Difference between revisions of "Republic of Benin" - New World Encyclopedia

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The Republic of Benin is a sliver of a country in West Africa, the shape of which has often been compared to a raised arm and fist or to a flaming torch. It has a small coastline to the south on the Bight of Benin (a bight being a bay formed by a coastal bend), an extension of the Gulf of Guinea, which is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The nation takes its name from the bight, which refers in turn to an ancient African kingdom that dominated much of southern Nigeria until the arrival of the colonizing powers. That kingdom did not actually incorporate any of modernday Benin.
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{{Copyedited}}{{Paid}} {{Approved}} {{Images OK}} {{Submitted}}  {{Status}}
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{{Infobox Country
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|native_name              = ''République du Bénin'' {{Fr icon}}</small><br/>''Orílẹ̀-èdè Olómìnira ilẹ̀ Benin'' {{yo icon}}
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|conventional_long_name  = Republic of Benin
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|common_name              = Benin
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|image_flag              = Flag of Benin.svg
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|image_coat              = Coat of arms of Benin.svg
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|image_map                = LocationBenin.png
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|alt_map                  = Location of Benin within the African Union.
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|map_caption              =
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|national_motto          = ''"Fraternité, Justice, Travail"''{{Spaces|2}}(French)<br/>"Fraternity, Justice, Labour"
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|national_anthem          = ''[[L'Aube Nouvelle]]''{{Spaces|2}}<small>(French)<br/>''The Dawn of a New Day''</small>
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|official_languages      = [[French language|French]]
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|languages_type          = [[Vernacular]]
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|languages                = [[Fon language|Fon]], [[Yoruba language|Yoruba]]
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|demonym                  = Beninese; Beninois
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|capital                  = [[Porto-Novo]]<sup>1</sup>
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|latd= 6|latm=28 |latNS=N |longd=2 |longm=36 |longEW=E
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|largest_city            = [[Cotonou]]
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|government_type          = Unitary presidential republic
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|leader_title1            = [[List of heads of state of Benin|President]]
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|leader_name1            = [[Patrice Talon]]
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|leader_title2            = Vice President
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|leader_name2            = [[Mariam Chabi Talata]]
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|sovereignty_type        = [[Independence]]
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|established_event1      = from [[France]]
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|established_date1        = August 1, 1960
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|area_rank                = 101st
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|area_magnitude          = 1 E11
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|area_km2                = 112,622
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|area_sq_mi              = 43,484
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|percent_water            = 0.02%
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| population_estimate    = 13,754,688<ref>CIA, [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/benin/ Benin] ''World Factbook''. Retrieved September 27, 2023.</ref>
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| population_estimate_rank = 74th
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| population_estimate_year = 2022
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| population_density_km2 = 94.8
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| population_density_sq_mi =
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| GDP_PPP                = $59.469 billion<ref name=imf2>[https://www.imf.org/en/Publications/WEO/weo-database/2023/April/weo-report?c=638,&s=NGDP_RPCH,NGDPD,PPPGDP,NGDPDPC,PPPPC,&sy=2022&ey=2024&ssm=0&scsm=1&scc=0&ssd=1&ssc=0&sic=0&sort=country&ds=.&br=1 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023] ''International Monetary Fund''. Retrieved September 27, 2023.</ref>
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| GDP_PPP_rank          = 137th
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| GDP_PPP_year          = 2019
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| GDP_PPP_per_capita    = $4,300<ref name=imf2/>
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| GDP_PPP_per_capita_rank = 163rd
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| GDP_nominal            = $19.236 billion<ref name=imf2/>
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| GDP_nominal_rank      = 141st
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| GDP_nominal_year      = 2023
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| GDP_nominal_per_capita = $1,390<ref name=imf2/>
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| GDP_nominal_per_capita_rank = 163rd
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| Gini_year              = 2018
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| Gini_change            = decrease <!--increase/decrease/steady—>
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| Gini                  = 37.9 <ref>[https://databank.worldbank.org/reports.aspx?source=2&series=SI.POV.GINI&country=BEN GINI index] ''World Bank''. Retrieved September 27, 2023</ref><!--number only—>
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| Gini_ref              =
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| Gini_rank              =
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|currency                = [[West African CFA franc]]
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|currency_code            = XOF
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|country_code            =
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|time_zone                = [[West Africa Time|WAT]]
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|utc_offset              = +1
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|time_zone_DST            = ''not observed''
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|utc_offset_DST          = +1
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|drives_on                = right
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|cctld                    = [[.bj]]
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|calling_code            = 229
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|footnote1                = Cotonou is the seat of government.
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|footnote2                = Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.
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}}
  
