The Guns of Benin: a history of firearms in the military systems and cultural traditions of the Benin kingdom. ca. 1514-1897.

Among the vast corpus of celebrated artworks from Benin are a handful of sculptures depicting soldiers carrying muskets and a plaque decorated with a miniature cannon. These artworks, which may be the earliest images of firearms in Africa, were produced during one of the most pivotal moments in the continent's history that marked the counter between Africa's Atlantic societies and Europe.

In the centuries following this initial encounter, the kingdom of Benin remained among the most powerful states in the region, especially during the reign of Esigie (r. 1517-1550) whose armies were assisted by Portuguese mercenaries. The latter mercenaries are credited with introducing gun technology in Benin, where local brass casters and blacksmiths eventually produced some of their own artillery pieces and other firearms based on imported models.

Scholarly opinions regarding the impact of firearms in the kingdom are split between structuralist approaches that argue for their significance in Benin's political and military systems since the 16th century, and other approaches which argue that Benin's early expansion owed little to the adoption of firearms.

This article explores the history of firearms in the kingdom of Benin from 1514 to 1897. It provides an analysis of the historical evidence for their use and concludes that guns in Benin initially had a mostly ceremonial function before they became important to the kingdom's military systems during the latter centuries.

Firearms from Benin City, ca. 16-19th century. Benin City National Museum, British Museum.

Brass sculptures depicting Portuguese musketeers in Benin, 16th-18th century, National Museum of Scotland, British Museum.

A brief background on the history of Benin 

The kingdom of Benin was established by the Edo-speaking people of south-western Nigeria around the 13th century. The highly centralized kingdom centered in the walled capital of Benin city, which was the residence of its Oba (king) as well as the complex bureaucracy of title-holders and officials, their associated guilds and artisans, as well as the soldiers, merchants, craftsmen and ordinary peasants whose population in the 16th century rivaled contemporary European capitals.

Map of Benin at its height during the 16th century.

“De stadt Benin” (The Benin City) by Van Meurs in Olfert Dapper’s “Description de l'Afrique” ca. 1688.

Benin City was reached by the Portuguese under Joao Afonso de Aveiro in 1486, although the coast was already visited in 1472 by Ruy de Sequeira. There are however, no reports about firearms being handed over to the king, Oba Ozolua, nor were Christian missionaries sent to his kingdom, as the Portuguese King John II hoped that the initiative in religious matters should come from the other side, The Oba was invited to dispatch an envoy to Lisbon in 1486-87, who was hospitably received by the Portuguese king with assurances of trade and closer ties. While it's likely that some of the Edo interpreters and traders who traveled to the Portuguese-controlled islands <of Sao Tome, Principe, and Sao Jorge, about 800km south of Benin> saw and acquired firearms, there is little evidence for their use in Benin at this time.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 30-41)

The embassies of Benin in Lisbon

Nearly two decades later, in 1514, the Oba dispatched an embassy to Lisbon led by two persons whom the Portuguese called Dom Jorge and Dom Antonio, who we likely baptised Edo. According to the Portuguese chronicler Joao De Barros, the Oba only "sought the priests rather to make himself powerful against his neighbours with our favour than from a desire for baptism." Traditional accounts and contemporary documents suggest that the Oba found himself hard-pressed by his enemies and was most likely intent on obtaining firearms.

competition between rivaling Portuguese merchants (in Sao Tome against those in Sao Jorge and Principle) over Benin's trade had led to conflicts which Benin tried to mitigate by closing markets, seizing a cannon from a Portuguese ship, and later banning the export of male slaves. The Oba's embassy was thus intended to; complain to the Portuguese King Manuel about the behaviour of the latter's subjects; answer the accusations put forward by the Sao Jorge and Principe; and receive missionaries. King Manuel received the embassy hospitably but refused the request to send firearms to the unconverted Oba, "because the law of God forbids it."

