Benin History: The Historical Background Of Benin

In the late fifteenth century the Portuguese were expanding its kingdom in Africa where it tapped into the existing gold and slave trades of the western Sudan and West Central Africa (Ehret 339). By the early sixteenth century, the Americas became a major player in the global commerce system as the Spanish and Portuguese began to carve at the land and importing and exporting sugar, tobacco, and slaves. Slaves in this moment were the chief commodity that the Portuguese sought from West Central Africa as they provided the free labor that was needed to cultivate and maintain sugar plantations in the Americas. However, the slave trade was not a one-sided system, in fact many African elites, like King Afonso a Nzinga of the Kongo allowed for the buying and selling of African people to Europeans. In other words, Europeans traded with Africa because Africa allowed it to happen, however, there are moment when the demand overshadowed the supply. The slave trade and its many complications is one way in understanding the expanding commercial exchanges between Europeans and West Central Africans during the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. This essay will analyze the letters King Afonso Nzinga wrote to the King of Portugal, Joao

Using the Hofstede model of comparison, I will be comparing the culture of my home country, that is, the Republic of Benin and the United States of America. First, I will do a little background of Benin and the USA. Benin is located in West Africa and is in between Togo and Nigeria. Its official language is French mainly because it was colonized by France during the colonial period. Its population is 10 million and it is considered a developing country. On the other hand, the USA is located in North America. Some of its neighbors are Canada, Mexico and the Bahamas. Its population is 321 million and English is its official language. The USA economy is the world's largest national economy. The location, population, national language and

Culture is one of the most relevant elements that can define not only a society but also a country’s cumulative beliefs and system. Often noted as the origins of a country, culture is definitive in the sense that it harbors all the elements that can provide justification on the traditions and norms set by the society for its members. More often than not, the society members follow norms in order to create a harmonious community, and the beliefs and the traditions serve as the poles or grounding rules for each member to follow. Culture is very dynamic in the way that it can change over a variety of foreign influences but what is permanent about it is that original elements about it often lingers with the influences, therefore making it multi-faceted and broad. More importantly, culture serves as an individual and unique trait each society has, and therefore sets it apart from other countries and other societies.

In Africa, there were achievements in the empires and their cities before the Europeans arrived and maintained control. In the Kingdom of Ghana they had characteristics of powerful nations today and made fortunes due to the gold and salt trade. In the city of Timbuktu they had great stories, and developed the center of Art. There are also many other things that Africa achieved in.

In chapter 19 memories and experiences play a role in transitioning from one place to another. Chapter 19 starts off with Ishmael transitioning from Benin Home to live with his uncle Tommy and his family. This transition would seem effortless and simple to the naked eye because Beah is now connected with a part of his family. However for Ishmael it was more difficult than it would appear. On page 182 Ishmael describes his first night, “I sighed sitting alone on the verandah. I was no longer nervous, but I missed Benin Home.” (Ishmael Beah 182). 1. How do Ishmael’s memories and experiences hold him back from now being happy in his new home and life? Ishmael has a tough time with his new life because there is so much the others don’t know about

Europeans who visited Benin described both the size and scale. The structure was positioned near the courtyards with galleries and supporting pillar. As previously mentioned plaques were made in pairs/series and attached to pillars. These plaques illustrate carious aspects of the life in Benin during the 16th century. This is the period when Europe first encountered West Africa. The plaques tell the stories of Benin’s people meeting the Portuguese traders and their protectors who looked different. The Portuguese were indicators of the king’s abilities.

It is proposed to show that the ethos of European colonial expansion largely defined and classified Benin art and dictated how it should be interpreted and displayed when first seen in European

The Mali Empire began when a small Malinke kingdom within the Ghana Empire grew ever more powerful.

Benin is a French-speaking country in West Africa. It is a fascinating place and is the birthplace of the vodun or “voodoo” religion. It’s also home to the former Dahomey Kingdom dating from 1600 – 1900. Even though it is a small country it does have a few large cities and beckons to tourist to explore its impressive architecture, museums and markets. A trip here will bring you many adventures, a look at amazing wildlife and relaxing on great beaches.

There were many medieval African civilizations that were significant. The few that I am going to discuss are the Nok, the Benin Empire and the Ghana Empire. Evidence shows that the Nok culture existed as early as 1000 BC. The Nok culture is known for their terracotta sculptures. Most Nok sculptures are hollow and made from local clay. They used a mixture of clay and water called slip, to give the pottery an even surface and glossy finish. The sculptures were usually human or animals with large heads. Some of the detail on the human sculptures give us an idea of what the people looked like in the Nok society. The art of the Benin Empire is known as royal art. The Oba or King was very involved in the art of this time. Bronze casting was the art

In the late 15th and early 16th centuries, Portuguese pushed into the Atlantic World in search of laborers and luxury goods, both of which they found in West Africa (AW 54). Initially these “adventurers”, as they were called, would simply kidnap people for labor from the coasts (AW 58). However, after

Unlike the first reading, I found this to be a much more accurate and enlightening recount of Voodoo as it is stated in the paper “in many ways, the study of witchcraft is really the study of the whole of a culture.” What made this piece a better read was the real life depiction of witchcraft in Benin and a relatively unbiased approach, where the first two works by Forbes and St. John were littered with racist overtones and over exaggeration. The background information about how àzě and bǒ were different was fascinating, especially in relation to social structures and gender roles. However, the thing that I found to be the most intriguing were the descriptions of bǒ recipes. I was surprised how simple and logical these recipes were, in a non-conventional

The Republic of Niger, a poor, landlocked country, located in the heart of Sub-Saharan West Africa. Niger has seen its fair share of change throughout the decades; moving away from the control of the French Parliament in 1960, Niger formally declared its independence. Despite this bold act of independence, Niger would not see its first steps towards democracy until the early 1990’s, when they held their first open election as a free state. However, even with the empowerment of the people in a democratic government, Niger has seen itself nearly torn apart as a result constant coups, that have occurred as recently as 2010. Such instability has led to incredulous amounts of corruption and poverty, within the Niger government. This lack of stability and constant turnover in government, has been a driving factor behind the lack of resources available for education in Niger.

The histories of Ghana, Mali, and Songhai are not well documented. Much of what we know is a mixture of legend, stories and secondhand accounts. North Africa has small coastal areas, some savanna areas, but it is mostly made up of the sahara desert. It is a very dry and hot region. West Africa has some desert areas, wet and dry grasslands, small rainforest, and long rivers, like the Niger River. It has some vegetation areas, but it also has some dry and hot areas. According to legend, Ghana started when a foreigner named Dhinga had to kill a goblin, and marry the goblins pretty daughters. Their offspring became ancestors of the ruling Soninke clans. After he died, his son Dyabe defeated his brother and founded the empire of Ghana somewhere

This paper reflects the novel “Things Fall Apart” written by Chinua Achebe in 1958. Achebe gives an overview of pre-colonialism and post-colonialism on Igbo, detailing how local traditions and cultural practices can “fall apart” in some scenarios through some introduced, externally created hassles elevated because of colonization. The protagonist named Okonkwo mentioned in the story is a proof showing the lifestyle of the tribe. My main objective and focus is to lay emphasis on Africa specifically the Igbo society, before and after the arrival of the Europeans in Umuofia community; the results of their arrival concerning Igbo culture, thus leading to the clash of cultures between the two categories. I will also draw on post-colonialism with respect to globalization.