In 1897, the British launched a brutal invasion of Benin City, looting its treasures and setting it ablaze. , ivory carvings, and palace records were stolen. The city was left in ruins.

Long before London installed street lights, Benin City, an ancient Nigerian capital, had already lit its streets with torches and lamps. Here’s the powerful history.

The Kingdom of Benin was a pre-colonial kingdom in what is now southern Nigeria. In Benin city, the capital of Edo state, the royal bronze casters guild, which was founded in the 13th Century ...

In the late 1960s, as the Biafran War raged to the east, Benin City’s casters revelled in a windfall of spent bullet cartridges. Today, old engine parts are a staple source of raw material.