Foreign trade in Benin Kingdom: A rethink of the historical evolution of trading norms in Africa

African societies and institutions developed structures and norms that embodied the uniqueness of their own trading arrangements even before the consolidation of European rule in the region. This chapter focuses on trading interactions between Benin Kingdom and foreign traders (including traders from Europe and Africa) in this era. This chapter focuses on the period immediately prior to British conquest of Benin Kingdom in 1897. This chapter discusses some of the indigenous trading devices or mechanisms including the role of guilds (for example, trading associations), credit or trust system and the role of the Oba (king) in trade or commerce in Benin. Hence, this chapter argues the trading practices of Benin were dissimilar to what was operational in Europe yet legible – to Europeans who engaged in trading interactions with Benin Kingdom in this era. This chapter argues that three distinct concepts of legal systems that govern trade between Benin and other polities including Africans and Europeans in 15th -19th centuries (before the consolidation of European rule in the region) can be extrapolated from some of the direct testimony of primary sources and concrete examples from the secondary literature. First, a sort of customary trans-jurisdictional code of conduct within a specific trade or profession (this is reflected in trading associations in Benin including traders involved in long-distance trade from Benin). This was a key aspect of the regulation of trade between Benin and its neighbours. Second, is royal or state law. These are laws promulgated by the ruler or government of the polity and which are specific to a jurisdiction. In the context of Benin, the Oba was the epicentre of royal law or customary norms. Third, is a special body of law developed through commercial treaties or agreements to regulate interactions between two states and their nationals (for example, the commercial agreement between the Dutch and Benin in the 18th century). Hence, the regulation of trade in Benin appears to have elements of all three concepts. This chapter analyses how trade in Benin was governed by these three distinct sets of laws and how certain aspects of these legal systems proved legible to European traders. The role of the Oba was integral to the success of the legal frameworks on trade in Benin.
This chapter utilises the functional approach to comparative legal methodology. The research methodology adopted was heavily influenced by the research objectives explored in the chapter.