Key Stage 2 SATs; English Grammar, SATs Revision & Practice, KS 2 English Grammar, KS 2 English test

This revision and practice book covers all areas that will be tested at the end of primary school in the English test in Grammar, punctuation, spelling and vocabulary test at levels 3 - 5. This is the Standard Assessment Test or the SATs as popularly known. Some harder questions aimed at level 6 have been deliberately included in the book to give further practice to pupils who are able; taken all together, completion of the exercises will not only help pupils perform well in their SATs, they will prepare them well for their work at secondary school and beyond. Each section provides background information on different word classes in sentence construction; examples of correct usage in both speaking and writing composition are included as are a variety of consolidation exercises. Completing the exercises will ensure that pupils gain fluency in both oral and written communications and know what to do if misunderstanding should occur during private or school work. The revision notes and exercises will also help pupils’ reading fluency. This book is also suitable for those new to the English language or learning English as an additional language and for private and home tutoring.

Inside A Rainforest Royal Court

Inside a Rainforest Royal Court presents history of the Great Kingdom of Benin (Not to be confused with former Dahomey) in two parts through a look at palace life and through growing up experiences of the kingdom’s children.

The kingdom, founded around 40Bc was at its height between the 14^th and 16^th century.

Here is the link on Amazon: http://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/1482056607


Growing up in Benin:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Inside-Rainforest-Royal-Court-Growing/dp/1482074931/ref=sr_1_7?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1364889848&sr=1-7

Curiosity Killed The Cat!

Obokhain (Welcome)

I would like now at this point to respond to some comments particularly by Captain Bacon in his book. His comments on Benin were both positive and negative; however overtime, only the negative ones have been seized upon by various people including him. This was in a way to justify the brutality shown to the Benin King and his people during the expedition of 1897.

I will use the form of comment and response for those comments directly relating to Benin City itself during the expedition time there.  References from:

BENIN – THE CITY OF BLOOD BY COMMANDER R. H. BACON, R. N. Intelligence Officer to the expedition, 1897,

(online: http://www.archive.org/stream/cu31924028611709#page/n11/mode/2up)  
Accessed 3^rd March 2012

Oral source: Hon. Patrick Aigbogun Barrister

The estimate formed beforehand of their fighting qualities, proved entirely erroneous, and there was present among them, a large portion of the pluck and military spirit to which the wide sway of their kingdom at the commencement was due, and which then made Benin the Queen of Cities of that portion of the continent. Pg. 57

There was plenty of evidence that those white men  who knew Benin well, gave accurate details of their military abilities but those in charge chose to ignore these as they did not believe that any Africans could be so skilled.

At all events, we were not further troubled that night, but fell asleep thinking of what marvels that marvellous city we had come so many thousand miles to see would disclose to us on the morrow. Pg. 77

Good to see people were curious about the nature of the city; it was however very unwise to destroy it with maxims and seven-pounders before seeing it with your own eyes.

The first sign that they were nearing Benin came in the shape of the first human sacrifice they had seen. It was of a woman and a little way on was that of a man, they were however unsure. ‘I asked the guide what it meant, and he said it was to prevent the Whiteman coming further, A queer idea’ .Pg. 79

One’s reputation can precede one; the guide would have told them what he thought they wanted to hear. It is worth noting here that in their six days of travelling through the bush (forest) they only encountered two dead bodies, who were probably executed criminals; hanging was still being used as a form of punishment in other parts of the world including Britain; the last hanging in Britain took place in 1953, long after the colonies had stopped the practice.

A Benin woman afterwards described what happened ‘The compound was thronged with people, when suddenly from the blue appeared two hissing thunderbolts into the very heart of their sacred precincts. Not a Whiteman was was in sight! Yet here were two messengers from the sky’ pg. 82 ‘Truly the White men are gods!’ they said and ran panic- stricken from the place. P.82   

It is very difficult to believe that the volleys, shells and rockets were just appearing in Benin compounds without hurting anyone; quite unbelievable that this would have been the case. The more likely scenario was thousands of dead innocent Benin people mowed down in their own compounds. Strange it may sound, the white men were not gods and there was no evidence to show that they could raise the dead from their maxims attacks or indeed cared to, Captain Bacon knew this very well.  It is therefore most peculiar that he chose to write this account down.