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Benin inhabits a part of the continent called the Dahomey Gap, which is a somewhat dry area between the rain forests of Central Africa and of those farther west. Though relatively low in rainfall, the climate in Benin is hot and humid. The country's elevation varies little from the coast to the northern reaches though there are areas in the middle and north known as hills and
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The '''Republic of Benin''' is a sliver of a country in West [[Africa]], the shape of which has been compared to a raised arm and fist or to a flaming torch. It has a small coastline to the south on the [[Bight of Benin]]. (A bight is a bay formed by a coastal bend.) The Bight of Benin is an extension of the [[Gulf of Guinea]], which is an arm of the [[Atlantic Ocean]]. The nation takes its name from the bight, which refers in turn to the ancient African kingdom, the [[Benin Empire]], that dominated much of southern [[Nigeria]] until the arrival of the colonizing powers. That kingdom did not actually incorporate any of modern-day Benin.  
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highlands. Rivers run either north or south, with rivers in the north flowing into the Niger River, which forms most of the border with the country of the same name. Southern rivers stay within the national borders and drain to the Atlantic. The nation's area is roughly similar to that of Pennsylvania.
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{{toc}}
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The history of the tribes and peoples who inhabited this gateway to the continent comprises a strong legacy of having participated in and profited from the African [[slave trade]]. In recent years, modern Benin has atoned acutely and painfully for that past.
  
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The African kingdom of Dahomey originated in Benin. By the 17th century, the kingdom, ruled by an oba, stretched beyond the borders of present-day Benin, covered a large part of West-Africa. The kingdom was prosperous and established slave trading relations with the Europeans (mostly Portuguese and Dutch) who first arrived in the late 15th century. The coastal part of the kingdom became known as the Slave Coast.
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== Geography ==
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Benin (usually pronounced "beh-NIHN" in [[English language|English]]) inhabits a part of the continent called the Dahomey Gap, which is a somewhat dry area between the rain forests of Central Africa and of those farther west. Though relatively low in rainfall, the climate in Benin is hot and humid. The country's elevation varies little from the coast to the northern reaches though there are areas in the middle and north known as hills and highlands. The even smaller country of [[Togo]] lies to the west. The much larger nation of [[Nigeria]] is its eastern neighbor. Rivers run either north or south, with those in the north flowing into the [[Niger River]], which forms most of the border with the country of the same name. Southern rivers stay within the national borders and drain to the [[Atlantic Ocean|Atlantic]]. There is also a border with [[Burkina Faso]] in the northwest. Benin's size is roughly similar to that of [[Pennsylvania]]. Its population is about 7.5 million.
  
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By the 18th century, Dahomey started to fall apart, enabling the French to take over the area in 1892. In 1899, the land became part of the French West Africa colony, still as Dahomey. In 1958, it was granted autonomy as the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence started on August 1, 1960.
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The core of the nation's economic, political, and cultural life is the coastal area. The capital is [[Porto-Novo]] (Portuguese for New Port), which is pressed into the southeastern corner of the country, but [[Cotonou]], 40 miles to the west, is the largest city and true center for all Benin's social and economic life. The farther one travels from the coast, the less that [[French language|French]], the official language, is heard. And the farther north one goes, the less prevalent is [[Christianity]] in favor of [[Islam]] and [[animism|animist]] religions.
  
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For the next 12 years, ethnic strife contributed to a period of turbulence. There were several coups and regime changes, with three main figures dominating - Sourou Apithy, Hubert Maga, and Justin Ahomadegbé - each of them representing a different area of the country. These three agreed to form a presidential council after violence had marred the 1970 elections. In 1972, a military coup led by Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the council. He established a Marxist government under the control of Military Council of the Revolution (CNR), and the country was renamed to the People's Republic of Benin in 1975. In 1979, the CNR was dissolved and elections took place. By the late 1980s, Kérékou abandoned Marxism after an economic crisis and decided to re-establish a parliamentary capitalist system. He was defeated in 1991 elections, becoming the first black African president to step down after an election. He returned to power after winning the 1996 vote. In 2001, a closely fought election resulted in Kérékou winning another term. His opponents claimed there were some election irregularities.
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== History ==
  
