The Bight of Benin, or Bay of Benin, is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast.
The Bight of Benin, or Bay of Benin, is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, formerly known as Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. Benin 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 112,622 km (43,484 sq mi), and its population in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 13 million. It is a tropical country with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture and the exports of palm oil and cotton.
From the 17th to the 19th centuries, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey, the city-state of Porto Novo, and other states to the north. France took over the territory in 1894, incorporating it into French West Africa as French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France. As a sovereign state, Benin has had democratic governments, military coups, and military governments. A self-described Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the multi-party Republic of Benin.
The Gulf of Guinea (French: Golfe de Guinée; Spanish: Golfo de Guinea; Portuguese: Golfo da Guiné) is the northeasternmost part of the tropical Atlantic Ocean from Cape Lopez in Gabon, north and west to Cape Palmas in Liberia. Null Island, defined as the intersection of the Equator and Prime Meridian (zero degrees latitude and longitude), is in the gulf.
Among the many rivers that drain into the Gulf of Guinea are the Niger and the Volta. The coastline on the gulf includes the Bight of Benin and the Bight of Bonny.
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, formerly known as the Kingdom of Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. Benin 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 112,622 km (43,484 sq mi), and its population in 2021 was estimated to be approximately 13 million. It is a tropical country with an economy heavily dependent on agriculture and the exports of palm oil and cotton.
From the 17th to the 19th centuries, political entities in the area included the Kingdom of Dahomey, the city-state of Porto Novo, and other states to the north. France took over the territory in 1894, incorporating it into French West Africa as French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France. As a sovereign state, Benin has had democratic governments, military coups, and military governments. A self-described Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the multi-party Republic of Benin.
On Nigerian side, add the following border settlements: Kosubosu, Ilesha Baruba (Kwara State); Ilara, Ijoun, Ohunbo, Ifonyin, Ijofin (Ogun State) and Seme, Apa (Lagos State)
The Benin–Nigeria border is 809 km (503 mi) in length and runs from the tripoint with Niger in the north down to the Bight of Benin in the south.
Lagos State (Yoruba: Ìpínlẹ̀ Èkó, Gun: Ayìmátẹ̀n Awọnlìn tọ̀n) is a state in southwestern Nigeria. Of the 36 states, Lagos is the most populous state but has the smallest landmass in Nigeria. Bounded to the south by the Bight of Benin and to the west by the international border with the Republic of Benin, Lagos State borders Ogun State to the north and east, making it the only Nigerian state to border only one other state. Named for the city of Lagos — the most populous city in Africa — the state was formed from the Western Region and the former Federal Capital Territory on 27 May 1967.
Geographically, Lagos State is dominated by bodies of water with nearly a quarter of the state's area being lagoons, creeks, and rivers. The largest of these bodies are the Lagos and Lekki lagoons in the state's interior with the Ogun and Osun rivers flowing into them. Many other rivers and creeks flow throughout the state and serve as vital means of transportation for people and goods. On land, non-urbanized areas are within the tropical Nigerian lowland forests ecoregion with natural areas containing threatened populations of mona monkey, tree pangolin, and hooded vulture along with a transitory population of African forest elephants. Offshore, the state is also biodiverse as there are large fish populations along with African manatees and crocodiles.
Tema is a city on the Bight of Benin and Atlantic coast of Ghana. It is located 25 kilometres (16 mi) east of the capital city; Accra, in the region of Greater Accra, and is the capital of the Tema Metropolitan District. As of 2013, Tema is the eleventh most populous settlement in Ghana, with a population of approximately 161,612 people – a marked decrease from its 2005 figure of 209,000. The Greenwich Meridian (00 Longitude) passes directly through the city. It also had the Meridian Rock. Tema is locally nicknamed the "Harbour City" because of its status as Ghana's largest seaport. It consists of 25 different communities which are numbered accordingly with each of them having easy access to the basic amenities.
Tema is a city constructed on the site of a small fishing village. Tema was commissioned by Ghana's first president, Kwame Nkrumah, and grew rapidly after the construction of a large harbor in 1961. The Tema metropolis was designed, planned and developed by the award-winning urban planner and Ghana's first architect, Theodore S. Clerk. The design team included a number of architects trained in London at the Architectural Association. It is now a major trading center, home to an oil refinery and numerous factories, and is linked to Accra by a highway and railway. Tema is one of Ghana's two deep seaports, the other being Sekondi-Takoradi. Tema became an Autonomous Council in 1974 and was elevated to the status of a Metropolitan Assembly in December 1990. Tema metropolitan forms part of the sixteen Metropolis, Municipalities and Districts in the Greater Accra Region. The Metropolitan shares boundaries with Ashaiman Municipal, Adenta Municipal District, and Ledzokuku-Krowor Municipal District to the west respectively, to the east with Kpone Katamanso District, to the North with Dangme West District and to the South with the Gulf of Guinea.
The Benin–Togo border is 651 km (405 m) in length and runs from the tripoint with Burkina Faso in the north down to the Bight of Benin in the south.
The Slave Coast is a historical region along the Atlantic coast of West Africa, encompassing parts of modern-day Togo, Benin, and Nigeria. It is located along the Bight of Biafra and the Bight of Benin that is located between the Volta River and the Lagos Lagoon.
The name is derived from the region's history as a major source of African people sold into slavery during the Atlantic slave trade from the early 16th century to the late 19th century. During this time, this coastal area became a major hub for the export of enslaved Africans to the Americas. European powers, including the Portuguese, British, Dutch, Danish, and French, established forts and trading posts in the region to facilitate the slave trade. The area was so named due to the high volume of enslaved people transported from its shores, profoundly affecting both the local societies and the broader Atlantic world.