Every person who was able, I should say, indulged in human sacrifice, and those who could not , sacrificed some animal and left the remains in front of his house. Pg.88
We know for sure that every house had an alter and that different deities were worshipped by different households. Only the deity Ogiuwu demanded human sacrifice but he had long fallen out of favour and has not been worshipped  in a very long time;’ a shrine once existed in the central part of town where many human sacrifices were offered’(Ben-Amos 1995 page 69). This was not there by the time the British visited, even if it was, it would have been at a single location not all about town and would have been very much disused. Offerings at family alters consisted mainly of chicken blood, sometimes goat and food offerings. Afterwards, these were taken and cooked for food. As the artist drawing of an alter shows, no animal remains is left at the altar. It is worth pointing out that the Benin were very aware of hygiene and diseases and knew the implications of leaving dead carcasses laying about the place. One can imagine how the smell of rotting flesh about the place as described by Bacon would have made the place quite uninhabitable even for savage Africans.

From Ancient Kingdom of Benin Smartnote file by Fidelia Nimmons

Blood was everywhere; smeared over bronzes, ivory, and even the walls, and spoke the history of that awful city in a clearer way than writing ever could. Pg. 89
This was only around the alters of the shrines which Captain Bacon referred to as the Juju houses.  It is inconceivable that blood would have been smeared over people’s houses; exaggeration is most likely the case here.

The killing of wives and slaves to accompany the dead man to the next world was not without its redeeming side p.90

This practice was not unlike the Egyptian practice of burying their dead and related only to the king; he is buried with everything thing he would need in the next world. A wife and servants were not killed but simply buried alive with him along with food and other amenities, he would need to set a new kingdom in the next world (after life). This practice is one of the claims evidence by some people that the Benin people must have come from Egypt since there were lots of similarities in their customs. As Captain Bacon did not witness this himself, it is correct to say, he had been reading lots of history books on Kingdom of Benin beforehand and it seems not very accurate ones for that.

The remainder of the compound consisted of storeroom, medicine house, and houses for the king’s followers, as well as some other juju compounds. After which it straggled away into ruined and uninhabited houses, used probably as burial places for the men of note. P.g. 91
All men are buried in their own room,  in their own houses; this practice still exist as an Edo custom today. So Captain Bacon was way off mark here.

The storeroom contained chiefly cheap rubbish. But buried in the dirt of ages, in one house, were several hundred unique bronze plaques suggestive of almost Egyptian designs, but of really superb casting. Casting of wonderful delicacy of detail .pg. 91

Once again reference to Egyptian influence; though the Binis are quite happy to be recognised in their own rights. These plaques were used to keep accurate records of Bini history and nothing but the best casting would have sufficed for this purpose.

On the right was a crucifixion tree with a double crucifixion on it. Page 92

This account is baffling; crucifixion is alien to the Binis. The account sounds like description of some bits of the Roman crucifixion in the bible and in some films. A nagging question is this: did the artist Mr Seppings Wright of the Illustrated London news, draw an imagined image? This was not uncommon in those days and it is the most probable case.  It all adds to the intrigue of the Kingdom of Benin even though completely false. This proves the point that the victor in any war is the one who lives to spread his own tales of events without fear of any contradiction.

A huge piece of land ran to the left, which seems to have been the common burial-place of the town, that is, if merely laying down a dead body, or at the most wrapping it a piece of matting, can be called burial. Hundreds of human remains must have been here, in every stage of decomposition, from the newly dead to the mouldering skull.Page93

This sounds like a recently dug mass grave for the hundreds of thousands of victims killed by the British Maxims and seven pounders and including Benin dead soldiers and innocent citizens. It must be borne in mind that the Benin people had deserted the city and we know that they bury their dead as soon as life becomes extinct. The King and his Juju men being the last to leave the city (Capt. A. Boisragon, 1898) would have performed burial rites on the fallen; picking them up and dropping them in hurriedly dug mass graves and since all the inhabitants were gone, there would have been no one for them to slaughter but clean up the city of dead bodies from British action, they couldn’t leave their dead people laying about the place. We know from Forensic Science that in the tropics, a corpse can become a moving mass of maggots within 24 hours and clean bones in under two weeks. The only culprits on the scene at this time were the British with their Maxims and seven pounders which mowed hundreds of thousands of Benin people down over a period of two weeks. The king and his Juju men could be forgiven for not carrying out elaborate burial rites; they should instead be praised for this care and effort. How many kings and nobility in history show this commitment and care towards their subjects?

