The "Benin Massacre" (January 1897)

The Benin Expedition of 1897 was a punitive expedition led by Sir Harry Rawson of a British force of 1,200 troops in reaction to the ambush of a previous British embassy led by Acting Consul General James Phillips of the Niger Coast Protectorate. Rawson's men conquered and sacked Benin City, effectively ending the Kingdom of Benin, which was later annexed by colonial Nigeria.