Blood and Bronze
The British Empire and the Sack of Benin
Oxford University Press · Print & ebook · March 15, 2022
The famous Benin Bronzes are among the most prized possessions of the British Museum.
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- Who it’s for
- Paddy Docherty traces the invasion, African resistance, and British violence behind the plunder of Benin’s Bronzes.
- Genres
- West African History, Colonialism & Its Aftermath, 19th-Century History
- Published
- Oxford University Press, March 15, 2022
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Start with this bookAbout this book
The famous Benin Bronzes are among the most prized possessions of the British Museum. Celebrated for their great beauty, they embody the history, myth and artistry of the ancient Kingdom of Benin, once the most powerful in West Africa and now part of Nigeria. But despite their renown, little has been written about the brutal act of imperial violence through which the Bronzes were plundered.
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This incisive new history tells that neglected story: the 1897 British invasion of Benin. Diving into the archives, Blood and Bronze sets the assault on Benin in its late Victorian context. As Britain faced new commercial and strategic pressures on its power elsewhere, it ruthlessly expanded its rule in West Africa. Revealing both the extent of African resistance and previously concealed British outrages, this is a definitive account of the conquest and destruction of Benin. By laying bare the Empire's true motives and its violent means, Paddy Docherty demolishes any moral claim for Britain retaining the Bronzes, and makes a passionate case for their immediate repatriation to Nigeria.
Benin’s 1897 Invasion
Paddy Docherty traces the invasion, African resistance, and British violence behind the plunder of Benin’s Bronzes.
Come here for
- The 1897 British invasion of Benin
- Archival context for Britain’s late Victorian expansion in West Africa
Expect
- A history grounded in archival research
- A case for returning the Bronzes to Nigeria
Where it sits
| West African History | 90% |
|---|---|
| Colonialism & Its Aftermath | 45% |
| 19th-Century History | 36% |
Percentages are BookFrontier’s reading of the book.
Publisher categories
- History
- Authors
- Paddy Docherty
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press
- Published
- March 15, 2022
- Format
- Print & ebook
- Reading lane
- History