Yet the town was not without its beauty. It seemed a place suggestive of peace and plenty; let us now hope that it may one day become so. Pg. 94

Amen to that! We must not however forget that this had been the case for centuries until the British started having designs on the kingdom.

The water was excellent, sold as a luxury. To us it certainly was one- and that bath in the cool running water, the first for many days, was a thing not likely forgotten. Pg. 96 The goats were an excellent class of beast which yielded excellent meat, they were unlike the scraggy beasts usually met abroad. Page 97.

Kingdom of Benin farmers were some of the best in the world. The king ensured this.

The smoke from the smouldering roofs gradually cleared, and the whole place seemed fresher and more healthy for its purging. Pg 108.

One can image the horrors of decaying dead bodies from the maxims and seven pounders actions and with the King and his Juju men unable to complete burial of the dead before departing the city, thousands of decaying dead bodies would have made an unpleasant sight which would surely have been made worse by terrible smells of gases such as hydrogen sulphide (rotten egg smell), methane and traces of mercaptans which are released as a result of invertebrates and microorganism action on the bodies. This can become the case in three to four days in temperate conditions like Benin. The city would simply have become uninhabitable had the fire not being started. So well done the British, fast thinking!


Good-bye Benin, your character must indeed be bad if the longing of seven hundred men to see you is in three days changed to a fervent desire never to look upon your red walls again. Page. 113.
The Benin would have drunk to that. They spent years trying to keep the British out of their kingdom but they would not take no for an answer.

So who won and who lost on the long run? View the image below and then decide for yourself.  Good stuff this!

Photograph by Fidelia Nimmons

This sculpture in the centre of Benin City conveys Benin people's view on the matter.

 Oba Ghato, Okpere!

Ise!

Long Live the King!

'Black' Pot called Kettle

Obokhain (Welcome)

Picture this!

Take a moment to form a picture of the following scenes in your mind’s eye; hold the resultant images in your head for the remainder of this blog.

According to newspaper report; (Guardian Sep. 16, 1897) The Benin Massacre, Trial of The King. ‘Sir Ralph Moor, the Consul General, is trying the King of Benin at Benin. Two of the chiefs have been convicted and shot. ..Their bodies were hung up to 24 hours.’ Obviously unable to proceed to the next stage in the hung- drawn- quartered and parboiled punishment stage; they not reckoning with the temperate heat decomposing dead bodies within 1 day of life extinction.  This four stage punishment could be achieved in cold climates but not in temperate zones and thank God for that.   

Now, picture the scenes in this Guardian publication of Mar 29, 1897: West Coast of Africa. The Niger Expedition. ‘If any hostility was shown towards the British, then the place was taken, and probably destroyed. This occurred several times during the march, but the officer who gave the information did not remember how many towns and villages were thus destroyed, nor could he give the number of natives who fell in the fighting on the side of the enemy. The maxim, however, made terrible havoc in their ranks. It was the custom of the enemy to carry off their dead, or as many of them as they could take up in their flight, and bury them at once. This made it impossible to obtain anything like an accurate idea of the number killed.’

It is a fact of health precaution that dead bodies have to be buried within 24 hours of extinction in temperate West Africa or they decompose in the hot heat and cause diseases like cholera.   The only way to avoid this is timely burial.

From the accounts by British officials at the coast, it seemed the number of African human sacrifices by the British in the name of empire building did not matter so long as the West Coast of Africa was colonised. Human sacrifice for whatever reason is deplorable even if committed by high ranking British consuls in the colonies.  

The Benin Expedition (1897) case:

We know the following happened from the accounts of those British officials present at the scenes from their records in:

1.       Captain Alan Boisragon: The Benin Massacre. 1898
       http://www.archive.org/stream/beninmassacre02boisgoog#page/n114/mode/1up 

2.      Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon: A Naval Scrap-Book , First Part, 1877 – 1900 (1925): 197 – 207

3.      Reuters Special Agents newspaper reports published by the Guardian publications 1890s
4.   Commons Sitting - 22 February 1987: On the motion 'That this House do now adjourn' (HC Deb 22 February 1897 Vol 46 c964).