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[edit]
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===Pre-colonial===
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Politics
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[[File:Kingdom of Dahomy-1793.jpg|thumb|400px|Map of the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]], 1793.]]
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Prior to 1600, present-day Benin comprised a variety of areas with different political systems and ethnicities. These included [[City-state|city-states]] along the coast (primarily of the [[Aja people|Aja]] ethnic group, and also including [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and [[Gbe languages|Gbe]] peoples) and tribal regions inland (composed of [[Bariba people|Bariba]], Mahi, Gedevi, and Kabye peoples). The [[Oyo Empire]], located primarily to the east of Benin, was a military force in the region, conducting raids and exacting tribute from the coastal kingdoms and tribal regions.<ref>Dena G. Bay, ''Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey'' (University of Virginia Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0813917924).</ref> The situation changed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]], consisting mostly of [[Fon people]], was founded on the [[Abomey]] plateau and began taking over areas along the coast.<ref>I.A. Akinjogbin, ''Dahomey and Its Neighbors: 1708–1818'' (Cambridge University Press, 1967).</ref> By 1727, King [[Agaja]] of the Kingdom of Dahomey had conquered the coastal cities of [[Allada]] and [[Ouidah|Whydah]]. Dahomey had become a tributary of the Oyo Empire, and rivaled but did not directly attack the Oyo-allied city-state of [[Porto-Novo]]. The rise of Dahomey, its rivalry with Porto-Novo, and tribal politics in the northern region persisted into the colonial and post-colonial periods.
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Politics of Benin
 
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Politics of Benin
 
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Political parties in Benin
 
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Elections in Benin
 
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The parliament of Benin is formed by the 83-seat National Assembly (Assemblée Nationale), for which election are held every four years. Head of the government and head of state is the president, who is chosen in separate presidential elections held every five years. The president appoints a council of ministers. According to the constitution of 1990, a president may serve a maximum of 2 five-year terms. There is also a 70-year age limit for presidential candidates.
 
  
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Departments
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Some younger people were [[apprentice]]d to older soldiers and taught the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the army.<ref>Robert W. Harms, ''The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade'' (Basic Books, 2002, ISBN 978-0465028726).</ref> Dahomey instituted an elite female soldier corps variously called [[Ahosi]] (the king's wives), Mino ("our mothers" in [[Fongbe]]), or the "Dahomean [[Amazons]]". This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of "Black [[Sparta]]," from European observers and nineteenth-century explorers.<ref>Stanley B. Alpern, ''Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey'' (Hurst & Co Ltd, 2001, ISBN 978-1850653622).</ref>
  
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Benin is divided into twelve departments:
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[[File:São João Baptista de Ajudá 1886 (cropped).jpg|thumb|400px|The [[Portuguese Empire]] was the longest European presence in Benin, beginning in 1680 and ending in 1961 when the last forces left [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá|Ajudá]].]]
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[[File:Armed women with the King at their head, going to war-1793.jpg|thumb|400px|[[Dahomey Amazons]] with the King at their head, going to war, 1793.]]
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The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into [[slave trade|transatlantic slavery]] or killed them ritually in a ceremony known as the [[Annual Customs of Dahomey|Annual Customs]]. By about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling African captives to European slave-traders.<ref name="BbcSlavery">[https://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter2.shtml African Slave Owners] ''BBC''. Retrieved September 26, 2023.</ref> The area was named the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|"Slave Coast"]] because of its flourishing slave trade. Court protocols which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s.<ref name=Manning>Patrick Manning, ''Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960'' (Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 978-0521235440).</ref> The decline was partly due to the [[Slave Trade Act 1807]] banning the [[trans-Atlantic slave trade]] by Britain in 1808, followed by other countries.<ref name="BbcSlavery"/> This decline continued until 1885 when the last slave ship departed the modern Benin Republic for [[Brazil]], which had yet to abolish slavery.
  
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Geography
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===Colonial===
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[[File:Bénin- 1893.jpg|thumb|400px|A French depiction of the conquest of Dahomey in 1893]]
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Main article: Geography of Benin
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By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey had "begun to weaken and lose its status as the regional power." The French took over the area in 1892. In 1899, the French included the land called [[French Dahomey]] within the larger [[French West Africa]] colonial region.
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Stretched between the Niger River in the north and the Bight of Benin in the south, Benin's elevation is about the same for the entire country. Most of the population lives in the southern coastal plains, where Benin's largest cities are also located, including Porto Novo and Cotonou. The north of the country consists mostly of savanna and semi-arid highlands.
 
