Cultural Atavism and Adaptation: The Varying Responses to Western Culture in Benin and Warri, 1520-1750

David Aworawo

In the early period of European expansion, many Portuguese explorers, missionaries and merchants traveled southward along the west coast of Africa, reaching Benin in 1485 and Warri shortly thereafter. Adventurers from other European countries followed about a century later, and from the sixteenth century onward, Benin and Warri, like other African states visited by the Europeans, began intensely to witness “the impact of the West.” Located around the Atlantic coast in Southern Nigeria, Benin and Warri were inhabited by diverse groups whose cultures came to be greatly influenced by the activities of the Europeans. Many, including kings and princes, became Christians and learned the Portuguese language. However, whereas European cultural influence endured among the Itsekiri of Warri, it generally did not among the Edo-speaking people of Benin. This was a reflection of the differing perception of the people of European culture up to the mid-eighteenth century.

[WP# 04017]