(Benin and the Europeans pg 42-47)

The Oba replied by sending another Edo envoy named Pero Barroso who reached Lisbon in 1515, was received hospitably by the king, and returned with a reply to the Oba in 1516. While the reply letter hasn't survived, a similar letter carried by Pero Barroso was sent to a Portuguese trader who was resident in Benin named Duarte Pires. The latter, along with another Portuguese named Joao Sobrinho were reportedly advisors of the Oba, and assisted him militarily. By early 1516, Portuguese priests had been sent to Benin, where the king allowed his sons to be converted and a church to be constructed. The Oba later departed for war where he died in late 1516 and was succeeded by his youthful son Esigie, whose regents initially ruled the kingdom of his behalf, and reversed whatever little conversions had taken place.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 48-51, The Portuguese in West Africa pg 97-99)

The Guns of Esigie.

The Oba Esigie (r. 1517-1550) is most strongly associated the use of firearms in Benin. Esigie, or rather his regents, are credited to have defeated the invading Igala of Idah (east of the Niger, below the confluence of the Benue) around 1517, a date provided by a Portuguese letter. This decisive battle, which is referred to as the “Idah war” took place at the foot of the Oregbeni Hills, directly opposite Benin City. The actual retreat of the Idah army was apparently initiated by a shot fired by a cannon manned by a Portuguese mercenary.

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 65)

The two known Portuguese advisers and mercenaries; Duarte Pires and Joao Sobrinho, came from the island of Principe and were seen in the camp of the Oba Ozula in early 1516 by a Portuguese sailor who described them as "white men who are with the Oba at the war". According to Benin's oral tradition, members of the Iwoki ward who looked after the Oba's guns and cannon, among other functions, date their foundation to Esigie’s reign and some claim to be descended from Europeans called Ava and Uti who protected the Oba by standing with guns on each side. The shrine of the god of iron at which the Iwoki worship is called Ogun-Esigie, making it likely that the Iwoki was founded to look after guns when they were first introduced.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 49, Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 66)

A much later account from 1889 by a European visitor to Benin notes that there were cannons in Benin city that may date back to the reign of the Tudors (ca. 1460-1603). Writing: “We are first taken to a juju house the spirit of which is contained in a pile of old guns which would, I think, be acceptable in the Tower of London. They are very old, so old that I don’t remember seeing anything like them in the Tower, or anywhere else save in pictures of guns belonging in the Tudor period or even earlier. They are old breech loaders of a very primitive make, with rings, the breech is simply an opening to put a cartridge in, and a block of iron to close it. Two slots in the side through (which) a pin would be passed to jam up the breech block.”

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 68)

However, 16th-century accounts indicate that despite Portuguese requests to convert and receive firearms, Esigie rejected the offers. Its even likely that the Portuguese priests who converted him died during the 1516 war, because a second mission was dispatched from Lisbon to convert the young Oba, but it failed. The Portuguese thus refused to supply firearms to Benin officially and took stringent precautions to prevent arms smuggling from the islands and the theft of weapons from vessels lying in the rivers. However, the presence of about 100 kg of smuggled gunpowder in the merchandise of a single vessel from 1535 that was shipwrecked before reaching Benin, provides evidence for a clandestine trade in firearms or possibly their theft from passing ships.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 51-52, 67-68)

Firearms in 16th century Benin: Manufacture of cannon and artworks depicting musketeers.

Traditions regarding Esigie's reign and later documentary evidence indicate that firearms and gunpowder were incorporated into the belief systems of the Edo. This was especially evident in rituals and shrines associated Ogun, the god of iron/bronze/war, as well as in the various shrines associated with the Oba Esigie including one seen in the 1890s that contained a "very old breech-loading gun".  19th century accounts indicate which mention the presence of cannon in the compound of the Ezomo, which is the title for the commander in chief that replaced the Iyase around the 18th century.

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 81-87, 113-114, 66)

Breech-loading swivel gun, bronze, 16th century, No. Af 1899, 0610.1, British Museum. Made In Portugal, contains the arms of Portugal, a raised armillary sphere badge and a cipher showing the name of the founder 

Breech-loading swivel gun with separate tiller , bronze, 16th century No. XIX. 113, Royal Armouries.

Breech-loading gun, bronze, undated, No. XIX. 112, Royal Armouries.