  
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, with relatively little rain, although there are two rainy seasons (April-July and September-November).
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France sought to benefit from Dahomey and the region "appeared to lack the necessary agricultural or mineral resources for large-scale capitalist development". As a result, France treated Dahomey as a sort of preserve in case future discoveries revealed resources worth developing.<ref name=Manning/>
  
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[edit]
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The French government outlawed the capture and sale of slaves. Previous slaveowners sought to redefine their control over slaves as control over land, tenants, and lineage members. This provoked a struggle among Dahomeans, "concentrated in the period from 1895 to 1920, for the redistribution of control over land and labor. Villages sought to redefine boundaries of lands and fishing preserves. Religious disputes scarcely veiled the factional struggles over control of land and commerce which underlay them. Factions struggled for the leadership of great families."<ref name=Manning/>
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Economy
 
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Main article: Economy of Benin
 
  
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The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on subsistence agriculture, cotton production, and regional trade. Growth in real output has averaged a stable 5% in the past six years, but rapid population rise has offset much of this increase. Inflation has subsided over the past several years. In order to raise growth still further, Benin plans to attract more foreign investment, place more emphasis on tourism, facilitate the development of new food processing systems and agricultural products, and encourage new information and communication technology. The 2001 privatization policy should continue in telecommunications, water, electricity, and agriculture in spite of initial government reluctance. The Paris Club and bilateral creditors have eased the external debt situation, while pressing for speeded-up structural reforms.
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In 1958, France granted autonomy to the [[Republic of Dahomey]], and full independence on August 1, 1960 which is celebrated each year as Independence Day, a national holiday. The president who led the country to independence was [[Hubert Maga]].<ref name>Ana Lucia Araujo, ''Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic'' (Cambria Press, 2010, ISBN 1604977140).</ref>
  
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Demographics
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===Post-colonial===
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Main article: Demographics of Benin
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[[Image:278px-Benin map.png|right|300px|Map of Benin]]
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After 1960, there were coups and regime changes, with the figures of [[Hubert Maga]], [[Sourou Migan Apithy|Sourou Apithy]], [[Justin Ahomadégbé]], and [[Émile Derlin Zinsou]] dominating; the first 3 each represented a different area and ethnicity of the country. These 3 agreed to form a [[Presidential Council (Benin)|Presidential Council]] after violence marred the 1970 elections.
  
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There are about 40 different ethnic groups living in Benin, the largest being the Fon who account for about 49% of Benin's population. Other ethnic groups include the Adja, Yoruba, Somba and Bariba. Most of these ethnic groups have their own languages, although French is the official language, which is spoken mostly in the cities. Of the indigenous languages, the Fon and Yoruba languages are most common.
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On 7 May 1972, Maga ceded power to Ahomadégbé. On 26 October 1972, Lt. Col. [[Mathieu Kérékou]] overthrew the ruling triumvirate, becoming president and stating that the country would not "burden itself by copying foreign [[ideology]], and wants neither Capitalism, Communism, nor Socialism". On 30 November 1974, he announced that the country was officially [[Marxism|Marxist]], under control of the Military Council of the Revolution (CMR), which nationalized the petroleum industry and banks. On 30 November 1975, he renamed the country the [[People's Republic of Benin]].<ref> Mathurin C. Houngnikpo and Samuel Decalotitle, ''Historical Dictionary of Benin'' (Scarecrow Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0810871717).</ref> The regime of the People's Republic of Benin underwent changes over the course of its existence: a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] period (1972–1974); a [[Socialism|socialist]] phase (1974–1982); and a phase involving an opening to Western countries and [[economic liberalism]] (1982–1990).
  
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Indigenous religions are predominant, although significant parts of the population are Christian (chiefly Roman Catholic) and Muslim. Local practices and traditions are often combined with those of Christianity and Islam.
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In 1974, under the influence of young revolutionaries – the "Ligueurs" - the government embarked on a socialist program: nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy, reform of the education system, establishment of agricultural cooperatives and new local government structures, and a campaign to eradicate "[[Feudalism|feudal]] forces" including [[tribalism]]. The regime banned opposition activities. Mathieu Kérékou was elected president by the National Revolutionary Assembly in 1980, and re-elected in 1984. Establishing relations with [[China]], [[North Korea]], and [[Libya]], he put "nearly all" businesses and economic activities under state control, causing foreign investment in Benin to dry up.<ref name="kneib">Martha Kneib, ''Benin'' (Cavendish Square, 2001, ISBN 978-0761423287).</ref> Kérékou attempted to reorganize education, pushing his own aphorisms such as "Poverty is not a fatality."<ref name="kneib"/> The regime financed itself by contracting to take nuclear waste, first from the [[Soviet Union]] and later from France.<ref name="kneib"/>
  
