What are the Benin Bronzes? (6/6)

[MrRobyopunkass]

Before 400ad white ppl only took baths ONCE a year(FACT) they thought it was a sin LMAO. West africa had adcanced astrology and mathmatics in timbuktu while europeons thought the world was flat

[bobbieyardley]

This is really good and well explained!

I was really stuck on homework and wikipidia didn't help a bit.

Then I went onto this video and I hadtons write down! I used this for my Cultural art on the Bennin bronzes. :)

[freebeerfordworkers]

Sure the Africans built great empires invading other countries & seizing their resources which is what every empire does. In the 17th century Benin hired Europeans to bring their cannon to a city they were besieging. They blew down the gates & 10,000 Benin men stormed the place. The Europeans paid with 1 captive woman & 1 bag (sack) of pepper each & went home. What happened to the rest of the defeated is not recorded - like anywhere else in the world really.

[freebeerfordworkers]

@freebeerfordworkers Typo "The Europeans were paid with 1 captive woman & 1 bag (sack) of pepper each & went home.

PS Nothing against Africa but this guy is not even telling half truths.

[Bulllseye2012]

@freebeerfordworkers

"The guy who made this has done similar pieces about British Imperial history"

Indeed. However what you are talking about is history! While what we see here is a revisionist guide to historical reality. It has a liberalisms agenda. If the Brits had been total philistines, they would have been melted for scrape.

[Bulllseye2012]

@freebeerfordworkers

Cont:

At 2.18 it says the bronzes were taken by wayward Nigerian. Which tends to suggest they would have long ago gone. I also like the liberal condemnation European Empires, however no condemnation of Local Empires, no doubt that is alright as they were all Africans.

[freebeerfordworkers]

1.21 Stupidly their weapons were locked away in a trunk"

True the British wanted Benin in their empire but it was a diplomatic mission & the 8-9 officers were told they could only carry revolvers if they were out of sight but it was too hot to wear coats so they did not The column was strung along a mile of track & when the attack with the shooting & beheading of African porters they rushed to get weapons. Their leader shouted "No revolvers gentlemen this is a diplomatic mission"

[freebeerfordworkers]

@freebeerfordworkers 9 officers & 250 porters in not a invasion. A full account by one of the survivors can be read on the web. "1897 Benin Massacre" by Major Crawford Locke Boisragon.

The local officials did want to depose the King of Benin but could not get approval from London so they went in on their own.

The guy who made this has done similar pieces about British Imperial history in other places & seems to get it off by saying "We are crap"

[ThaCerealKilla]

crracker ass crackers need to be exposed

[NewOrleansboii]

Some of the stuff I read on the Internet about Benin, Nigeria, Nok or any other ancient West African civilization I have never heard before. I have always learned in school about ancient empires in Europe and a little about Native Americans like the Aztecs.

History (in Anglo-Saxon majority countries) never teach of any history except its own... not even the Asian empires. I just find it bias, like if the "White man" is the center of the universe. It's nice to learn something new for a change.

[Chrijz]

"The Benin Bronzes are a collection of more than 3000 brass plaques"... Brass is as valuable as gold... not...

[mymarkis666]

@Chrijz It's more sentimental value than monetary value. Black people are often cast as savage beasts with no civilisation of their own, whereas whites are cast as heroic saviors who shared their civilisations with blacks. These brass plaques are remnants of a great black civilisation, that rose to power long before Europeans invaded Africa. Most black people have no clue about the multitude of black civilisations that have risen in Africa because the knowledge has been stolen from them.

[godofthisshit]

@mymarkis666

And it was documented in writings.

[mymarkis666]

@godofthisshit What?

[godofthisshit]

@mymarkis666

I can't remember exactly what I was thinking when I wrote what I wrote, but the reason why people know about other cultures civilizations is because It was documented in writing.

[mymarkis666]

@godofthisshit The entire kingdom of Benin was razed, so I think it's unfair to just assume they didn't have written documents, considering they had the technology to create works of art like the Benin plaques. Someone must've commissioned the plaques to be created. I don't know if a civilisation could become that advanced without some form of written method of communication. If you weren't saying that, my point still remains that these plaques have more sentimental than monetary value.

[godofthisshit]

@mymarkis666

I believe they communicated though the plagues. The Plagues told stories and West Africa had a great Oral tradition. Of course we all know the pluses that written have over an oral tradition, even if it may have been the best in the world.

[mymarkis666]

@godofthisshit Very possible; even in Europe writing was a privilege for the very wealthy alone.

