Benin (be-NEEN), republic (43,483 sq mi/112,622 sq km; 1992 population 4,915,555; 2004 estimated population 7,250,033), W Africa, on the Bight of Benin (an arm of the Gulf of Guinea) on the Atlantic Ocean (both S); (cap.) Porto-Novo.
Geography
Bordered W by Togo, N by Burkina Faso and Niger, and E by Nigeria. Largest city and chief port is Cotonou; other towns include Abomey, Ouidah, and Parakou. Benin falls into 4 main geographic regions. In the S is a narrow coastal zone (1 mi/1.6 km–3 mi/4.8 km wide) fringed on the N by a series of interconnected lagoons and lakes with only two outlets to the sea (Grand-Popo, Cotonou). Behind the coastal region is a generally flat area of fertile clay soils; this is crossed by the wide Lama marsh, through which flows the Ouémé River. NW Benin is a region of forested mountains (the Atakora, c.2,103 ft/641 m, is highest point), from which the Mékrou and Pendjari rivers flow NE to the Niger River (which forms part of the country’s N border). In the NE is a highland region covered mostly with savanna and containing little fertile soil. Divided into the following six administrative divisions, sometimes called provinces: Atakora (NW), Borgou (NE), Mono (SW), Atlantique (S central), Oueme (SE), and Zou (central).
Population
Benin’s population is divided into four main linguistic groups: Fon, Yoruba, Voltaic, and Fulani. The Fon speakers, who live in the S, include the Fon, or Dahomey (Benin’s largest single ethnic group), Aja, Peda, and Chabe subgroups. The Yoruba live in the SE near Nigeria (homeland to the Yoruba people). The Voltaic speakers live in central and N Benin and include the Bariba and Somba subgroups. The Fulani live in the N. French is the country’s official language and Fon is widely spoken. Most of the inhabitants follow traditional religious beliefs: 30% are Christian (largely Roman Catholic) and 20% (living mostly in the N) are Muslim. Benin’s population is concentrated in the S portion of the country and in rural areas.
Economy
The economy is overwhelmingly agriculturally based; the chief crops include maize, cassava, millet, sorghum, groundnuts, pulses, cacao, cotton, and palm nuts and kernels; livestock (goats, sheep, pigs) are also raised. Private farmers have been resistant to government plans to bring all land under state control. There is a sizable freshwater-fishing industry and a smaller sea-fishing one. Most of Benin’s manufacturing is limited to either processed agriculture goods or basic consumer items; the main products include palm oil, palm-kernel oil, palmetto, soap, textiles, footwear, jute sacks, cement, and ginned cotton. The chief imports are textiles, clothing, machinery, electrical equipment, foodstuffs, motor vehicles, tobacco, and metals; principal exports include palm products, cotton, and cacao. However, droughts in the 1970s and 1980s resulted in a decline in the production of palm oil. The annual cost of imports usually far exceeds earnings from exports. The leading trade partners are France, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Japan, and the U.S. Benin is an ACP (African, Caribbean, and Pacific) member of the EU. The country’s mineral resources, which include chromite, low-quality iron ore, ilmenite, and titanium, have not yet been exploited on a large scale. Petroleum was discovered offshore in 1968 in waters off Porto-Novo and has been increasingly exploited since. Petroleum reserves are estimated at 14 million tons/12.7 million metric tons; limestone and marble are also mined. In the 1980s, Benin began to develop its hydroelectric potential through the Mono River Dam project. Benin has a limited transportation system. railroads run along the coast, and from the coast to Parakou and to Pobé; extendsions are being built into Niger. Road systems run almost exclusively in the S and central parts of the country. However, despite the developing tourist industry, Benin is still struggling economically with heavy foreign debt.
History to the 19th Century
Little is known about the history of N Benin. In the S, according to oral tradition, a group of Aja migrated (12th or 13th century) E from Tado on the Mono River and founded the village of Allada. Later, Allada became the capital of Great Ardra, a state whose kings ruled with the consent of the elders of the people. Great Ardra reached the peak of its power in the 16th and early 17th centuries. A dispute (c.1625) among three brothers over who should be king resulted in one brother, Kokpon, retaining Great Ardra. Another brother, Do-Aklin, founded the town of Abomey, and the third, Te-Agdanlin, founded the town of Ajatche or Little Ardra (called Porto-Novo by the Portugese merchants who traded there). The Aja living at Abomey organized into a strongly centralized kingdom with a standing army and gradually mixed with the local people, thus forming the Fon, or Dahomey, ethnic group. By the late 17th century, the Dahomey were raiding their neighbors for slaves to be sold (through coastal middlemen) to European traders. By 1700, about 20,000 slaves were being transported annually, especially from Great Ardra and Ouidah, located on what was called the Slave Coast . In order to establish contact with the European traders, King Agaja of Dahomey (reigned 1708–1732), who began the practice of using women as soldiers, conquered most of the S (except Porto-Novo). This expansion brought Dahomey into conflict with the powerful Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, which captured Abomey in 1738 and forced Dahomey to pay an annual tribute until 1818.
History - 19th Century to 1970
However, until well into the 19th century, Dahomey continued to expand N and to sell slaves, despite efforts by Great Britain to end the trade. In 1863, Porto-Novo accepted a French protectorate, hoping thereby to offset Dahomey’s power. During the 1880s, as the scramble for Africa among the European powers accelerated, France tried to secure its hold on the Dahomey coast in order to keep it out of German or British hands. King Behanzin attempted to resist the French advance, but in 1892–1893 France defeated Dahomey, established a protectorate over it, and exiled Behanzin to Martinique. During the period 1895–1898 the French added the N part of present-day Benin, and in 1899 the whole colony was made part of French West Africa. Under the French, a port was constructed at Cotonou, railroads were built, and the output of palm products increased. In addition, elementary school facilities were expanded, largely under the auspices of Roman Catholic missions. In 1946, Dahomey became an overseas territory with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. In 1958, Dahomey became an autonomous state within the French Community, and on August 1, 1960, it became fully independent. The country’s first president was Hubert Maga, whose main support came from Parakou and the N and who was allied with Sourou Migan Apithy, a politician of Porto-Novo. Independent Dahomey was plagued by governmental instability, caused by economic troubles, ethnic rivalries, and social unrest. In 1963, following demonstrations by workers and students, the armed forces staged a successful coup d’etat, putting Justin Ahomadegbé into power (in alliance with Apithy). Political unrest continued in Dahomey for the next six years until Lt. Colonel Paul-Émile de Souza was made president in 1969.
History - 1970 to Present
Public elections attempted in 1970 were cancelled following serious disagreement between N and S politicians. Instead, a three-man presidential council (consisting of Maga, Ahomadegbé, and Apithy) was formed; each member was to lead the country for two years. The first leader was Maga, who in May 1972 was replaced without incident by Ahomadegbé. However, in October 1972, the military again intervened, toppling Ahomadegbé and installing an eleven-man government headed by Major Mathieu Kerekou. This was Dahomey’s eleventh change of government since 1960. To distance the modern state from its colonial past, Dahomey became the People’s Republic of Benin in 1975; at the same time, Kerekou declared Benin a Marxist-Leninist state. Benin sought financial support from Communist governments in E Europe and Asia. Continual strikes and coup attempts resulted in the formation of a repressive militia. After social unrest and economic problems beset the country, Marxism was renounced as a state ideology in 1989. After a national conference and a referendum provided for a new constitution and multiparty elections, Nicéphor Soglo defeated Kerekou to become president in 1991. Then, in 1995 under free elections, Kerekou defeated Soglo. Kerekou is still in power today.
