A Look Inside Modern Day Benin

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Modern day Benin is located along the Western coast of Africa. Benin is only 112,622 square kilometers, making it one of Africa’s smallest countries. Benin today however, differs significantly from the kingdom that it was during the pre-colonial and colonial periods. The people, culture, and government have all changed due to colonization. (The World Fact Book, 2014) The great kingdom of Dahomey once resided where Benin is today. Dahomey’s origins can be traced back to the 1600s, during which two groups of people named the Aja and the Fon occupied Dahomey, (The World Fact Book, 2014). The Fon people practiced the religion of Voodoo and believed that god was Vodo. During their occupation, the Fon and Aja people established two major cities, Abomey and Ouidah. Ouidah soon became a major trading port, especially for slaves, (The Africa Guide, n.d.). Although the French eventually became the ones to colonize Dahomey, known as of 1975 as Benin, the Portuguese were actually the first Europeans to reach Dahomey and establish a trading fort at Port-Novo. Many other European countries such as Holland, Spain, and France followed and established trading ports along the coast as well, (“Benin”, 2008). Throughout the mid-1600s the British began to arrive at Ouidah and construct a trading fort. As a result of the trading forts being constructed, trade along the coast of Dahomey had flourished, the main export being slaves, (Republic of Benin, n.d.). Consequently, the western African coast became known as the “slave coast” until slavery was abolished in the early 1800s, (Bondarenko, n.d.). The kings of Dahomey grew rich from this trade and obtained guns from European traders that were used to conquer other Western African kingdoms. This expa... ... middle of paper ... ...://my.vanderbilt.edu/f13afdevfilm/2013/09/the-impacts-of-colonialism-and-slavery-in-modern-benin/ Osagie, E., Ph.D. (Presenter). (1999, December 10). Benin in Contemporary Nigeria an Agenda for the 21st Century. Lecture presented at Oba Akenzua Cultural Centre, Benin City, Benin. The Republic of Benin. (n.d.). Benin´s history, culture, people and religions. Retrieved March 16, 2014, from http://www.ambabenin.dk/benin_cult.htm Ryan, J. C. (2001). Countries and Their Cultures: Benin (Vol. 1) (C. R. Ember & M. Ember, Eds.). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Shokpeka, S. A., & Nwaokocha, O. A. (2009). British Colonial Economic Policy in Nigeria, the Example of Benin Province1914-1954. Human Ecology, 28(1), 58-65. The World Fact Book. (2014, March 11). Benin. Retrieved March 17, 2014, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bn.html

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