Benin ( born Bight of Benin ) - a bay in the Atlantic Ocean on the south coast of West Africa , an integral part of the Gulf of Guinea . It extends 640 km east of Cape St. Paul ( Ghana ) to the mouth of the Niger River . The coast is low, swampy, with lagoons and canals. At the mouths of the rivers and along the banks of the lagoons there are mangroves , followed by secondary savannas (in the west) and evergreen forests (in the east). The waters of the Gulf of Benin are washed by the coast of Ghana , Togo , Benin , Nigeria . The Niger River flows into the bay, as well as the flow of the Sio, Mono , Veme , Benin and Forkados rivers. The main ports on the coast of the bay: Lome , Cotonou and Lagos .
| Benin | |
|---|---|
 Gulf of Benin ( Bight of Benin ) on the map of the Gulf of Guinea | |
| Specifications | |
| Bay Type | the bay |
| Coastline | 640 km |
| Flowing rivers | Mono , Weme , Forkados |
| Location | |
| Country |
|
The coast of the bay is known as one of the main areas of the slave trade in Africa in the XVI-XVIII centuries.
History
On February 1, 1852, the British founded the protectorate of the Gulf of Benin, which is under the control of the consuls of the Gulf of Benin.
| Order of government | Protectorate |
|---|---|
| May 1852-1853 | Lewis Fraser |
| 1853 - April 1859 | Benjamin campbell |
| April 1859-1860 | George Brand |
| 1860 - January 1861 | Henry Hand |
| January 1861 - May 1861 | Henry Grant Foot |
| May 1861 - August 6, 1861 | William mccoscree |
On August 6, 1861, the protectorate of the Gulf of Biafra and the protectorate of the Gulf of Benin merged into a single British protectorate, eventually merging into Nigeria.
Literature
- Africa: an encyclopedic guide. T. 1. A — K / Ch. ed. A. Gromyko. Ed. call V.M. Vlasov, N.I. Gavrilov et al. - M .: Soviet Encyclopedia, 1986. - P. 324. - 672 p. with ill.
Links
- WorldStatesmen- Nigeria
- The Great Atlas of the World, The Reader's Digest Association Limited, London, 2007, ISBN 978-5-89355-169-3 , Art. 223.
- Encyclopedia Britannica - Bight of Benin