Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, and formerly 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 north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 13 million. It is a tropical nation, dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Some employment and income arise from subsistence farming.
Porto-Novo, also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe, is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
The Fon people, also called Fon nu, Agadja or Dahomey, are a Gbe ethnic group. They are the largest ethnic group in Benin found particularly in its south region; they are also found in southwest Nigeria and Togo. Their total population is estimated to be about 3,500,000 people, and they speak the Fon language, a member of the Gbe languages.
The Celestial Church of Christ (CCC) is a church founded in Africa by Samuel Oshoffa on 29 September 1947 in Porto-Novo, Benin. It is located in most countries worldwide including the United States and various countries in Africa.
The First Franco-Dahomean War was fought in 1890 between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant after winning the Battle of Abomey.
The National Library of Benin is the legal deposit library for Benin. Originally chartered in November 1975 and located in Ouidah, the library moved to a purpose built unit in the Ouando neighbourhood of Porto-Novo during the 1980s.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Abidjan, Ivory Coast.
Henri Calloc'h de Kérillis was a French aviator, reporter, writer and politician. A hero of World War I, he traveled widely in the 1920s, and wrote several books about his adventures. He became a journalist, then entered politics as an independent Republican. He was right-wing, conservative and profoundly nationalist. He was hostile to the parties that favored appeasement of Germany in the lead-up to World War II, and went into exile rather than be arrested after the armistice of July 1940. At first a strong supporter of Charles de Gaulle and his Free French, he later fell out with de Gaulle too. He spent the last years of his life in voluntary exile in the United States.
La Voix du Dahomey was a newspaper that was important in attempting to resist French colonial rule in Dahomey. The paper was published fortnightly between 1927 and the 1950s with an early circulation of only about 2000 but with a much larger readership and influence. Criticism of France was hidden beneath effusive protestations of loyalty to Paris. In 1936, the editors and directors of the paper were brought before a court by the colonial powers.
Le Guide du Dahomey was a short-lived but influential newspaper in Dahomey. The paper was published weekly from Cotonou between 1920 and 1922 over 88 issues under the editorship of Dorothée Lima and Jean Adjovi. Its critical tone and regular production paved the way for the expansion of Dahomean media from the 1920s onwards.
Dorothée Joaquim Lima was a newspaper editor and publisher in Dahomey who was instrumental in the development of news media in Dahomey during the French colonial era. With Jean Adjovi he edited the influential but short-lived Le Guide du Dahomey (1920-22). Later, he replaced Jean Adjovi as the editor of La Voix du Dahomey.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Lomé, Togo.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Cotonou, Benin.
The following is a timeline of the history of the city of Bamako, Mali.
Hélène d'Almeida-Topor was a French historian and university professor of contemporary history.
Benin–Turkey relations are the foreign relations between Benin and Turkey. Turkey has an embassy in Cotonou since 2014, while the Beninois embassy in Ankara opened in 2013, however the embassy was closed in 2020.
Beninese nationality law is regulated by the Constitution of Benin, as amended; the Beninese Nationality Code, and its revisions; the Family Code; and various international agreements to which the country is a signatory. These laws determine who is, or is eligible to be, a national of Benin. The legal means to acquire nationality, formal legal membership in a nation, differ from the domestic relationship of rights and obligations between a national and the nation, known as citizenship. Beninese nationality is typically obtained under the principle of jus sanguinis, i.e. by birth in Benin or abroad to parents with Beninese nationality. It can be granted to persons with an affiliation to the country, or to a permanent resident who has lived in the country for a given period of time through naturalisation.
First Lady of Benin is the title attributed to the wife of the President of Benin. Claudine Talon, wife of Patrice Talon, became first lady on her husband's election as president on April 6, 2016. There had been no "first gentleman", or its equivalent, as of 2021.
Adrien Degbey was a Dahomeyan politician.
