Dan Hicks

The idea of the city of blood was associated with Benin City.

The idea of the city of blood was associated with Benin City.

The idea of the city of blood was associated with Benin City.

Without a doubt, you know, this was a royal court that continued to practice forms of court slavery, almost certainly forms of human sacrifice. But these descriptions often lacked any kind of context.

Without a doubt, you know, this was a royal court that continued to practice forms of court slavery, almost certainly forms of human sacrifice. But these descriptions often lacked any kind of context.

Without a doubt, you know, this was a royal court that continued to practice forms of court slavery, almost certainly forms of human sacrifice. But these descriptions often lacked any kind of context.

And they've got barbed wire, and they've got electric lighting, and they've got all these sort of modern forms of weaponry.

And they've got barbed wire, and they've got electric lighting, and they've got all these sort of modern forms of weaponry.

And they've got barbed wire, and they've got electric lighting, and they've got all these sort of modern forms of weaponry.

I think the sheer scale of the destruction is something that's hard to get a sense of.

I think the sheer scale of the destruction is something that's hard to get a sense of.

I think the sheer scale of the destruction is something that's hard to get a sense of.

The fact that this was a desecration of a religious as well as a royal landscape, and that literally they burned everything to the ground. They absolutely, you know, leveled the place to the ground.

The fact that this was a desecration of a religious as well as a royal landscape, and that literally they burned everything to the ground. They absolutely, you know, leveled the place to the ground.

The fact that this was a desecration of a religious as well as a royal landscape, and that literally they burned everything to the ground. They absolutely, you know, leveled the place to the ground.

A golf course? Yeah, yeah, there's a golf course there within the first month.

A golf course? Yeah, yeah, there's a golf course there within the first month.

A golf course? Yeah, yeah, there's a golf course there within the first month.

So it's a chaotic three-four. They were taken back to London by soldiers and sailors and administrators. Some kept in families over generations, some sold immediately on the open market. And so within weeks, the artworks, items that were royal, sacred, ancestral art, were being bought up in Berlin, in London, in Oxford, and were being put on display. And the message was very clear.

So it's a chaotic three-four. They were taken back to London by soldiers and sailors and administrators. Some kept in families over generations, some sold immediately on the open market. And so within weeks, the artworks, items that were royal, sacred, ancestral art, were being bought up in Berlin, in London, in Oxford, and were being put on display. And the message was very clear.