British forces destroyed and occupied the city of Benin in present-day Nigeria in retaliation to the killing of a British expeditionary party to the city. The British expedition was on its way to the city despite the Oba (regent) of Benin having refused them entry.

Pre-existing tensions relating to European colonial expansion helps to explain the Kingdom’s actions. The ‘Benin Massacre’ was the casus belli of British retalition. However, it was the wider context of European colonial conquest that informed the sequence of events.

The punitive expedition led to the dissolution of the Kingdom of Benin and further British colonisation of the region.

Benin Bronzes on display at the British Museum

Source: Mike Peel, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons

The centuries old kingdom was infamously looted of the Benin Bronzes that are now on display at the British Museum and other museums around the world.