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[edit]
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In the 1980s, Benin experienced higher economic growth rates, until the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin led to a drop in customs and tax revenues. In 1989, riots broke out when the regime did not have enough money to pay its army. The banking system collapsed. Eventually, Kérékou renounced [[Marxism]], and a convention forced Kérékou to release political prisoners and arrange elections.<ref name="kneib"/> [[Marxism–Leninism]] was abolished as the country's form of government.
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Culture
 
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Main article: Culture of Benin
 
  
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It is believed that Vodun (or "Voodoo", as it is commonly known) originated in Benin and was introduced to Brazil, the Caribbean Islands, and parts of North America by slaves taken from this particular area of the Slave Coast. The indigenous religion of Benin is practiced by about 70% of the population. Since 1992 Vodun has been recognized as one of Benin's official religions, and a National Vodun Holiday is celebrated on January 10.
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The country's name was officially changed to the ''Republic of Benin'' on March 1, 1990, after the newly formed government's [[constitution]] was completed.<ref>[https://www.fotw.info/flags/bj.html Benin] ''Flags of the World''. Retrieved September 27, 2023.</ref>
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On February 20, 2022, President [[Patrice Talon]] inaugurated an exhibition with 26 pieces of sacred art returned to Benin by [[France]], 129 years after they were looted by colonial forces.<ref>[https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/02/21/regardez-la-puissance-de-ces-objets-le-benin-expose-les-vingt-six-uvres-restituees-par-la-france_6114618_3212.html Le Bénin expose les vingt-six œuvres restituées par la France : « Regardez la puissance de ces objets ! »] ''Le Monde'' (February 21, 2022). Retrieved September 27, 2023.</ref>
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== Economy ==
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The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on agriculture, which engages about half the country's population and exists mainly at the subsistence level. Much of the manufacturing is likewise devoted to agricultural implements. Tribal herdsmen tend most of the cattle that go to market. The open-air markets found in every sizable town are where most Beninese shop for everyday articles, including manufactured goods, as well as food.
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Cotton, cocoa, and palm oil are the main commercial crops and exports, palm tree plantations having supplanted the natural coastal forests more than a century ago. [[France]] remains the major destination of Beninese goods, followed by [[Brazil]]. Machinery, foodstuffs, and textiles are Benin's principal imports. A significant amount of smuggling occurs along the porous border with [[Nigeria]]. Thousands of Beninese workers have migrated steadily to that country and [[Gabon]] for employment in the oil fields.
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== National Apology ==
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In 1999, President Kérékou issued a national apology for the substantial role that Africans had played in the Atlantic [[slave trade]].<ref>Henry Louis Gates, Jr., [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/opinion/23gates.html?pagewanted=all Ending the Slavery Blame-Game] ''The New York Times'' (April 23, 2010). Retrieved September 27, 2023.</ref> He convened a conference in Cotonou to apologize for his country's complicated history of involvement with the slave trade of centuries past. European businessmen as well as U.S. Congressmen and governmental representatives from other African countries attended and witnessed Benin's lament of its Slave Coast legacy, particularly the considerable profit that tribal chiefs made by selling their own people into servitude.  
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The long-term objective is the country's [[reconciliation]] with its descendants in the Americas. Recognition was made that Benin has suffered greatly by having lost so many of its ultimate resource, its own people, called "the absent ones." Subsequent apologies have been made by government representatives to foreign, particularly African-American, audiences.
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==Notes==
 +
<references/>
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 +
==References==
 +
* Akinjogbin, I.A. ''Dahomey and Its Neighbors: 1708–1818''. Cambridge University Press, 1967. {{ASIN|B000M4PHY8}}
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* Alpern, Stanley B. ''Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey''. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1998. ISBN 978-1850653622
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* Araujo, Ana Lucia. ''Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic''. Cambria Press, 2010. ISBN 1604977140
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* Bay, Dena G. ''Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey''. University of Virginia Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0813917924
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* Houngnikpo, Mathurin C., and Samuel Decalotitle. ''Historical Dictionary of Benin''. Scarecrow Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0810871717
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* Kneib, Martha. ''Benin''.  ‎ Cavendish Square, 2001. ISBN 978-0761423287
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* Manning, Patrick. ''Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960''. London: Cambridge University Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0521235440
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 +
==External links==
 +
All links retrieved September 27, 2023.
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 +
* [https://www.cia.gov/the-world-factbook/countries/benin/ Benin] CIA ''World Factbook''
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* [https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/benin.htm Benin] ''Nations Online''
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* [https://www.state.gov/countries-areas/benin/ Benin] ''U.S. Department of State''
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* [https://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-13037572 Benin Country Profile] ''BBC''
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{{credit|22598896}}
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[[Category:Countries]]
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[[Category:Geography]]
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[[Category:Africa]]