Both were Made in Benin in imitation of early European guns, they include the symbol of a Benin cross in low relief found in other Benin artworks and its bore is unlike European guns. The cross motif was pre-christian, and according to 16th-century accounts, it was one of the items given to the ruler of Benin by his ritual suzerain. One of the Edo ambassadors to Portugal in 1540 wore such a cross, and by the 19th century, it was associated with the Ohensa and the Ewua titleholders who were also known as 'messengers' or envoys.

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 88-98, Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection pg 67-69)

Ewua messenger figures with crosses, 16th-17th century, No. 1708593, Dresden Museum, No. Af1949,46.157, British Museum.

Muzzle-loader gun, bronze, 16th century, No. XIX. 114, Royal Armouries. Likely made in China based on the presence of faint Chinese writing.

"Large breech-loading cannon". With a small depiction of a human head. ca. 17th century, SMB. Likely made in Benin, based on the typical depiction of an Edo head, likely modeled after European "swivel cannons" of the 17th century.

Miniature depiction of five cannons, undated, National Museum of Benin, Nigeria.

<Most of the images above were obtained from the 'Digital Benin' Catalogue here>

Exactly how the abovementioned cannons were mounted is unclear, as there's no documentation of gun carriages in Benin, unlike in Dahomey, Yorubaland, Bornu, and the Hausa city of Zinder where such were present. Later accounts from the British invasion of 1897 indicate that they were fired from boats --which was a common method across the region-- or lashed onto a heavy trunk before they were fired. While virtually all of the gunpowder used in Benin was imported, the ammunition used in the cannons was likely locally manufactured as evidenced by its diversity in 18th and 19th-century accounts, and similar examples of local manufacture across West Africa. One account from 1898 notes that the armies of Benin "were ample supply of ammunition in the shape of ingeniously contrived bamboo shells filled with cast iron...”  

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 99-101, Warfare and Diplomacy in West Africa pg 113-116)

"charge of shot fired from a cannon obtained from the Portuguese; a charge of shrapnel [for cannon] made of a number of bamboo splints, wrapped at 5 points along their lengths with rattan, to form a cylinder containing jagged lumps of iron".  Field Museum.

The group responsible for casting the bronze cannons listed above was likely to have been the Benin brass casters (Igun-eronmwon or Ogun-eronmwon), who were also credited with making the famous brass plaques of Benin and other sculptures using the lost-wax method. However, it was the Iwoki guild which took care of the guns, manufactured cannon balls, and stood beside the Oba as personal guards to protect him with their shields (asa) or guns. While most depictions of the Oba's guards on Benin's plaques and in sculptural groups show them holding shields and swords, at least one of them, depicts a lone gunman with a flintlock rifle. The rest of the gun-wielding figures in Benin's art are images of Portuguese hunters and musketeers wearing distinctive helmets, possibly representing the very two Portuguese men mentioned above.

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 102-107)

Brass figure of a Benin official holding a musket, 16th-17th century, World Museum Liverpool, Brass plaque of a Benin drummer, on his upper right is a cannon in high relief, 16th-17th century, Af1961,18.1, British Museum.

Benin plaques from the British Museum, depicting Portuguese figures carrying matchlock guns and other weapons. ca. 16th-17th century.

Benin figures representing Portuguese musketeers, 16th-18th century, No. K.2003.892 National museums Scotland, No. Af1944,04.7 British Museum, No. Af1949,46.158 British museum.

The firearms trade of Benin from the 17th to 19th century.

A document from 1582 by an English trader recommending a list of goods to take to Benin mentions several items including weapons such as saws, knives, hatchets and chainmail but doesn't mention firearms. However, a contemporary Portuguese proposal for exchange of goods include items such as lead shot and gunpowder.

