Bénin

revised 15 October 1998

Bénin Information

Map of Bénin with the peoples discussed in "Art and Life in Africa" CD-ROM

General Information for Bénin

Country:

Bénin

Location:

West Africa

Independence:

1960

Nationality:

Béninois

Capital City:

Porto Novo

Population:

7,863,000

Important Cities:

Cotonou, Parakou, Ouidah

Head of State:

Mathieu Kerekou

Area:

112,620 sq.km.

Type of Government:

Republic

Currency:

500 FCFA=1 USD

Major peoples:

Fon,Adja,Yoruba,Bariba

Religion:

African religion 70%, Muslim 15%, Christian 15%

Climate:

Tropical

Literacy:

37%

Official Language:

French

Principal Languages:

Fon,Yoruba, Adja,Bariba

Major Exports:

Cotton, Palm Products

Pre-Colonial History

In the precolonial era, Bénin was a collection of small, often warring principalities, the most powerful of which was the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey (with its capital at Abomey), founded in the 17th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, first the Portuguese and later other European powers established trading posts along the coast, notably at Porto Novo and Ouidah. They traded firearms and luxury items to the Kings of Dahomey and other states for slaves, who were shipped to the New World, primarily to Brazil and the Caribbean. This part of west Africa became known in the 18th and 19th centuries as the Slave Coast. Northern Bénin traded primarily with other Africans and Arabs in the Sahel region and thus experienced limited European influence. France led efforts to suppress the slave trade, beginning in the mid-19th century. These efforts, along with expansion into Africa by European colonial empires, led to alliances with some local peoples and warfare with others. In 1892, the King of Dahomey was defeated and the country organized as the French protectorate of Dahomey. Dahomey remained a French colony until 1960.

Post-Colonial History

Bénin became independent on August 1, 1960. In the early years of independence, the nation was plagued by political instability, including many coups d'état and changes of government. The last change took place on October 26, 1972, when a group of officers seized control of the government. A military revolutionary government was established with a cabinet composed primarily of military officers. Then Major Mathieu Kerekou was named chief of state in 1972. The Kerekou government, with the support of Bénin's Marxist intellectuals, soon began a process of revolutionary change attempting to restructure the government, the economy, and the society along Marxist-Leninist lines. In 1977, a group of mercenaries landed at the Cotonou airport to carry out a coup d'état. They were quickly repulsed after fighting. Elections to the first National Revolutionary assembly were held in November 1979, and the assembly elected Mathieu Kerekou president of the country in 1980.A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region.

Country:	Bénin
Location:	West Africa
Independence:	1960
Nationality:	Béninois
Capital City:	Porto Novo
Population:	7,863,000
Important Cities:	Cotonou, Parakou, Ouidah
Head of State:	Mathieu Kerekou
Area:	112,620 sq.km.
Type of Government:	Republic
Currency:	500 FCFA=1 USD
Major peoples:	Fon,Adja,Yoruba,Bariba
Religion:	African religion 70%, Muslim 15%, Christian 15%
Climate:	Tropical
Literacy:	37%
Official Language:	French
Principal Languages:	Fon,Yoruba, Adja,Bariba
Major Exports:	Cotton, Palm Products
Pre-Colonial History	In the precolonial era, Bénin was a collection of small, often warring principalities, the most powerful of which was the Fon Kingdom of Dahomey (with its capital at Abomey), founded in the 17th century. In the 17th and 18th centuries, first the Portuguese and later other European powers established trading posts along the coast, notably at Porto Novo and Ouidah. They traded firearms and luxury items to the Kings of Dahomey and other states for slaves, who were shipped to the New World, primarily to Brazil and the Caribbean. This part of west Africa became known in the 18th and 19th centuries as the Slave Coast. Northern Bénin traded primarily with other Africans and Arabs in the Sahel region and thus experienced limited European influence. France led efforts to suppress the slave trade, beginning in the mid-19th century. These efforts, along with expansion into Africa by European colonial empires, led to alliances with some local peoples and warfare with others. In 1892, the King of Dahomey was defeated and the country organized as the French protectorate of Dahomey. Dahomey remained a French colony until 1960.
Post-Colonial History	Bénin became independent on August 1, 1960. In the early years of independence, the nation was plagued by political instability, including many coups d'état and changes of government. The last change took place on October 26, 1972, when a group of officers seized control of the government. A military revolutionary government was established with a cabinet composed primarily of military officers. Then Major Mathieu Kerekou was named chief of state in 1972. The Kerekou government, with the support of Bénin's Marxist intellectuals, soon began a process of revolutionary change attempting to restructure the government, the economy, and the society along Marxist-Leninist lines. In 1977, a group of mercenaries landed at the Cotonou airport to carry out a coup d'état. They were quickly repulsed after fighting. Elections to the first National Revolutionary assembly were held in November 1979, and the assembly elected Mathieu Kerekou president of the country in 1980.A move to representative government began in 1989. Two years later, free elections ushered in former Prime Minister Nicephore SOGLO as president, marking the first successful transfer of power in Africa from a dictatorship to a democracy. KEREKOU was returned to power by elections held in 1996 and 2001, though some irregularities were alleged. Benin continues to be hurt by Nigerian trade protection that bans imports of a growing list of products from Benin and elsewhere, which has resulted in increased smuggling and criminality in the border region.