Benin, West Africa (KS2)
Teaching the Kingdom of Benin at KS2? A West African kingdom with a walled capital, a powerful royal court, and metalwork so fine that European visitors assumed it must have been made elsewhere. It’s the least commonly taught of the three non-European society options, which makes it a real point of difference.
What children learn about Benin, West Africa, at KS2
What the national curriculum expects
Benin is one of three options named in the KS2 history curriculum for a study of a non-European society that provides contrasts with British history. The curriculum’s specific reference is Benin (West Africa) c. AD 900-1300, alongside Mayan civilisation c. AD 900 and early Islamic civilisation including Baghdad c. AD 900. Schools choose one. As with the other options, the study is built on contrast with Britain in the same period.
Key knowledge and concepts
Within this topic, children build knowledge across the kingdom, its people and its art:
Where and when
Where Benin was, and how it compares in time with Britain
Benin City
The capital, its walls, and how the city was laid out
The oba
The role of the king, and how power was held
Everyday life
Homes, food, work and family in the kingdom
Guilds and craftspeople
How skilled work was organised and passed on
The Benin Bronzes
How they were made, and what they recorded
Trade and contact
Trade across Africa, and the arrival of European traders
A contested history
The 1897 expedition, and the debate about where the Bronzes belong today
Where this topic sits within KS2
The National Curriculum doesn’t set a year group. The non-European society study can be placed wherever it suits a school’s long-term plan. The final card here touches on colonialism and restitution, which many schools find works better in upper KS2.
How to access this topic
The Kingdom of Benin doesn’t sit on its own in the curriculum. The Cornerstones history curriculum is fully sequenced from EYFS through Year 1 to Year 6, so you can see what comes before, what follows and how the whole picture fits together. We’ve done the thinking, so your planning time goes into teaching, not sequencing.
Full curriculum
Subject curriculum
Quick Teach Individual lessons and resources for supplementing what you already teach.
Ready to bring the wider curriculum to life?
See how the full Cornerstones History Curriculum sequences topics like this one across every year group.