It wasn't until 1603 that we obtain another account of European mercenaries hired by the Oba. According to a German trader at Lagos named Andreas Josua Ultzheimer: "it happened at the same time that another of his towns rebelled, which he could not easily force because the town was walled and they had no artillery there. The king therefore asked us to help him bring the town back into obedience, which we did, and we went with our twelve men with two pieces of large artillery, with the swords." The Europeans shot one of the gates to pieces and the place was stormed.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 79-81, Cannons in the former kingdom of Benin pg 69)

In the second half of the 17th century, the Dutch begun selling significant quantities of firearms and gunpowder to Benin and the neighbouring Itsekiri kingdom of Warri. An account from around 1656-1662 notes that both the armies of Benin and Warri included those armed with a few dutch muskets. however, a later account from 1699 notes that the people of the region "do not much like the gun, and only a few know how to handle one.....”, and a source from 1704 suggests that these guns were primarily used for hunting.

(Cannons in the former kingdom of Benin pg 70)

The 1715 account of the Dutch trader Van Naerssen mentions that he took with him fifty flintlock guns valued at 16 pounds of ivory apiece, as well as 200 pounds of gunpowder and spare flints. Other Dutch vessels from 1715 and 1717 include a few hundred flintlock guns and several thousand pounds of gunpowder as well as many flints.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 114, 321, 145, 150)

Significant quantities of firearms begun to be imported by Benin in the early 18th century, in part due to competition between various European traders. Attempts by the Dutch to monopolize this trade were undercut by supplies of guns and gunpowder from the Portuguese traders, as well as the Dutch's dependence on local rulers who provided canoes to ferry their merchandise.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 147-150)

In 1787, a group of men from Benin's northern neighbour of Oyo arrived at the French fort at near the mouth of the Benin river, where they told its factor, Landolphe that firearms were manufactured in their own country and that boats comparable to his corvettes came over a great sea to the city of their king. Landolphe, who first arrived in Benin as a trader in 1769 with merchandise that included cloth, guns, gunpowder, and pistols, was told that great trade existed in luxury articles between Benin and Oyo which surpassed European goods in both price and quality. He was told that these men were ‘Oyos’ who had travelled three months from their own country to reach Benin City. These men, who were likely Hausa

(Benin and the Europeans pg 199, 224-225)

Its from Landolphe that we get the account of how the Itsekiri came to control the lower reaches of the Benin river, thanks to their formidable navy of war canoes equipped with as many as twenty pairs of swivel-guns on cross-beams placed at intervals of five or six feet in the 70ft war canoe. These canoes could carry over one hundred men armed with guns and sabres, and sometimes a pistol, as well as a complement of forty paddlers. He Itsekiri had been defeated by Benin in 1735-6, but by 1778 the Oba had lost control of the lower Benin river, which marked the gradual withdraw of the kingdom into the interior.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 213)

Firearms in 19th century Benin: Gun manufacture and usage in warfare.

Textural records and oral traditions indicate that the use of firearms increased significantly in Benin during the 19th century, with some accounts suggesting that they were manufactured locally.

An account by the English Captain James Fawckner who visited Benin in 1837 notes, after arriving at the “Captain of War’s” (the Ezomo’s) house in the suburbs of Benin City, that : “It excited my surprise to see here two or three small pieces of cannon, of British and Portuguese manufacture; but they were not mounted, and had perhaps been procured as models for imitation, as the country abounds in iron; but from the expense attendant on working the mines, there is, comparatively speaking, very little wrought to perfection.” He further was “....credibly informed they could make muskets, with the exception of the lock, in great perfection.” 

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 73)

Contemporary artwork attributed to the Omada art guild which emerged in the second half of the 19th century, include depictions of Edo and European figures with multiple trade items, including firearms and cannon.

Carved wooden stool with relief-carved figures including a depiction of a cannon in high relief on the top right. 19th century. No. Af1898,0630.2. British Museum.

Benin stools from the 19th century. On the left is an image of a European figure in a boat with two guns, British Museum

Wood Plaque with Relief Carvings including a depiction of a flintlock gun on the top left corner, 19th century, MARKK museum, Gunpowder flask, 16th-19th century, No. Af1947,18.54, British Museum.

A flintlock trade musket made in Birmingham around 1820, and acquired in Benin city where it had been in use. Birmingham Museums Trust.