 Captain Boisragon wrote: ‘The protectorate troops arrived at Ciri about the Fourth of February ‘ (pp.169) they spent the next five days cutting a road through the bush to Warrigi by the 9^th; So that by the 10^th, the blue jackets and the marines were ready to march on Benin.  By 11^th of February, Lieutenant- commander Pritchard and one blue jacket officer who led the flanking columns stockade four miles of Sapobah and a cross road to Benin engaged in battle with and were and killed by Benin soldiers, the British continued to suffer casualties at the stockades in the following days.  Advance on Benin was in full force by the 12^th of February led by Admiral Rawson and other officers.  

On 10th of February, Captain O’Callaghan in charge of one attack column, burnt Gilli-Gilli , the frontier Benin Village; and  with further reinforcement of about eighty men, searched the area with volleys and some rounds from the maxim, burnt down Gwatto and ‘after burning down the entire village retired to his boats at the waterside’;  returning four days later on the 14th of February to occupy it.  The Benin soldiers continued to engage British troops till the 18^th of February. Captain O’Callaghan left Gwatto on 27^th February, spending 17 days in total at the fighting post.

Another column advanced from Ilogbo on 12^th February, they were immediately engaged by Benin soldiers and found advancement towards Benin very slow on account of this. As Benin soldiers were invisible, the maxim was employed to clear the path. On 18^th February, as the British neared Benin, about some 300 hundred yards, they bombarded it with rockets, volleys and shells from their maxim and seven pounders. It was on getting into the city that any Benin soldier was actually seen, causing the British much trouble (Boisragon p. 181); at this point  the British yet again suffered  more casualties.  He went on to add ‘After six days hard marching and fighting, in the most extreme heat, the men were naturally exhausted.’ (Boisragon p.182); this differs from the account reported back in Britain that it took 8hours of fighting to capture Benin.

Whilst the British in their accounts back to the British press, put their casualty figures at four whites, including Dr Fyfe, killed, and 16 whites wounded with 9 blacks wounded, 130,000 Benin soldiers were mowed down by the maxim not including innocent citizens killed by rockets.

Boisragon admitted  that ‘The whole force was engaged for the remainder of 19^th, 20^th and 21^st in clearing the city as much as possible.’; for as Captain Bacon stated ‘ We found the  town quite deserted, every inhabitant had decamped.’  They in effect spent three days on a burring spree around town, burning every structure they suspected was to do with the king and his chiefs. There was perhaps some sense in this for the city needed to be cleansed of dead rotting bodies from their maxims devastations.  The British however twisted the truth to point at ‘sacrificial and crucifixion trees’ and ‘the whole of the Juju houses’, (pp.184) the stuff Indiana Jones movies were made of.  

It is safe at this point to argue with the evidence now before us that the claims by the British that Benin was full of dead bodies from the king’s human sacrifices were indeed those of the thousands of victims who were slaughtered by the maxims, volleys and rockets from the British.

“The one lasting remembrance of Benin in my mind.” Wrote Commander Bacon, the intelligence officer, later, “is its smells, crucifixions, human sacrifices, and every horror the eye could get accustomed to...  “Blood was everywhere.”

This situation could only have resulted from the dead bodies left by the British maxims and seven pounders. One can imagine the horrors that met the Benin people’s eyes when faced with such terror and which forced them to evacuate or be killed. It must however be acknowledged that those British officials did a very good job in covering their tracks by pointing their guilty blood stained fingers at the King of Benin.

Savage brutes were savage brutes, no matter their mission.  It sounds so weird when Pot calls Kettle ‘Black’.

Oba Ghato; Okpere!

Ise!

Long live the king!

Integrity of a Kingdom

Obokhain (Welcome)

I would now like to reflect on some very positive points coming out from my previous blogs, specifically regarding the King and the Kingdom of Benin and their relationships with both their subjects and their neighbours.

It is very reassuring to note that all accounts of Benin (Edo) Kings show them as very able and industrious e.g. one of them mentioned learnt to speak Portuguese as a child and Omo n'Oba n'Edo Ovonramwen (see blog of British view of His Majesty).

