James Robert Phillips

James Robert Phillips (1863 – 4 January 1897) was the deputy commissioner and consul for the Niger Coast Protectorate. He is remembered for his part in the events that led to the Benin Expedition of 1897. In 1897, Phillips set out to petition the Oba of Benin, although his reasons for doing so remain unclear. He and his party were ambushed and slaughtered as they approached Benin City, with Phillips being among the casualties. Though Phillips had acted without consulting the Royal Niger Company authorities, after his death the British government dispatched an punitive expedition against the Benin monarchy, which the force defeated and deposed, leading to the kingdom's eventual absorption into colonial Nigeria.

James Phillips was the eldest son of Reverend Thompson Phillips, vicar of Ivegill and later Archdeacon of Furness in the Diocese of Carlisle, and Eliza, daughter of General James Wallace Sleigh.

Phillips was educated at Uppingham School, an independent boarding school. In 1882 he went up to Trinity College, Cambridge to read law. He served his solicitor's articles (trained as a solicitor) at Carlisle with the Clerk of the Peace for Cumberland and was in due course admitted a solicitor.

He played football for the Eden Wanderers Football Club for several seasons, proving himself a man of strong physique, vigour and resource. He was well liked by his teammates.

After qualifying as a solicitor, he believed that there might be better openings for him in the colonies. In 1891, he accepted an appointment as a colonial officer on the Gold Coast (present-day Ghana) as a Sheriff and Overseer of Prisons. In 1892 he was promoted to the position of Acting Queen's Advocate of the Gold Coast.

In 1896, Phillips returned to England on leave and while visiting friends in Cumberland he expressed himself pleased with his prospects.

In May 1896, he was appointed deputy commissioner and consul for the Niger Coast Protectorate and adjoining native territories. He was ordered by the Foreign Office in London to wait in England until he could meet with the current Niger Coast Protectorate Commissioner and Consul-General, Ralph Denham Rayment Moor, who was en route to England to begin a period of leave. No record exists on where they met or what they discussed but they most probably met in London in September 1896.

As a lawyer, Phillips had a brief from the Foreign Office to concentrate on the prisons and legal system of the Protectorate. He arrived in the Protectorate on 24 October 1896. On 31 October 1896, he held a meeting with members of the Benin Rivers trading companies to introduce himself to the traders. This included European traders of the Royal Niger Company, Itsekiri chiefs and native traders. Additionally, he wanted to hear directly from them about trading issues they were having. During this meeting, he met Chief Dogho and other Itsekiri chiefs, as well as a number of European traders including representatives of the Royal Niger Company at Sapele on the Benin River.