[godofthisshit]

@mymarkis666

Excuse my retardedness, I wrote Plagues instead of Plaques.

On your point: You're right and the only reason so much of Europe had written in the CE is because of Rome. Europe was united in a way by the Roman empire and they "civilized" a lot of the barbarians(in they eyes). 

[mymarkis666]

@godofthisshit Yeah I did wonder what you meant by plagues for a second lol. I think the plaques were more likely commemorating special events that they wished remembered rather then just a throwaway means of communication. It's a shame this city was so completely ravaged; it would've been interesting to know the secrets of this kingdom.

[AkingMcAking]

And when the queen realised that the gift was a stolen good, what did she do? ....sitll kept it, uh???

[TheEviIOyo]

lol why don't they admit the bulk of their force were natives. the whites themselves never beat anyone. they used the gambari to do their dirty work.

[mrstarks06]

These CRAZY-BALDHEADS and their DEVIL philosophies never cease to amaze me

[shonawilleatyou]

this really helped with my art hwk :) thankyou!!! :) 

[Adjei88]

stupidly the weapons were locked away, well if your an EMPIRE,who just destroyed an army you'd feel very confident won't you

[omoibile]

Thank you for your bravery in spreading the truth. When a black person come with such historic fact they quickly want to shut him up, deny and label it racial offense on whites. This is the truth and must be spoken it is part of historic facts about Africa during colonization nothing more.

[DaBlackX]

This video is FAR from "left wing propaganda". That's the common cry of a white American who get's butt-hurt over the truth. Every white nation on Earth that has owned up to their mistakes has become better for doing so. EXCEPT AMERICA, who shifts the blame constantly. The one white founded country that has the biggest issues with race can't own up to their past atrocities? What a surprise.

Wait, not really...

[independenceuk]

I hate the BBC .This is typical left wing anti-british propaganda that they love producing.

[lordhoot1]

Come on then, I assume you're an expert on West African colonial history. Tell us what REALLY happened.

[evbonazenedo]

@Good Video. Educative and informative. Thanks for uploading

[GGLebo23]

@independenceuk Please explain in detail how this is propaganda and not fact? What is the truth if you believe this is a lie? Also explain why you can find many of these Benin Bronzes in UK museums today? Let me guess the Benin people just gave them away correct?

[Xynok111]

@independenceuk um... this is what happened. If you want to believe europeans went to africa to be nice and give out free cuddles you are woefully misinformed. All that about us spreading religion to the heathens is right-wing propaganda. Just because you can't handle the truth doesn't mean others can't.

[SupremekaiD5]

@independenceuk suck it up quit crying when looking at the truth bbc gave you

[justinC504]

@independenceuk Fuck Britian and the Queen

[independenceuk]

Typical left wing propaganda from the BBC.

[Godgenes]

wait the biritsh burned the palace of benin and looted the magnificent bronze plaques? Well if you let the average white tell you the british came as philanthropic messiahs who "saved" africa.  Never mind the fact that thehy know nothing about african history, they feel absolutely confident that the british, french, dutch, germans etc didnt come as CONQUERORS but as highly sophisticated educators and activists saving africa from the darkness which it has plunged!@

[amasonga]

@Godgenes The British or any other European colonial powers never came to Africa to help indigenous Africans. They already in so many years of the slave trade. They came to exploit Africa, once more. Excuses such as Christianization, civilization was a bunch of you know what! One of Africa's most vicious colonial rulers King Leopold II of Belgium at least acknowledges that in one of his first speeches to the missionaries before their "mission" to the Congo.

[Bulllseye2012]

@Godgenes

"whites came into africa they found powerful empires!"

So basically your only real argument here pal, is that it was a white Empire, however according to your moral compass a black one is fine!

"was to bring education and christianity to a hoplessly"

Well they did try! However it looks like the Chinese are involved in the "New Scramble for Africa", as its called. Only they are a shrewd bunch, why bother with the expense of standing army, when you can buy the place.