Captain Alan Boisragon in his book The Benin Massacre (1898) in the history of Benin account states: ‘ Benin seems to have been a kingdom from time immemorial, anyway from before, its discovery by the Portuguese, somewhere at the end of the fourteenth or beginning of the fifteenth century. By their discoveries, the Portuguese for a long time had all the benefits to be obtained by trade from West Africa. They were followed some time after by the Dutch and Swedes.’ In 1553, when the first British Captain Pinteado and others visited the King’s Court,, they were accorded a most friendly welcome by the king, who spoke in Portuguese to them offering them favourable trading terms.

All these visitors described Benin as a magnificent city.

Description of Benin started to change when the British intentions turned from trading to colonisation. The King now becomes ‘Savage Potentate’ and Benin City full of decapitated bodies of human sacrifice.

Although Captain Boisragon makes lots of derogatory comments about the King and his Chiefs, throughout the book, it is prudent for us knowing why he did this to note some facts that cannot be ignored and which are supported by other writers and the Benin people themselves. On Page 180 he states: ‘ I was also told by an officer who was present that it was reported that the King and his Juju men had actually remained in Benin up to this time but that a rocket coming fairly near them made them decide to quit.’ We know from accounts of the Benin themselves that the city was evacuated by the King and his Chiefs and they stayed behind to ensure that all inhabitants had left for the neighbouring countrysides of the Kingdom’s domain e.g. Uromi . This account is confirmed by Admiral Sir Reginald Bacon. A Naval Scrap-Book, First part 1877- 1900 (1925): 197 – 207 ‘On further acquaintance we found the town quite deserted, every inhabitant had decamped.’

Further on, on page 183 Captain Boisragon continues ’ Nearly all the boxes and stores of our unfortunate expedition were found almost intact in the King’s Palace, but unluckily were burned by a fire which broke out on the 21^st of February and burned most of the town.’

It s worth noting here that the King kept the Britsh expedition boxes and stores in his Palace for safe keeping, even at the point of provocation, he still maintained integrity of not allowing their property to be stolen or vandalised. The British on the other hand, burned and looted his palace, high ranking officials’ homes and the city itself. It should not be a point of difficulty for anyone with any sense of decency to judge who the savage was in this case.

What do these accounts tell us?

1.      Sir Bacon in his scrap-book and on the Benin rainforest ' All is very lovely, very silent, very weird, and apparently a vast waste of vegetable production.' We now know that the Edos (Benin) protected and safeguarded their precious rainforest, a virtue alien to the British knowledge at the time.

2.      Benin nobility have maintained integrity throughout history e.g. they never engaged in slave trading for profit, they were rich enough and did not need to make money at the expense of other human beings; only dangerous criminals who would otherwise have been banished from the kingdom were ever exchanged.

3.      The Benin nobility ensured conquered countries and areas retained their sovereignty and cultures, and as such did not see the need to colonise people so long as they paid the agreed tribute. Benin miltary was quite formidable.

4.      The king would never have knowingly signed any protectorate treaty with the British (he was tricked into this by Captain Gallwey). This was the reason they began to make up fictitious stories about him and the kingdom in order to gain support back home for some military action.

5.      The king and his chiefs vigorously defended their people’s way of life e.g. Mr Phillip's fate when he wouldn't listen to reason.

6.      The king and his chiefs were selfless in ensuring their people’s safety and well being. As stated above, they were the last to evacuate the city when the British struck.

7.      Knowing what we now know about this great Kingdom and its kings over time, it is my view that the time is right to accord them the credit they deserve.

Is it time for all museums, educational institutions and private holders of the Benin Bronze plaques,  in addition to the great work they already do regarding maintaining publicity and keeping memories alive on them, now ensure that, these do not continue to be seen only as Benin Art but as a record of history of a great Kingdom with the same status as any other.

Yes, Kingdoms come and go but each of their stories should continue to be told in books, films, the theatre and through oral accounts.

Oba Ghato; Okpere!

Ise!

Long Live the King!

Alike Intent

Obokhain (Welcome)
It has been very illuminating to discover just how alike the Great Kingdom of Benin was to Great Britain in terms of their efforts to provide for their people and specifically in the different ways they employed to control trade and commerce in their domain.

