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The Punitive Expedition of 1897 was a military excursion by a British force of 1200 under Admiral Sir Harry Rawson that captured, burned, and looted the city of Benin, incidentally bringing to an end the highly sophisticated West African Kingdom of Benin. At the time it was regarded in British circles as a justified action of a civilized European Empire in redressing savage native butchery, but historians of the colonial era now view it as more of an overt act of colonial domination, especially in light of the fact that the British colony of Nigeria was set up in much of the land that had previously been controlled by Benin.The sack of Benin distributed the famous Benin bronzes and other works of art into the European art market, as the British Admiralty auctioned off the confiscated patrimony to defray costs of the Expedition. Most of the great Benin bronzes went first to purchasers in Germany, though a sizable group remain in the British Museum, London. The Benin bronzes catalyzed the beginnings of a long reassessment of the value of West African culture, which had strong influences on the formation of modernism.
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Punitive Expedition also refers to U.S. GeneralGeneral is a military rank, in most nations the highest rank, although some nations have the higher rank of Field Marshal. The title is used by land and sometimes air forces. In the navies of the world, the equivalent rank is Admiral. Its equivalent rank John J. PershingJohn Joseph "Black Jack" Pershing ( September 13, 1860 July 15, 1948) was a soldier in the United States Army. Pershing eventually rose to the highest possible rank only held once before by George Washington: General of the Armies. He was born near Lacled's pursuit of Pancho VillaFor information about the boxer, see Pancho Villa (boxer . Jose Doroteo Arango Arambula ( June 5, 1878 July 20, 1923) — better known by his nom de guerre Francisco Villa or, in its diminutive form, Pancho Villa — was one of the foremost generals of the Me in MexicoThis article is about the country Mexico. For other meanings, see Mexico (disambiguation The United Mexican States or Mexico ( Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos or Mexico regarding the use of the variant spelling Mejico see section The name below) is a co.
