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Cultural Encounter In Kingdom Of Benin

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The cultural encounter plays a great role in the exchanging cultures and improve both social and economic factors for any country that goes through such encounter, we have the Kingdom Of Benin for example the British colonization played an important factor in their society in general and on improving their economical wealth in particular, even though there is great advantage from that type of culture encounter, on the other hand The kingdom Of Benin suffered a lot because of that, as the British intentions for Benin was not as a trade but more of a slave trading and taking from them there great works of art they had for themselves, which was a great disadvantage for the Benin people. This culture encounter had a great effect on many talented …show more content…

They started to claim that the art of Benin is a primitive art and just as if they are copying the art of the Egyptians without a talent of their own, I believe that the Benin art might be influenced by other countries, however even if Benin was influenced they are able to …show more content…

Its crystal clear that Benin was not the only one who benefited from this cultural encounter, Britain gained many profits through the period and before the colonization even started, slave trade and using their art as merchandise to sell it to Europe, and displaying the arts in the museums was very profitable as well, they got visitors from all across the world want to uncover the African mystery, they displayed many items like; weapons , boats, bows, knives and statues which presented a great image on the Benin culture, but as any colonization happens to any country there is always the disadvantages, Britain had to justify to the world there colonization to Benin, so they started to call them stupid based on science claims, anthropology which is the scientific study of humanity, ethnography the study of the geographic distribution of ethnic groups and phrenology which is the study of the shape of the cranium, they used those scientific researches to aid them in the way to justify the colonization, as they claimed that they are black, tall or heads where to big so that means that are stupid and deserve to be colonized as if they weren’t to be the world will into their stupidity, they used many tools in order to spread there what so call justification throughout media, newspapers, encyclopedias and books, which made a great contradiction with what they have in museums, how was it possible to have people art displayed in the museum and at the same time they call them stupid,

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