Benin

7 Facts about Benin

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Benin, known in the past as Dahomey, is a largely Christian nation, but it’s also the place from where Voodoo originated. The region was referred to as the Slave Coast, due to the large number of slaves that were shipped to the Americas from here.

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In this brief video you can find seven little known facts about Benin.

1. Benin is among the places from where voodoo originated. Here it is called Vodun and it’s an ancient religion, that doesn’t really have anything to do with Juju and witchcraft. In Vodun, the divine creator is a female, Mawu. All creation is considered divine and therefore contains the power of the divine.

2. Ganvie, known as “The Venice of Africa”-a lake village in Benin– is Africa’s unique floating village built on stilts. With a population of around 20,000 people, it is probably the largest lake village in Africa and as such is very popular with tourists.

3. 31% of the country’s land area is under agriculture while 40% of it is under forest. In the rest of the country, the savanna is covered with thorny scrubs and dotted with huge baobab trees. In the north and the northwest of Benin the Reserve du W du Niger and Pendjari National Park attract tourists eager to see elephants, lions, antelopes, hippos, and monkeys.

4. The capital of Benin—Porto Novo—was developed as a port for the slave trade. The capital region of the country and the area nearby was referred as ‘Slave Coast’ from as early as the 17th century. During the trans-Atlantic slave trade, a large number of slaves were shipped to the New World. The last ship of slaves departed from Dahomey for Brazil in 1885.

5. After slavery was abolished, France took over the country and renamed it French Dahomey. In 1960, Dahomey gained full independence from France, and had a tumultuous period with many different democratic governments, many military coups and military governments. A Marxist–Leninist state called the People's Republic of Benin existed between 1975 and 1990. In 1991, it was replaced by the current multi-party Republic of Benin.

6. Finished in 1460 the Wall of Benin or moat is a historic world defense wonder. It enclosed 6,500 km² of community lands. Its length was over 16,000 km. The Guinness Book of World Records (1974) describes the walls of Benin City as the world's second largest man-made structure after China's Great Wall.

7. Although it’s a stable country, where violent crimes are rare and there is no ongoing conflict, Benin still remains severely underdeveloped. Benin’s economy has continued to strengthen over the past years, but about a third of the population still lives below the poverty line.

More Info:
http://thefactfile.org/interesting-facts-benin/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ganvie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Walls_of_Benin
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/West_African_Vodun

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http://cdn.lightgalleries.net/4d94b54a4bef7/images/beninvoodoo-22-2.jpg
http://city4.учпроект.рф/images1/ganvie-benin-1.jpg
https://unseenbenin.files.wordpress.com/2014/03/home-g.jpg
https://userscontent2.emaze.com/images/f2a420ca-0555-44bf-b543-065b93b6b783/a131b45031e7606be7977e32e9f3fa1b.jpeg
http://www.awf.org/sites/default/files/media/gallery/Countries/Benin/Benin_1_ukn.jpeg?itok=Usll2mGJ
http://abagond.files.wordpress.com/2010/05/african-slave-trade-11.jpg
http://www.latinamericanstudies.org/slavery/slave-sale.JPG
http://city4.учпроект.рф/images1/cotonou-benin-10.jpg
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/b/b6/Location_Benin_AU_Africa.svg/2000px-Location_Benin_AU_Africa.svg.png
http://willdoherty.org/wordpress/wp-content/uploads/2008/03/DSCN2191.JPG
http://www.voltagepost.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Great-Benin-Walls.jpg
http://i989.photobucket.com/albums/af18/oditous2/Africa2/2900987927_858e159aa4_bbeninbn.jpg
https://levoyagecommence.files.wordpress.com/2012/09/dscn0615.jpg
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7 Facts about Benin

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