Fawckner was also told in Benin about the local manufacture of muskets in good quality, however, the Edo were unable to make locks. Later traditions transcribed in the early 20th century state that the knowledge of manufacturing firearms was acquired from the Portuguese during the 16th century, and was later applied to the making of guns in the 18th century.

While evidence for the local production of ammunition is plentiful and its likely that Benin's smiths could repair firearms locally just as most west African kingdoms were known to do, evidence for the manufacture of complete firearms is only circumstantial. Some historians suggest that Fawckner's account may refer to the cross-bow, however, there is some evidence that flintlock guns were rifled by hand, and converted into percussion locks, by the Bini soldiers in the late 19th century.. Additionally, there are complete firearms in the Benin collection presented below which historians have yet to analyze.

(Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin pg 111, Brutish Museums pg 112)

Firearms from Benin city, 18th-20th cent. Benin National Museum.

The above 'pistols' or short-barrelled muskets are likely a variant of the flintlock gun. According to the historian Robert Smith, during the early to mid-20th century in Nigeria, such pistols, which he says were not very old at the time (likey a century or less) were commonly offered for sale to antique gun dealers. He adds that "Except for those which Barth noted as being sold at Kano, pistols seem not to be mentioned in contemporary accounts of the armies and armament of pre-colonial West Africa, but their representation on carvings of the mounted warriors of Yorubaland suggests that their use may have been fairly widespread among cavalry in the later nineteenth century".

(Warfare and Diplomacy in West Africa pg 112)

During the Yoruba civil wars that followed the collapse of the Oyo empire, Benin became the principal supplier of firearms and munitions to the warring parties. The reign of the Benin king Adolo (1848-1888) saw the kingdom transform into an important middleman, transferring European imports from the coastal Itsekiri in exchange for goods from the interior, conducted by the vigorous trading associations of Benin City. Many of the firearms supplied were still old flintlocks, rather than modern rifles, which appeared relatively late in the region.

(Benin and the Europeans pg 258-259)

Its during Adolo's reign that a number of visitors noted the presence of cannon in Benin's ceremonies. An account by a French visitor in 1871 about the 'Yam festival' notes that it was held in "a large square filled with cannons where the procession of the oba takes place." Another account from 1890 notes that “In this city there are numbers of old Portuguese cannon, which are highly prized by the King."

(Cannons of the former kingdom of Benin pg 73)

After the area around the Benin rivers became a British protectorate in 1891, the import of arms, ammunition and gunpowder into the river was strictly controlled. While a British visitor to the city in 1892 noted the presence of only a few unmounted Portuguese cannon, another account by the British resident H. Blindloss 1895 noted that "It is forbitten to sell to the negroes any fire-arm but a flint-lock gun, and yet, for all that, every headman possesses a small cast iron cannon or two, and some even fairly heavy pieces of artillery".

(Benin and the Europeans pg 276, Cannons of the former kingdom of Benin pg 74)

There is more evidence that Benin may have been making significant quantities of firearms locally, as indicated by the British forces' capture of a stock of weapons in the Benin dependency of Ebrohimi, which included “One hundred and six cannon, a machine gun, 445 blunderbusses with swivels for mounting on war-canoes, 1,500 flintlock guns, 14 tons of gunpowder, and hundreds of rounds of case-shot, made up in cylinders of split bamboo and filled with iron balls and pieces of scrap-iron....” These were thought by Blindloss to have come from clandestine trade, although some ammunition and the cannon may have been made locally. Other accounts from 1888 and 1889 mention the use of cannons in Benin's campaigns in limited campaigns.

(Cannons in the former kingdom of Benin pg 74-75)

The British's attempt to take over Benin's trade would later be a major source of conflict with the king of Benin, who as a sovereign, insisted on retaining the right to close and open markets as he wished. The commercial dispute ultimately culminated with the Oba's closure of the markets in April of 1896, in which both Benin and the Itsekiri traders accused each other of cheating.