Latest revision as of 19:41, 27 September 2023

République du Bénin (French)
Orílẹ̀-èdè Olómìnira ilẹ̀ Benin (Yoruba)
Republic of Benin
Flag of Benin Coat of arms of Benin
Motto: "Fraternité, Justice, Travail" (French)
"Fraternity, Justice, Labour"
Anthem: L'Aube Nouvelle (French)
The Dawn of a New Day
Location of Benin
CapitalPorto-Novo1
6°28′N 2°36′E / 6.467, 2.6
Largest city Cotonou
Official languages French
Vernacular Fon, Yoruba
Demonym Beninese; Beninois
Government Unitary presidential republic
 -  President Patrice Talon
 -  Vice President Mariam Chabi Talata
Independence
 -  from France August 1, 1960 
Area
 -  Total 112,622 km² (101st)
43,484 sq mi 
 -  Water (%) 0.02%
Population
 -  2022 estimate 13,754,688[1] (74th)
 -  Density 94.8/km² 
245.5/sq mi
GDP (PPP) 2019 estimate
 -  Total $59.469 billion[2] (137th)
 -  Per capita $4,300[2] (163rd)
GDP (nominal) 2023 estimate
 -  Total $19.236 billion[2] (141st)
 -  Per capita $1,390[2] (163rd)
Gini (2018) 37.9 [3] 
Currency West African CFA franc (XOF)
Time zone WAT (UTC+1)
 -  Summer (DST) not observed (UTC+1)
Internet TLD .bj
Calling code +229
1 Cotonou is the seat of government.
2 Estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise be expected.

The Republic of Benin is a sliver of a country in West Africa, the shape of which has been compared to a raised arm and fist or to a flaming torch. It has a small coastline to the south on the Bight of Benin. (A bight is a bay formed by a coastal bend.) The Bight of Benin is an extension of the Gulf of Guinea, which is an arm of the Atlantic Ocean. The nation takes its name from the bight, which refers in turn to the ancient African kingdom, the Benin Empire, that dominated much of southern Nigeria until the arrival of the colonizing powers. That kingdom did not actually incorporate any of modern-day Benin.

The history of the tribes and peoples who inhabited this gateway to the continent comprises a strong legacy of having participated in and profited from the African slave trade. In recent years, modern Benin has atoned acutely and painfully for that past.

Geography

Benin (usually pronounced "beh-NIHN" in English) inhabits a part of the continent called the Dahomey Gap, which is a somewhat dry area between the rain forests of Central Africa and of those farther west. Though relatively low in rainfall, the climate in Benin is hot and humid. The country's elevation varies little from the coast to the northern reaches though there are areas in the middle and north known as hills and highlands. The even smaller country of Togo lies to the west. The much larger nation of Nigeria is its eastern neighbor. Rivers run either north or south, with those in the north flowing into the Niger River, which forms most of the border with the country of the same name. Southern rivers stay within the national borders and drain to the Atlantic. There is also a border with Burkina Faso in the northwest. Benin's size is roughly similar to that of Pennsylvania. Its population is about 7.5 million.

The core of the nation's economic, political, and cultural life is the coastal area. The capital is Porto-Novo (Portuguese for New Port), which is pressed into the southeastern corner of the country, but Cotonou, 40 miles to the west, is the largest city and true center for all Benin's social and economic life. The farther one travels from the coast, the less that French, the official language, is heard. And the farther north one goes, the less prevalent is Christianity in favor of Islam and animist religions.

History

Pre-colonial

Map of the Kingdom of Dahomey, 1793.

Prior to 1600, present-day Benin comprised a variety of areas with different political systems and ethnicities. These included city-states along the coast (primarily of the Aja ethnic group, and also including Yoruba and Gbe peoples) and tribal regions inland (composed of Bariba, Mahi, Gedevi, and Kabye peoples). The Oyo Empire, located primarily to the east of Benin, was a military force in the region, conducting raids and exacting tribute from the coastal kingdoms and tribal regions.[4] The situation changed in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries as the Kingdom of Dahomey, consisting mostly of Fon people, was founded on the Abomey plateau and began taking over areas along the coast.[5] By 1727, King Agaja of the Kingdom of Dahomey had conquered the coastal cities of Allada and Whydah. Dahomey had become a tributary of the Oyo Empire, and rivaled but did not directly attack the Oyo-allied city-state of Porto-Novo. The rise of Dahomey, its rivalry with Porto-Novo, and tribal politics in the northern region persisted into the colonial and post-colonial periods.

