Benin City travel guide — Benin City tourism and travel information

Benin City travel guide

about Benin City

Benin, a city (1991 est. pop. 203,000), in Edo State, southern Nigeria, is a port on the Benin River. Benin is the center of Nigeria’s rubber industry, but processing palm nuts for oil is still an important traditional industry.

Benin served as the capital of the Kingdom of Benin, the empire of the Oba of Benin, which flourished from the 14th through the 17th century. No trace remains of the structures admired by European travellers to "the Great Benin." After Benin was visited by the Portuguese about 1485, historical Benin grew rich during the 16th and 17th centuries on the slave trade with Europe, carried in Dutch and Portuguese ships, as well as through the export of some tropical products. The Bight of Benin's shore was known as the "Slave Coast." In the early 16th century the Oba sent an ambassador to Lisbon, and the king of Portugal sent Christian missionaries to Benin. Some residents of Benin could still speak a pidgin Portuguese in the late 19th century.

The city and kingdom of Benin declined after 1700, with the decline in the European slave trade, but revived in the 19th century with the development of the trade in palm products with Europeans. To preserve Benin's independence, bit by bit the Oba banned the export of goods from Benin, until the trade was exclusively in palm oil.

In the 'Punitive Expedition' of 1897, a 1200-strong British force, under the command of Admiral Sir Harry Rawson, conquered and burned the city, destroying much of the country’s treasured art and dispersing nearly all that remained. The portrait figures, busts, and groups created in iron, carved ivory, and especially in brass (conventionally called "bronze") made in Benin are displayed in museums around the world.

After the fall of Benin in 1897, the British set apart Warri Province, to punish the Oba of Benin and curb his imperial power. The Benin monarchy was restored in 1914, but true power lay with the colonial administration of Nigeria.

The University of Benin is situated in the city.

Near cities to Benin City

• Warri travel guide 89 km
• Onitsha travel guide 120 km
• Ondo travel guide 130 km
• Ado Ekiti travel guide 160 km
• Ife travel guide 190 km
• Enugu travel guide 200 km
• Oshogbo travel guide 200 km
• Port Harcourt travel guide 240 km
• Lagos travel guide 250 km
• Ogbomoso travel guide 260 km

Near webcams to Benin City

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• Playa de las Americas webcam 2 600 km
• Lanzarote - Playa Honda webcam 2 600 km
• La Quinta Park webcam 2 700 km
• Ascension webcam 2 700 km
• Maspalomas webcam 3 300 km
• Playa del Ingles webcam 3 300 km
• Rabat webcam 3 300 km
• El Medano webcam 3 400 km

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Benin City travel services

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Benin City travel books

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