Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, depending on when you are checking out this blog. I am continuing the History of Africa Series and this episode is called City States and Civilizations. The run time for this episode is 44:47.
Zeinab Badawi travels to Nigeria and is granted a rare interview with the King of the Benin. The Kingdom of the Benin is in Southern Nigeria. She also meets with the Queen Mother of Lagos and learns about the history of the Yoruba People. She learns more about the Benin Bronzes, these bronzes date back to the 13th Century. She also interviews the Emir of Kano, a ruler in Nigeria’s Muslim city-states, and talks with the former governor of Nigeria’s central bank. Although most Africans live in rural areas, the cities in Africa have their own history. Cities rose in power and even ruled the state. Lagos, Nigeria is regarded as a mega city and is in Nigeria. Zeinab kicks off her exploration in Benin City in Nigeria. She is attending a church where the people have worshiped for hundreds of years. Benin City started off small and eventually evolved into a City-State. Eventually, Benin City would be at the heart of a kingdom. Zeinab interviews the Oba of Benin after careful and official requests. She is given a rare audience. The current Oba used to be an ambassador and brings an international flavor to the Obaship. Zeinab is welcomed into the palace and gives the oba a greeting. The interview proceeds and she learns more about the people of the Benin Kingdom. This section, to me, does not match the interviews Zeinab has done before, so perhaps a bit more context could have been added or it could have been placed later in the episode. I have a sense I am missing something and am not understanding why the interview played out the way it played out. Periodically there are bits of the interview shown in the documentary. Maybe the filmmakers should have considered just running the interview all at once. The next stop Zeinab makes is Benin University and where she talks with one of the professors about the Benin Kingdom. She learns about the establishment of the Benin Kingdom and its people. She learns about the expansion of the Benin kingdom. The Edo people were experts in casting bronzes and there was a guild formed by the second king. Zeinab learns about bronze casting from guild members. Then she goes to the National Museum and learns more about Bronze Casting and the Benin Bronzes. It was interesting to see bronze castings of European Soldiers and learn how the Oba had mercenary soldiers from Portugal. I am sorry Gus, but this section on the Benin Bronzes was very well done. Zeinab explores Lagos and learns about the Yoruba people. The people still pay tribute to the Oba in Benin. About 20 million people live in Lagos and Yoruba people primarily lived in cities. They even established cities in the region. The Yoruba people could produce food surpluses and made money trading too. Although they lived in cities, agriculture still had its place in Yoruba people. One expert about the Yoruba people talks about how farming and urbanization went hand in hand. Zeinab visits the Queen Mother of Lagos. The Queen Mother had her own power and influence and would be regent when the king died and a new king took his place. The Kings of Lagos claimed their kingship through their mother. Zeinab goes into the market with the Queen Mother’s priest. The Queen Mother takes her role seriously and has her own charitable endeavors. The interview with the Queen Mother was so much better in comparison to the interview with the Oba, but then I would have appreciated additional context when it came to that interview. To learn more about this city-state as well as the Emir of Kano, tune into the rest of this episode to find out more. Well, other than the interview with the Oba of Benin, this was a good episode in the History of Africa Series. The interview with the Queen Mother of Lagos was interesting. The producers of this series could have made longer episodes and more episodes, but I have to remind myself that this is a basic history of Africa. I would add this to my documentary list to show in a history classroom.
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The purpose of this blog is to share information on what can be used in a classroom, private school, or home school setting as well as serve as a portfolio of my personal and professional work. The reviews are my opinions and should be treated as such. I just want to provide a tool for teachers to select documentaries for their classrooms. |