Whilst the Benin Kingdom relied on annual tributes from all neighbouring countries, allowing them their sovereignty; the British disbanded existing governing systems, replacing them with theirs, exploited local resources including people and selling ‘Made in Britain’ products back to them.

 Captain Alan Boisragon in his Book 'The Benin Massacre' said that all the neighbouring West African countries sent an annual subsidy or tribute to induce the king to keep the trade route open, the captain also acknowledged  that: ‘The country (Kingdom of Benin), is rich in all kinds of produce,  palm oil,  Kernels, rubber, timber, kola nut etc’. Mr Moor, the Consul General, who accompanied the punitive expedition (Feb. 1897) in an interview with the Reuter's Special Service on January 16th 1897 in the Guardian newspaper publications , said; 'The military operation will lead to ‘... the opening up of trade routes which have so long been closed to European enterprise by the savage potentate'. He forgot the point that the savage potentate controlled all trade in the area and that these arrangements had been in place for centuries on account of Benin military might and in providing assistance to neighbours who needed help defeating invaders and in some cases, slavers from the North who burnt down their villages and took their people away as captives to be sold to European slavers.  

Unlike the British, the king of Benin and his chiefs, respected others rights to their sovereignty and maintenance of their cultures; Benin never sought to colonise other countries though it could have easily done so, had it wished. Ensuring an affluent and rich country for their people was more important to the Benin nobility, we know this was the case from all the accounts available e.g. by Captain Boisragon above. This we should say was also Britsh intent. The British on the other hand, disposed of the kings and local chiefs and in most cases, burnt down entire villages and countryside just to control trade and colonise others.

Some people would argue that both countries were same but different and even go further by contending that the King of Benin and his chiefs were more humane in achieving this intention of achieving riches and comfort for the people. It is very telling how the British then chose to label the Benin king as ‘savage potentate’ and themselves as ‘saviour of the natives’. I think the jury is still out on that one.  

Oba Ghato; Okpere !

Ise!

Long Live the King!



That Massacre: Reactions in Britain

Obokhain (Welcome)

The more I research the exact events that took place on both sides (the Benin and the British) leading up to and including 1897, the more intrigued I become, take the below for instance.  

From the Guardian publications of Jan. 14 1897 on The Benin Massacre on the Latest News at the Foreign Office/ Reason for hope /  Interview with Sir John Kirk

London Wednesday Evening

The only news the government received suggested that there were no survivors of the massacre beyond a few native carriers, as such, they continued to treat the reported disaster as unconfirmed and was not planning on taking any steps towards organising a punitive expedition before the end of the week. The article went on to say ‘ there is reason to believe that it has been settled in principle that it will be neither advisable nor necessary to send troops from England to take part in the punitive expedition; but it is generally understood in military quarters that the services of a battalion of the West India Regiment would be utilised. It went on to say the expedition would start, if at all, in the first week in March.

Sir John Kirk a government official who had been sent to inquire into a disturbance in a part of the Niger coast, speaking to a Central News representative when asked if he could account in any way for the attack said that he could only suppose that the natives misunderstood the object of the expedition and assumed it to be a war party. He added that nothing was known yet as to why the party went or what authority they had to go, he went on further to say ‘I do not know why, with their experience, they ventured on such an expedition. We must wait for further information but I am quite sure that the men who have fallen could have given a very good reason for going.’

Liverpool Wednesday article stated, ‘the belief is strong in many quarters in Liverpool that, if not all of them, at least some of the white men of the Benin expedition are alive.’

So what do we know about the expedition, who authorised it and why?

Mr Philips, Acting Consul General had just taken over the administration of the protectorate from Captain Gallwey. It was no secret around the coast that he was planning a peaceful mission to Benin, in fact ‘the men were full of it, and anxious to learn something of the place.’ Mrs Boiaragon giving news of her husband’s survival in an interview, stated on the reason why the party had gone to Benin as ‘Mr. Philip the Deputy Commissioner and Consul General for the Niger Coast Protectorate, was very anxious to see the city, which had been described as abounding in curiosities;’, she added that she had also gathered from the letter from her husband that Mr Philips might have had the additional object of meeting the king with a view to opening up commercial relations. He had obviously instigated other men to come along with him.

What do we know about Mr Philips?

