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Benin (/ b ɛ ˈ n iː n / ⓘ ben-EEN, / b ɪ ˈ n iː n / bin-EEN; French: Bénin ⓘ, Fon: Benɛ, Fula: Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (French: République du Bénin), and also known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the ...
- Overview
- Relief
- Drainage
- Climate
Benin, country of western Africa. It consists of a narrow wedge of territory extending northward for about 420 miles (675 kilometres) from the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean, on which it has a 75-mile seacoast, to the Niger River, which forms part of Benin’s northern border with Niger. Benin is bordered to the northwest by Burkina Faso, to the east by Nigeria, and to the west by Togo. The official capital is Porto-Novo, but Cotonou is Benin’s largest city, its chief port, and its de facto administrative capital. Benin was a French colony from the late 19th century until 1960.
Prior to colonial rule, part of the territory that is now Benin consisted of powerful, independent kingdoms, including various Bariba kingdoms in the north and in the south the kingdoms of Porto-Novo and Dahomey (Dan-ho-me, “on the belly of Dan;” Dan was a rival king on whose grave Dahomey’s royal compound was built). In the late 19th century French colonizers making inroads from the coastal region into the interior borrowed the name of the defeated Dahomey kingdom for the entire territory that is now Benin; the current name derives from the Bight of Benin.
Benin consists of five natural regions. The coastal region is low, flat, and sandy, backed by tidal marshes and lagoons. It is composed of, in effect, a long sandbar on which grow clumps of coconut palms; the lagoons are narrower in the western part of the country, where many have become marshes because of silting, and wider in the east, and some are interconnected. In the west the Grand-Popo Lagoon extends into neighbouring Togo, while in the east the Porto-Novo Lagoon provides a natural waterway to the port of Lagos, Nigeria, although its use is discouraged by the political boundary. Only at Grand-Popo and at Cotonou do the lagoons have outlets to the sea.
Behind the coastal region extends the barre country—the word being a French adaptation of the Portuguese word barro (“clay”). A fertile plateau, the barre region contains the Lama Marsh, a vast swampy area stretching from Abomey to Allada. The landscape is generally flat, although occasional hills occur, rising to about 1,300 feet (400 metres).
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The Benin plateaus, four in number, are to be found in the environs of Abomey, Kétou, Aplahoué (or Parahoué), and Zagnanado. The plateaus consist of clays on a crystalline base. The Abomey, Aplahoué, and Zagnanado plateaus are from 300 to 750 feet high, and the Kétou plateau is up to 500 feet in height.
The Atakora Mountains, in the northwest of the country, form a continuation of the Togo Mountains to the south. Running southwest to northeast and reaching an altitude of 2,103 feet (641 metres) at their highest point, they consist of a highly metamorphosed quartzite interior.
Apart from the Niger River, which, with its tributaries the Mékrou, Alibori, and Sota, drains the northeastern part of the country, the three principal rivers in Benin are the Mono, the Couffo, and the Ouémé. The Mono, which rises in Togo, forms the frontier between Togo and Benin near the coast. The Couffo, near which stands Abomey, flows southwar...
Two climatic zones may be distinguished—a southern and a northern. The southern zone has an equatorial type of climate with four seasons—two wet and two dry. The principal rainy season occurs between mid-March and mid-July; the shorter dry season lasts to mid-September; the shorter rainy season lasts to mid-November; and the principal dry season lasts until the rains begin again in March. The amount of rain increases toward the east. Grand-Popo receives only about 32 inches (800 millimetres) a year, whereas Cotonou and Porto-Novo both receive approximately 50 inches. Temperatures are fairly constant, varying between about 72° and 93° F (22° and 34° C), and the relative humidity is often uncomfortably high.
In the northern climatic zone, there are only two seasons, one dry and one rainy. The rainy season lasts from May to September, with most of the rainfall occurring in August. Rainfall amounts to about 53 inches a year in the Atakora Mountains and in central Benin; farther north it diminishes to about 38 inches. In the dry season the harmattan, a hot, dry wind, blows from the northeast from December to March. Temperatures average about 80° F (27° C), but the temperature range varies considerably from day to night. In March, the hottest month, diurnal temperatures may rise to 110° F (43° C).
4 days ago · A comprehensive overview of Benin's geography, people, society, government, economy, and more. Learn about Benin's history, culture, languages, religions, natural resources, and challenges.
Jul 28, 2023 · Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is one of Africa's more stable democracies. Benin's shore includes what used to be known as the Slave Coast, the departure point for captives to be shipped...
Benin, one of the principal historic kingdoms of the western African forest region (fl. 13th–19th century). Tradition asserts that the Edo people became dissatisfied with the rule of a dynasty of semimythical kings, the ogisos, and in the 13th century they invited Prince Oranmiyan of Ife to rule.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
- DictionaryBe·nin/bəˈnēn/
- 1. a country in West Africa, just west of Nigeria; population 10,900,000 (estimated 2015); capital, Porto Novo; languages, French (official), West African languages.
Apr 12, 2024 · Apr. 12, 2024, 1:52 AM ET (CNN) How Romuald Hazoumè’s art brought Benin history into the fold. history of Benin, history of Benin from the precolonial period to the present. As a political unit, Benin was created by the French colonial conquest at the end of the 19th century.
Benin is a long stretched country in West Africa, bordered by Burkina Faso, Niger, the Bight of Benin and the Gulf of Guinea. It has a population of 10 million people and a history of Dahomey, a prominent West African kingdom. It is a multiparty democracy with French as the official language and Fon and Yoruba as the main ethnic groups.
