Cotton, Slavery and a Decline of Wealth

Ancient Benin’s economy was once thriving due to it’s agricultural resources, metal art and its exportation of native people as slaves. It was truly a combination of traded goods, in which each contributed to its economic status from the eighteenth to the early twentieth century and even into present day Benin. The location of Benin, situated along the coast of West Africa, largely influenced its position with European trade, as its coastal ports provided a easy access for these transactions.

From the African Fashion Guide

Cotton was and remains Benin’s primary natural resource, annually producing between, “250,000 and 400,000 tons” (2). The lower-income farmers in rural villages depended on this source of agricultural income which was used to produce fine clothing, not only for the Beninese, but also for the Europeans with whom they had a business relationship of trade. The kings of Benin were known for their ornate ensembles, often adorned in elaborate clothing, which is no surprise considering the people were experts of the clothing craft. Today, Benin continues to rely on its cotton export as, “cotton accounts for between 50 and 70 percent of export revenues in Benin” (2).

From the International Reporting Project 

Benin was also known for their intriguing artwork, curated from metals. Although it can be assumed these metals were natural resources, they were, in fact, acquired from different regions Africa. Brass coins, which were traded by the Europeans for Benin’s slaves, were, “often melted down and used in the production of bronze and brass goods, including the bronze plaques, and the finished works might then be exported back to Europe” (1). 

An example of the bronze plaques, from the Hamill Gallery 

Although the exportation of cotton contributed to Benin’s economy, what predominately influenced the development of their trade routes during the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries was the king’s willingness to sell his own people. In fact, as is explained in Reader’s text, in 1763, it was estimated that, “10,000 to 12,000 slaves were exported annually” (3).

Benin was a nation saturated with wealth during this era due to their dominance and power against other neighboring African nations. Because they were so willing to trade their people as slaves, they acquired weapons - guns - from the Europeans which allowed for their progression as a affluent and powerful region. Reader evidences this as he explains that, “in 1770 the king demanded customs duty to the value of 14.5 salves from every ship wishing to trade at Ouidah and his merchandise was value at the rate of 25 guns” (3).

Today, however, Benin is far from the economically wealthy state it once was. After a collapse of the kingdom and in most recent decades, a struggle to export its cotton due to outside influences and regulations, Benin’s population struggles with poverty, permanently affected by the consequences of its submission to European authority. Although, at the time, the kings believed they did their nation a service in their accumulation of wealth, their time of ruling, in fact, continues to have repercussions today on Benin’s financial state. Because, as Reader addresses, “the slave trade shackled Africa to the commercial and political ambitions of Europe” (3).

1. (2010). The Wealth of Africa: The Kingdom of Benin. The British Museum.

              https://www.britishmuseum.org/pdf/KingdomOfBenin.pdf

2. Glin, L. C., Mol, A. P., Oosterveer, P., & Vodouhê, S. D. (2011). Governing the

              transactional organic cotton network from Benin. Global Networks, 12(3), 333-354.

              doi:10.1111/j.1471-0374.2011.00340.x

3. Reader, J., (1997). Africa. New York: Vintage Books.