BENIN, the name of a country, city and river of British West Africa, west of the main channel of the lower Niger, form ing part of Southern Nigeria. The name was formerly applied to the coast from the Volta, in o° 4o' E., to the Rio del Rey, in 8° 40' E., and included the Slave Coast, the whole delta of the Niger and a small portion of the country to the eastward. Some trace of this earlier application remains in the name "Bight of Benin," still given to that part of the sea which washes the Slave Coast, whilst up to 1894 "Benin" was used to designate the French possessions on the coast now included in Dahomey.
In its restricted sense Benin is the country formerly ruled by the king of Benin city. This area, at one time very extensive, gradually contracted as subject tribes and towns acquired inde pendence. The coast-line held by Benin had passed out of its sovereignty by the middle of the 19th century. In physical char acteristics, climate, flora and fauna, Benin in no way differs from the rest of the southern portion of Nigeria (q.v.). Benin river (known also as the Jakri outlet), though linked to the Niger system by a network of creeks, is an independent stream. It enters the Atlantic in about 5 ° 46' N., 3' E., and at its mouth, which is obstructed by a sand bar, is 2m. wide. The river is navigable by small steamers up to Sapele, a town on the south bank immediately below the junction of its head streams (the Ethopie and the Jamieson). The Ologi and Gwato creeks enter the Benin on the right or north bank, and on the same side (8m. above the mouth of the river) a channel, the Lagos creek, 17om. long, branches off to the north-west, affording a waterway to Lagos. From the south or left bank of the Benin the Forcados mouth of the Niger can be reached by the Nana creek. By this route ships drawing 16' 6" can reach Sapele.
The Beni are a pure negro tribe, speaking a distinct language, but having many characteristics common to those of the Yoruba and Ewe-speaking tribes. Like the Ashanti and Dahomeyans the Beni had a well-organized and powerful government and pos sessed a culture rare among negro races.
Benin city (pop. about 35,000) is in a clearing of the forest, 25m. from the river-port of Gwato, on Gwato creek. Of the ancient city, whose buildings excited the admiration of travellers in the 17th and i8th centuries, scarcely a trace remains. The houses are neatly built of clay, coloured with red ochre, and frequently or namented with rudely carved pillars.
Since the abolition of the slave trade the chief exports of the country are palm-oil and timber. Among the articles prized by the Beni is coral, of which the chiefs wear great quantities After the British occupation, an extensive trade developed in oil, kernels, timber, ivory and rubber. In the rubber and timber industries great strides have been made.
Benin was one of the most highly organized of the negro states on the West Coast of Africa; it shared with Dahomey and Ashanti an unenviable notoriety for the system of human sacri fices (the "customs" as they were called), which marked their religious and court ceremonies. The Portuguese discovered Benin about the year 1485, and they carried on with the Bini (less cor rectly Benis) a brisk trade in slaves, the slaves being taken to Elmina and sold to the natives of the Gold Coast. The Portu guese found Benin a powerful state, and so it continued until about the middle of the 19th century. Europeans in the 17th century spoke of it as Great Benin; colonists from Benin founded the ports of Lagos and Badagry. While the area of the kingdom was small (somewhat larger than Wales), its influence was very wide and is said to have extended west as far as Sierra Leone and south to the Congo river. This arose from the belief that the chief spirit or "juju" of Benin was the most powerful in West Africa. This spirit dwelt in Benin city which was the seat of a theocracy of priests. The oba or king, though nominally supreme, appears to have often been a puppet in the hands of the priests. Revered as a species of divinity, the king seldom left the en closure surrounding his palace. The worship of the "juju" de manded human sacrifices to an appalling extent, the usual form of sacrifice being crucifixion. Although blood flowed so freely the people do not appear to have indulged in wanton cruelty, and it is stated that they usually stupefied the victims before putting them to death. The Bini were more civilized in several respects than the neighbouring peoples. They were especially noted for their brass and ivory work. Although they may have owed something to their contact with the Portuguese, their culture was essentially native, and their dealings with white men were almost confined to matters of commerce. The Portuguese with drew from the coast in the i8th century, but one of the most striking proofs of their commercial influence is the fact that a corrupt Lusitanian dialect was spoken by the older natives up to the last quarter of the 19th century.
The first British expedition to Benin was in 1553; after that time a considerable trade grew up between England and that country, ivory, palm-oil and pepper being the chief commodities exported from Benin. The Dutch afterwards established "fac tories" and maintained them for a considerable time, chiefly with a view to the slave trade. A trading station founded by the French in 1788 was destroyed by the British in 1792. In 1863 Sir Richard Burton, then British consul at Fernando Po, went to Benin to try to put a stop to human sacrifices, an attempt in which he did not succeed. At that time the decline in power of the kingdom of Benin was obvious, and the city was in a decaying condition. In 1885 the coast-line of Benin was placed under British protection, and steps were taken to enter into friendly relations with the king. In March 1892 Captain (later Sir) H. L. Gallwey, British vice-consul, succeeded in concluding a treaty with the king, Overami. The treaty, however, proved of no avail nor did the banishment, in 1894, of Nana, a truculent chief of Lower Benin, induce the oba to mend his ways. In Jan. 1897 J. R. Phillips, acting consul-general, and eight Europeans were brutally massacred on the road from Gwato to Benin city, whilst on a mission to the king. Phillips had persisted in starting for Benin despite the repeated request of King Overami that he should delay his visit until he (the king) had finished the celebra tion of the annual "customs." A punitive expedition was organized under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson. A force of ',zoo men was landed on the Benin river on Feb. 12. Five days later the city of Benin was occupied after considerable fighting. The town, which was found to be reeking of human sacrifices, was partly burned, and on the 22nd the expedition started on its re turn. Overami and chiefs responsible for the massacre were placed on their trial; the king was deported to Calabar, and the chiefs, six in all, were executed. A second punitive expedition in 1899 completed the pacification of the country. On this occasion the leader of the attack on the Phillips mission was captured and executed.
After the deposition of Overami the government was entrusted to a council of chiefs under the guidance of British officials. Hu man sacrifices were stopped and slavery abolished. Overami died in exile at Calabar in 1914 and, acceding to the wishes of the people, his son was recognized as oba. At the same time the country was made the Benin province of Southern Nigeria, a British Resident advising, but interfering as little as possible, with the native government. The system worked well and the substi tution in 1916 of direct taxation for the former unlimited exac tions of the chiefs was welcomed. Mr. Ormsby-Gore, under secretary of state for the colonies, who visited Benin in 1926, con gratulated the oba and his council on the marked contentment and prosperity of the country.
Roth, Great Benin, its Customs, Art and Horrors (Halifax, 1903) , a comprehensive and profusely illustrated work, with an annotated bibliography. See also the reports on Nigeria issued annually by the Colonial Office, London. (F. R. C.)