Some younger people were apprenticed to older soldiers and taught the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the army.[6] Dahomey instituted an elite female soldier corps variously called Ahosi (the king's wives), Mino ("our mothers" in Fongbe), or the "Dahomean Amazons". This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of "Black Sparta," from European observers and nineteenth-century explorers.[7]

The Portuguese Empire was the longest European presence in Benin, beginning in 1680 and ending in 1961 when the last forces left Ajudá.
Dahomey Amazons with the King at their head, going to war, 1793.

The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into transatlantic slavery or killed them ritually in a ceremony known as the Annual Customs. By about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling African captives to European slave-traders.[8] The area was named the "Slave Coast" because of its flourishing slave trade. Court protocols which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s.[9] The decline was partly due to the Slave Trade Act 1807 banning the trans-Atlantic slave trade by Britain in 1808, followed by other countries.[8] This decline continued until 1885 when the last slave ship departed the modern Benin Republic for Brazil, which had yet to abolish slavery.

Colonial

A French depiction of the conquest of Dahomey in 1893

By the middle of the nineteenth century, Dahomey had "begun to weaken and lose its status as the regional power." The French took over the area in 1892. In 1899, the French included the land called French Dahomey within the larger French West Africa colonial region.

France sought to benefit from Dahomey and the region "appeared to lack the necessary agricultural or mineral resources for large-scale capitalist development". As a result, France treated Dahomey as a sort of preserve in case future discoveries revealed resources worth developing.[9]

The French government outlawed the capture and sale of slaves. Previous slaveowners sought to redefine their control over slaves as control over land, tenants, and lineage members. This provoked a struggle among Dahomeans, "concentrated in the period from 1895 to 1920, for the redistribution of control over land and labor. Villages sought to redefine boundaries of lands and fishing preserves. Religious disputes scarcely veiled the factional struggles over control of land and commerce which underlay them. Factions struggled for the leadership of great families."[9]

In 1958, France granted autonomy to the Republic of Dahomey, and full independence on August 1, 1960 which is celebrated each year as Independence Day, a national holiday. The president who led the country to independence was Hubert Maga.[10]

Post-colonial

Map of Benin

After 1960, there were coups and regime changes, with the figures of Hubert Maga, Sourou Apithy, Justin Ahomadégbé, and Émile Derlin Zinsou dominating; the first 3 each represented a different area and ethnicity of the country. These 3 agreed to form a Presidential Council after violence marred the 1970 elections.

On 7 May 1972, Maga ceded power to Ahomadégbé. On 26 October 1972, Lt. Col. Mathieu Kérékou overthrew the ruling triumvirate, becoming president and stating that the country would not "burden itself by copying foreign ideology, and wants neither Capitalism, Communism, nor Socialism". On 30 November 1974, he announced that the country was officially Marxist, under control of the Military Council of the Revolution (CMR), which nationalized the petroleum industry and banks. On 30 November 1975, he renamed the country the People's Republic of Benin.[11] The regime of the People's Republic of Benin underwent changes over the course of its existence: a nationalist period (1972–1974); a socialist phase (1974–1982); and a phase involving an opening to Western countries and economic liberalism (1982–1990).

In 1974, under the influence of young revolutionaries – the "Ligueurs" - the government embarked on a socialist program: nationalization of strategic sectors of the economy, reform of the education system, establishment of agricultural cooperatives and new local government structures, and a campaign to eradicate "feudal forces" including tribalism. The regime banned opposition activities. Mathieu Kérékou was elected president by the National Revolutionary Assembly in 1980, and re-elected in 1984. Establishing relations with China, North Korea, and Libya, he put "nearly all" businesses and economic activities under state control, causing foreign investment in Benin to dry up.[12] Kérékou attempted to reorganize education, pushing his own aphorisms such as "Poverty is not a fatality."[12] The regime financed itself by contracting to take nuclear waste, first from the Soviet Union and later from France.[12]

In the 1980s, Benin experienced higher economic growth rates, until the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin led to a drop in customs and tax revenues. In 1989, riots broke out when the regime did not have enough money to pay its army. The banking system collapsed. Eventually, Kérékou renounced Marxism, and a convention forced Kérékou to release political prisoners and arrange elections.[12] Marxism–Leninism was abolished as the country's form of government.