He was a 33 year old solicitor  who had graduated ten years previously(1887); he was educated at Uppinham and Cambridge. After qualifying as a solicitor and working for sometime, he saw better openings for his career in the colonies, he therefore got a job as sheriff on the Gold Coast in 1891, a year later (1892), he was appointed Deputy Commissioner and Consul General in the Niger Coast Protectorate, when he went back to Britain on holiday, he informed his friends about how pleased he was about his prospects in the colonies. He was described as a man of physique, vigour and resource. Mr Philip was no doubt a very ambitious man who saw lots of prospects for himself on the West African coast and where better to prove himself than at sorting out a difficult local king.  

So what did happen?  Different accounts were reported back to Britain:

A correspondent of the London ‘Evening News,’ telegraphing from Lagos at 3.15 on 21^st Jan 1987 morning gave details of the  Expedition to the king of Benin, as nine British officers, and 200 carriers (other accounts report 250); landing from canoes, the carriers with presents and clothing and food, were sent ahead, whilst the officers proceeded slowly. When ten miles had been covered the officers suddenly came to a narrow point where dead bodies were heaped up on the road. Whilst viewing these frightful spectacles, the officers were suddenly surrounded and attacked. , Messers Philips, Crawford, Elliot, Maling, Campbell, Gordon and Powis were killed.  Captain Boiaragon and Mr locke though badly wounded, escaped into the bush.

In an interview on February 10, Mr Locke one of the survivors  reported ‘a place had been cleared in the bush, and the men, with guns, were lying down with the muzzles of their long flintlocks...’

He reported attack in a clearing as opposed to a narrow road in the first account above it.

How did people react to the news back in Britain?

Liverpool Reuter’s correspondence interview of Jan 18 1897 included in an article  with a gentleman  who had considerable experience both as an explorer and a trader in west Africa, he stated quite confidently that unless killed in actual fighting, white people’s lives were seldom scarified by African leaders and expressed the hope that the British official would have been taken captive rather than killed, he added that when expeditions are not perceived as hostile, white delegates are well received.

What else do we know?

Jan 16 – Reuter’s Agency stated that The Royal Niger Company  had not received any details on safety or otherwise of Mr Locke and Captian Boiaragon. Both men had however, sent telegraphs of their safety to relatives rather than their employers or the government.

On Friday Night in London, news of their escape was well received in official quarters who were anxious to establish full explanations of the causes which led to the disaster. They stated that Captain Boiaragon as the senior surveying officer in the service of the crown would be tried formally by court-martial, when of course; all the facts of the case would be placed on official record. Someone was to face a disciplinary for this.

Liverpool Friday Night news article stated that despite the official telegrams, the news of the escape of Mr Locke and Captian Boiaragon gave rise to further hopes that there may well be other survivors. People remained hopeful at home.

We also know from Reuter’s Special Service article from London, Tuesday Evening Jan 13 1897 that ‘The cabinet sat from 3.30 till about six o’clock this afternoon, and there is still reason to believe that Ministers had under consideration the massacre of the Benin expedition.’ The article continues; ‘As the result of the inquiry in official quarters it was intimated that though to discuss the line to be pursued would be premature, but it was perfectly obvious that in the event of the fact of murder or detention of British officials being established, steps would be taken to effect their release or to punish the murderers. There was still no news by 7.00pm.

We further know that despite pressures from the likes of Mr Philip to invade Benin, e.g. He had written a letter in 1896 to Lord Salisbury, the British foreign secretary for approval to invade Benin and dispose of its king writing ‘I would add that I have reason to hope that sufficient ivory would be found in the king’s house to pay the expenses incurred in removing the king from his stool.’ The British government had been reluctant up to this point to do so, but now its hand's been forced due to Mr Philip’s reckless actions.

 Most important of all, we know that people back in Britain, had no idea of Mr Philip’s intentions  and did not at any point entertain thoughts that any white person would have been killed by any Africans unless under war conditions. Mr Philip had openly created a war condition with the Benin when he defied all advice to respect Benin culture at an important celebration time.

This insight sheds light on the other side of the coin of the colonisation and empire building story; yes bad things happened but these were not due to government plans or errors, individual officers were mostly responsible and accordingly, should be held individually accountable for their actions in the history records.