BACK STORY: OFF THE MAP

G The Edo kingdom of Benin, its bronzes in The British Museum, was conquered by Britain in 1897, and has been part of Nigeria ever since – except for that one day in 1967 when it seceded, calling itself the Republic of Benin. Today’s actual Republic of Benin, meanwhile, known as Dahomey until 1975, was a French colony west of Nigeria. Got that?