Foreign relations of Benin the political crises in Liberia, Guinea-Bissau, and Togo and provided a contribution to the United Nations force in Haiti, all of which were indications of the country's growing confidence in the international community. Some of the allies of Benin are France, India, US, UK, Netherlands, Ghana, and China. In September 2007, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) intervened to attempt to resolve the dispute over two villages along the Benin-Burkina Faso border that remain from 2005 ICJ decision; much of Benin-Niger boundary, including tripoint with Nigeria, remains undemarcated; in 2005, Nigeria ceded thirteen villages to Benin, but border relations
Benin Bronzes modern period, which is an erroneous assumption considering the Benin Empire was in itself a hub of African civilization before the Portuguese traders visited. Today, it is clear that the bronzes were made in Benin from an indigenous culture. Many of these dramatic sculptures date to the thirteenth century, centuries before contact with Portuguese traders, and a large part of the collection dates to the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. It is believed that two "golden ages" in Benin metal workmanship occurred during the reigns of Esigie ( 1550) and of Eresoyen (1735–50), when their workmanship achieved its highest qualities. While