The country's name was officially changed to the Republic of Benin on March 1, 1990, after the newly formed government's constitution was completed.[13]

On February 20, 2022, President Patrice Talon inaugurated an exhibition with 26 pieces of sacred art returned to Benin by France, 129 years after they were looted by colonial forces.[14]

Economy

The economy of Benin remains underdeveloped and dependent on agriculture, which engages about half the country's population and exists mainly at the subsistence level. Much of the manufacturing is likewise devoted to agricultural implements. Tribal herdsmen tend most of the cattle that go to market. The open-air markets found in every sizable town are where most Beninese shop for everyday articles, including manufactured goods, as well as food.

Cotton, cocoa, and palm oil are the main commercial crops and exports, palm tree plantations having supplanted the natural coastal forests more than a century ago. France remains the major destination of Beninese goods, followed by Brazil. Machinery, foodstuffs, and textiles are Benin's principal imports. A significant amount of smuggling occurs along the porous border with Nigeria. Thousands of Beninese workers have migrated steadily to that country and Gabon for employment in the oil fields.

National Apology

In 1999, President Kérékou issued a national apology for the substantial role that Africans had played in the Atlantic slave trade.[15] He convened a conference in Cotonou to apologize for his country's complicated history of involvement with the slave trade of centuries past. European businessmen as well as U.S. Congressmen and governmental representatives from other African countries attended and witnessed Benin's lament of its Slave Coast legacy, particularly the considerable profit that tribal chiefs made by selling their own people into servitude.

The long-term objective is the country's reconciliation with its descendants in the Americas. Recognition was made that Benin has suffered greatly by having lost so many of its ultimate resource, its own people, called "the absent ones." Subsequent apologies have been made by government representatives to foreign, particularly African-American, audiences.

Notes

  1. ↑ CIA, Benin World Factbook. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 World Economic Outlook Database, April 2023 International Monetary Fund. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  3. ↑ GINI index World Bank. Retrieved September 27, 2023
  4. ↑ Dena G. Bay, Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey (University of Virginia Press, 1998, ISBN 978-0813917924).
  5. ↑ I.A. Akinjogbin, Dahomey and Its Neighbors: 1708–1818 (Cambridge University Press, 1967).
  6. ↑ Robert W. Harms, The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade (Basic Books, 2002, ISBN 978-0465028726).
  7. ↑ Stanley B. Alpern, Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey (Hurst & Co Ltd, 2001, ISBN 978-1850653622).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 African Slave Owners BBC. Retrieved September 26, 2023.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 Patrick Manning, Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960 (Cambridge University Press, 1982, ISBN 978-0521235440).
  10. ↑ Ana Lucia Araujo, Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic (Cambria Press, 2010, ISBN 1604977140).
  11. ↑ Mathurin C. Houngnikpo and Samuel Decalotitle, Historical Dictionary of Benin (Scarecrow Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0810871717).
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 12.2 12.3 Martha Kneib, Benin (Cavendish Square, 2001, ISBN 978-0761423287).
  13. ↑ Benin Flags of the World. Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  14. ↑ Le Bénin expose les vingt-six œuvres restituées par la France : « Regardez la puissance de ces objets ! » Le Monde (February 21, 2022). Retrieved September 27, 2023.
  15. ↑ Henry Louis Gates, Jr., Ending the Slavery Blame-Game The New York Times (April 23, 2010). Retrieved September 27, 2023.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

  • Akinjogbin, I.A. Dahomey and Its Neighbors: 1708–1818. Cambridge University Press, 1967. ASIN B000M4PHY8
  • Alpern, Stanley B. Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers, 1998. ISBN 978-1850653622
  • Araujo, Ana Lucia. Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic. Cambria Press, 2010. ISBN 1604977140
  • Bay, Dena G. Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey. University of Virginia Press, 1998. ISBN 978-0813917924
  • Houngnikpo, Mathurin C., and Samuel Decalotitle. Historical Dictionary of Benin. Scarecrow Press, 2012. ISBN 978-0810871717
  • Kneib, Martha. Benin. ‎ Cavendish Square, 2001. ISBN 978-0761423287
  • Manning, Patrick. Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960. London: Cambridge University Press, 1982. ISBN 978-0521235440

External links

All links retrieved September 27, 2023.

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