Cana, Benin

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Cana
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Cana
Location in Benin
Coordinates: 7°7′N2°4′E / 7.117°N 2.067°E / 7.117; 2.067
CountryFlag of Benin.svg Benin
Department Zou Department
Arrondissement Cana I / Cana II
Population
  Ethnicities
Fon people
Time zone UTC+1 (WAT)

Cana is a town in the Zou Department of south-western Benin, just southeast of Bohicon. The city was an important administrative and trade hub under the Kingdom of Dahomey, and was a stop on the royal road leading from the capital Abomey to Whydah and the Oyo Empire. The Kings of Dahomey built multiple palaces in Cana which served as administrative headquarters and pens for enslaved people on the way to the coast, where they were sold to Europeans. [1]

Today the main industry of the town revolves around the oil processing plant. [2]

Notable people

References

  1. Building the State in Dahomey: Power and Landscape on the Bight of Benin”, by J. Cameron Monroe. In: Monroe JC, Ogundiran A, eds. Power and Landscape in Atlantic West Africa: Archaeological Perspectives. Cambridge University Press; 2012.
  2. Gueye, Khadim. "Commune de Zogbodomey" . Retrieved 2 February 2025.

7°7′N2°4′E / 7.117°N 2.067°E / 7.117; 2.067