronze in Benin? This information would be pretty basic. Is it true that a human would be worth 10 manillas, or is that just hyperbole? Of course, the kingdom of Benin is in Nigeria mostly, not in ex-Dahomey. Nevertheless, this was good to see.

[@davidevans6003]

Although the Benin Bronzes have become known as "bronzes", they are in fact mostly made of brass. So the brass didn't turn into bronze, it stayed brass. We should perhaps re-name them the "Benin Brasses".

[@AndrewRoberts11]

Wikipedia has some of the exchange rates, on its "Manilla (Money)" page. Though in 2023 prices $0.25 - $0.30 of brass (0.25-0.3kg) would obtain you a large Ivory tusk, while slaves could be swapped for $2.50 - $10 (2.5-10kg) of brass, dependent of age, sex, when, and where. Alternatively 3 pieces of Bengali cotton (underpants) would be a fair price for a slave, while a piece of silk would get you the local football team. Salt was similarly, locally, overvalued, with ~ 200 Kg of Salt exchangeable for ~ 1 Kg of Gold.

[@DonatusOkechukwuOkoli-zc7nz]

@@davidevans6003This post might take you 10 minutes to read pls sir just read it. As a Nigerian I thought I should comment on this video. The truth must be told. You know the Portuguese traded with Benin and other African states for over 3 centuries. Benin rulers known to the locals as Oba were very cruel, whenever it rained too heavily or it didn't rain for some time slaves were sacrificed and their blood were poured on juju altars to appease natural forces. Whenever an Oba died many slaves were buried alive alongside his corpse with belief the slaves will serve him in the afterlife. Annually during the Igue festival ( a festival that ushers a new year) many slaves were sacrificed; everything about Benin was fetish and rested on the blood of slaves. It may also interest you or anyone who reads this comment that it was forbidden to enslave a Benin man or woman in Benin so Benin slaves were people who were captured from nearby territories. Whenever the Portuguese slave merchants arrived at the coast the Oba would order his warriors to raid territories around Benin bring many of them captives, keep some to enslaved then order the marching of the rest to the coast where they would be sold in exchange for Manilas, old rusty guns, and other things. The Benin people have been carving on wood before the Portuguese arrived in about 1473 AD, they discovered perhaps with Portuguese advice that it will be better to melt these Manilas in a furnace and make a more beautiful artwork using the lost wax technique. Thousands of Brass works were made bearing the Oba and his attendants and occasionally the Portuguese merchants were featured. In February 1897 Benin provoked Britain by killing Acting consul general James R. Philips and 6 other Britons, Benin was invaded, defeated and the Oba exiled. Benin became a very tiny part of the British empire. In 1914 the exiled Benin ruler died in exile and his son was allowed by the British to succeed his father; the Obaship in Benin continues to this day as a ceremonial non sovereign monarchy under the Nigerian federation. The government of Nigeria has demanded for the return of the Benin bronzes to Nigeria without considering that the bronzes were made from Manilas that were acquired by Benin in exchange for peoples Benin rulers abducted and sold to the Europeans. What annoys me the most is that the current Benin ruler wants the Nigerian government to hand all the Benin bronzes to him if they are returned and the Nigerian president is dancing to his tune. If the Nigerian government decides to house the bronzes in any of it's museums no problem but handing it over the current ruler of Benin will be very very bad morally, you know it will be like rewarding the descendant of criminal Benin rulers. Wrapping up, there is an NGO in New York city owned by African American s known as Restitution study group; that has filed a lawsuit to stop the return of Benin Bronzes from the Smithsonian institute in Washington DC to Nigeria on the grounds that it is insulting to African Americans whose ancestors were sold to the Europeans in exchange for manilas that were used in making the Benin bronzes. Sir, for justice to be served those Benin Bronzes cannot remain in Britain or in any European country. I appeal to His Britannic majesty's government to fund the building of an Ultra modern museum that will house the bronzes in any Caribbean country to heal the wrongs of the transatlantic slave trade. Thanks for reading this, tell your friends about it and let it get to the British politicians. I would like to get your reply THANKS.

[@thesonofqueenidia3007]

​@@DonatusOkechukwuOkoli-zc7nz you are on he'll of a dumbass 😂😂😂😂😂. And of course you decided to name the joke of a restitution group. Benin didn't sell slaves for bronzes, especially considering the fact that the region was rich in palm oil, pepper, ivory, etc. There was way too many alternatives to acquire manillas. Plus mantillas were not just traded for slaves, they were traded for other goods between tribes like the calabaris

[@thesonofqueenidia3007]

​@@DonatusOkechukwuOkoli-zc7nzplus you are an igbo man, you have your own moral bankruptcy to deal with as your people were notorious slave traders. It shouldn't annoy you that the oba of benin wants his stuff today. As a benin man, this is non of your business