The political economy of warfare in nineteeth century Benin kingdom

Abstract

This paper examines how the interactions of politics and economy influenced the changing perspective on warfare in nineteenth century Benin Kingdom. The study investigates how the combined political and economic behaviour of Benin affected the rebuilding of military power as instrument of political policy in furtherance of economic interests. The economic situation which arose as a result of changes in nineteenth century international trade, the internal and external pressures on the Benin Empire, and the difficulty of enforcing tribute or suppressing revolts exerted continuous force on the ruling aristocracy to rethink their perspective on warfare. This led to reforms in the military organization in response to the political exigencies of the century, which also considered war as a means of recovery, leading to the rebuilding of the military strength considered to be fully adequate for the range of tasks it was expected to perform.