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 I don't find anything more wrong about the European empires than the Africans. What I find wrong is the stories and hateful spewing of lies like "they were all hunter gatherers and we taught them everything" kind of shit.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"they were all hunter gatherers"

I never said that they were. However what is wrong with hunter gathers , they can teach us a lot about sustainability. You also don’t see these guys starving to death, Unlike pastoralist. Unless someone else has fucked it up for them. Example the Bantu invasion of south Africa or the Botswana Bantu dominated government, trying to steal their land.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

PS I'm Talking about the San

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 What? I don't know of a San empire lol. I was responding to "So basically your only real argument here pal, is that it was a white Empire, however according to your moral compass a black one is fine!". Empires kill empires, that's a given. What's still wrong today is that everyone is told ours never existed.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

cont:

I’ll give you a an example. Lets take Mali, one could look at it from just a local level, then its history in context to the rest of the continent, then the bigger picture as part of the Islamic world. Then the even bigger picture. Intercontinental trade in Gold, which underpinned our ability to develop technologies , which lead to our world today.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"I don't know of a San empire"

Exactly, you seemed to be a bit disparaging about hunter gathers. I find their societies deeply fascinating , and admire those groups that choose to take from modernity what they need from it, yet decide to retain their hunter gather life styles. The San unfortunately were removed/displaced from their land & way of life, by the expansion of pastoral Bantu.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

Cont:

While the Botswana government was forced to return the land to San after thieving it from them. My problem is the way that this bit of leftist propaganda, portrays white Empires, they were no worse then any other empires, at any time in history.



[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 This video doesn't state anything that isn't fact, except perhaps that the Queen was "unknowing" when she accepted the bronze. I can't imagine that, but I dont care about that either way. Regardless, this isn't propaganda. Its a statement of fact. If you find it to slant a different way than you're used to I can understand that, Africa never gets credit for shit. Of course it seems slanted, compared to the norm. Everything else is slanted against Africa.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

I have no argument with you, about metal skills of these people. However this is leftist propaganda. When there are Empires someone is in control & other cultures are dominated, that makes no difference when or where or to whom the empire belongs. Whether that empire be the Roman or Mongol empires or the Asante or Zulu empires.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

You're taking offense with

I take no offence at all. Africans had empires, those empires dominated and subjugated other people & cultures, just like the European ones, just like the Mongol one. What this leftist propaganda is doing is making out, that the empires operating in Africa were white European ones.

Conveniently ignoring the Sub-Saharan African ones, because those empires were Blacks dominating Blacks. Or in the case of the San ethnically cleansing them!

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 I really don't get what you're trying to prove. You state that the "leftist propaganda" (this video) ignored the African empires, yet it both names and emphasizes that Benin grew from a kingdom to an empire. It ignores their subjugation of other Africans because that is not the subject of this video, nor is the empire of Benin around anymore to account for its crimes. This about the British looting Benin, and the fact that white culture still denies African achievements.

[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"nor is the empire of Benin around anymore to account for its crimes."

And neither is the British empire



[Bulllseye2012]

@747t

"However, that is a modern occurence"

Not so! The Bantu expansion occurred about 5k yrs ago and went on for a 1000 yrs. It was a disaster for the more ancient people, not just the San but for the Mbuti group of people. Unfortunately they are still being ethnically cleansed. And did the British Empire exterminate as many Africans as Osei Tutu or Shaka Zulu!

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 If the ethnic cleansing of the San is what troubles you (and similar occurences) then I encourage you in your efforts to spread awareness. It needs to have attention brought to it. However, that is a modern occurence to my knowledge and to bring it up in this video is at the least, confusing. The purpose of this video is not at all to ignore genocide of blacks on blacks, its to spread awareness of cultural achievements that have been ignored. Different subjects.

[747t]

@Bulllseye2012 Before you even respond - Just admit that you're uncomfortable with Africa being given credit for its achievements. Go ahead, it'll make this whole discussion a alot easier (as in OVER). You're taking offense with something which only seeks to reclaim lost ground in the psyches of an oppressed people and of the world on their behalf. Surely we've come far enough now where that can be allowed, or are you just another tool of the empire?

[Godgenes]

But i thought the "white mans burden" was to bring education and christianity to a hoplessly backward and "heathen" african people who never had any art or culture? I dint know once the whites came into africa they found powerful empires! I didnt know they found masterful artists! I didnt know they found economic systems and trade! ANd i sure as hell didnt know they ravaged, raided, ravished raped, exploited, set up aparthiedand burned palaces! I thought they came to help us?

[Godgenes]

White people need to look at this video. Seriously. They continue to be ignorant victims of colonial and imperialism propaganda. Propaganda that taught them before whites went into africa , there were no arts, moral codes, governments, militaries, or religion or architecture. And they sincerely believe-being the ignorant dross most of them are- that whites came to "educate" the blacks of africa.They didnt come as raiders and plunderers but as benevolent christains "civilizing" us lol!

[achilles1963]

Beautiful art