THE EDO KINGDOM

Oba, Ovonramwen.
Photograph by the Ibani Ijo photographer J A Green.
From the Howie photo album in the archives of the Merseyside Maritime Museum

Towards the end of the 19th century, the British saw the Edo kingdom as an obstruction to their colonial expansion and their increased need for palm oil.
After British emissaries were killed on their way to Benin City in 1897, Britain sent a ‘punitive expedition’ to take over the Edo kingdom.
The reigning Oba, Ovonramwen, was deposed.
This photograph shows him with guards on board ship on his way to exile in Calabar in 1897.
The unusual gown he is wearing hides his shackles.
Bronze, brass, ivory and wood artworks - never seen before in the West – were removed from his palace and sold in London to help pay the costs of the expedition.
Such an injustice...