One British trader named Brownridge, claimed that "the primary cause of the present stoppage of trade is the raising of the price of guns, powder and gin. The King finding that he cannot buy these articles at the price he likes, is now keeping on the stoppage to extort as much money as possible from the Jackries. Stoppages of trade are of common occurrence in Benin, though of much smaller duration; for instance, one market would be stopped at a time and the Jackries trading there made to pay certain monies before trade would be reopened."

(Benin and the Europeans pg 281)

This dispute would ultimately result in the British's punitive expedition of February 1897. During the course of the war, there were reports of the Benin army firing their cannons at the invaders from behind stockades surrounding the city. These cannon are often described as of 'small guns' of 'old manufacture' dating back to the 'Spanish days'. A few reports also mention the use of 'big guns' by Benin's soldiers, especially near the King's palace, which were also described as 'old cannon' whose ammunition consisted of 'bullets and old metal'

(Cannons of the former kingdom of Benin pg 76-77)

The invading force used their ammunition liberally, by continually raking the surrounding settlements and bushes with maxim guns to prevent sniper fire from the Benin riflemen, and to force the Bini army into the open.

According to one account;

"The Benis were very ill-supplied with bullets and depended largely upon slugs. It was therefore very important to get them to discharge their muskets at some little distance from the troops, because the slugs were then prevented from doing any harm by the luxuriant foliage ; they were well aware that their arms were of little use firing through zones of thicket, and they only assembled in force at clearings, where they could be satisfactorily tackled. The precautionary volleys really aimed rather at keeping the snipers at a distance than at driving off hostile bodies of appreciable strength"

There were running fights along the way to the city, and thousands of people appear to have fled away into the bush from the city it was sacked.

According to another account of the expedition,

"the Binis resisted stoutly and the bush-fighting was most trying work, though in the end the natives found it quite impossible to resist shells, rockets and Maxim guns." A later analysis of the expedition notes that the "utter collapse of the Binis, after fighting so well, has always been a matter of surprise, and shows conclusively that they must have sustained very heavy losses while endeavouring to drive back the invaders... They must have stood up in great numbers, simply relying on their guns, and so have sustained heavy losses." 

(The Brutish Museums pg 116-118)

After the city was captured, the official report finally stated: “Several old cannons were found and destroyed, the most modern dating from the early part of the century. Revolvers, rifles, and some guns were used by the natives.” A few of these guns were then taken to the British Museum and other institutions, but the majority were destroyed, lost, or forgotten.

(Cannons of the former kingdom of Benin pg 76-78)

Conclusion.

The above outline on the use and manufacture of firearms in Benin, shows that their use was initially restricted to a few mercenaries in battle and some ceremonies during the 16th century, before acquiring significance in the 19th centuries. This suggests that Benin's expansion during the era of the warrior kings wasn't facilitated by the introduction of new technologies. As the historian Alan Ryder argued; "the great achievements of Benin armies in the sixteenth century owed nothing to the use of firearms". A similar argument has been made in my previous essays on firearms in 16th-century Ethiopia and Bornu.

The gradual spread of the use of firearms in Benin therefore likely followed a similar trajectory as in the rest of west Africa.

The initial adoption of muskets and cannons in the 16th and 17th centuries was restricted to a few military engagements, as well as in hunting and ceremonial activities. The increased import of flintlock guns and gunpowder during the 18th century altered the military systems of a few coastal states like Asante and Dahomey, but not in inland states like Oyo (and Benin) which imported few firearms. It wasn't until the expansion of trade during the 19th century that more modern rifles became accessible to most states, and played a decisive role in the military systems of that period, eventually resulting in the local manufacture of modern rifles in at least one state; the Wasulu empire of Samory.

 References

Warfare & Diplomacy in Pre-colonial West Africa By Robert Sydney Smith

Benin and the Europeans, 1485-1897 by Alan Frederick Charles Ryder

The Brutish Museums: The Benin Bronzes, Colonial Violence and Cultural Restitution by Dan Hicks

Cannon known from the former kingdom of Benin by Peter M. Roese & Ronald B. Smith

The Portuguese in West Africa, 1415–1670: A Documentary History edited by Malyn Newitt

Royal Art of Benin: The Perls Collection in the Metropolitan Museum of Art By Kate Ezra

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