---

1485: The Oba of Benin begins diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Portugal.

The initial encounter between Portuguese explorers and the West African coast in 1472 was one of distant observation and tentative naming.

Just over a decade later, this relationship evolved into something far more profound and formal. In 1485, a significant diplomatic milestone was reached: the Oba of Benin and the King of Portugal initiated official diplomatic relations.

This was not a fleeting trade meeting; it was the beginning of a sustained, complex, and mutually recognized partnership between two powerful, sovereign states—one of the earliest such relationships between a European power and a sub-Saharan African kingdom.

The driving force behind this formal outreach was the Portuguese king, John II, a monarch known as “the Perfect Prince” for his vigorous support of exploration and trade. Having consolidated trading posts along the Gold Coast (modern Ghana), he looked eastward towards the prosperous and rumored Kingdom of Benin.

He dispatched an envoy, most likely João Afonso de Aveiro, who successfully reached Benin City and was granted an audience with the Oba, probably Oba Ozolua, “the Conqueror.”

The reception in Benin City was a meeting of two worlds, each with its own sophisticated protocols and conceptions of power. The Portuguese envoy would have been struck by the scale and order of the city, its massive walls, and the elaborate court ritual.

The Oba, seated in majesty amidst his chiefs and adorned in coral regalia, would have viewed the Portuguese as strange, distant traders from across the water, potentially useful but not superior.

The success of this mission hinged on the envoy’s ability to navigate this courtly etiquette and present his king as a peer worthy of dialogue.

The motivations for this alliance were strategic for both parties. For the Oba of Benin, the Portuguese offered:

· New Prestige Goods: Access to exotic items like Portuguese coral (which differed from the local type), heavy brass manillas (which became the raw material for the famed Benin Bronzes), velvet, silk, and beads. These goods could be redistributed to loyal chiefs, reinforcing the Oba’s power and wealth.
· Military Technology: The Portuguese brought muskets and cannons. For a expansionist ruler like Oba Ozolua, who was actively engaged in military campaigns, this new technology was a potential game-changer.
· International Recognition: Establishing formal ties with a distant European kingdom enhanced the Oba’s prestige and placed Benin on a wider geopolitical map.

For the Kingdom of Portugal, the relationship promised:

· Direct Access to Prized Commodities: The primary goal was to bypass Saharan middlemen and acquire highly valued Benin pepper, as well as ivory and high-quality cotton cloth.
· A Strategic Ally: A formal relationship with the most powerful state in the region provided security for Portuguese ships and a reliable base for operations.
· Religious Influence: There was a genuine, though secondary, hope of converting the Oba and his people to Christianity, thereby gaining a Christian ally in West Africa.

The most remarkable evidence of this deep cultural exchange is not just in written records, but in art. In the early 16th century, Benin’s royal ivory carvers began producing a series of stunning artifacts for the Portuguese market.

These included saltcellars, hunting horns, and most famously, ivory bracelets (manillas) intricately carved with the images of Portuguese soldiers, their distinctive facial features, beards, and European-style swords and muskets clearly depicted.

These objects are a testament to the Edo artists’ genius, synthesizing a new, hybrid iconography to cater to their new trading partners. They are not mere copies; they are Benin interpretations of European subjects, filtered through a masterful indigenous aesthetic.

This period of diplomacy also saw the Oba send his own ambassadors to the Portuguese court, a clear sign of a relationship between equals. A Benin chief is recorded as traveling to Lisbon and returning fluent in Portuguese, serving as a crucial interpreter and liaison.

However, this era of relative mutual benefit was not to last. The Portuguese demand for enslaved laborers for their plantations on São Tomé began to grow, putting pressure on the relationship.

Initially, the Oba restricted the sale of male slaves, understanding the importance of his own population. Over time, the corrosive influence of the slave trade and the increasing pressure from other European powers would eventually erode this unique diplomatic partnership, twisting it into the more extractive and violent colonial relationships that would follow.

But for a brief, significant period in the late 15th and early 16th centuries, the Oba of Benin and the King of Portugal engaged as two monarchs, recognizing in each other a power worth respecting and a partnership worth cultivating.

---