Introduction

Porto-Novo is the official capital of Benin. This beautiful port on the Porto-Novo Lagoon, with a population of 179,138 (1992), is Benin's second largest city. This is primarily an agricultural region situated on the Gulf of Guinea. Porto-Novo was founded by the Gun people in the late 16th century as a trading post to ship African slaves to the Americas. It got its name from the Portuguese, meaning "New Port".

Benin has a war ridden history beginning with the tiny squabbles between chieftains of minor principalities for more land. The Portuguese established the trading towns of Porto Novo and Quidah. Slaves were traded from Benin. The Kingdom of Porto-Novo accepted French "protection" in 1863 in order to fend off British encroachment. However, the neighbouring Kingdom of Abomey resented the French presence, and war broke out. In 1883 the French navy landed at Porto-Novo and Cotonou, and Porto-Novo was incorporated into the French colony of Dahomey. After World War II, the indigenous people of Dahomey began forming trade unions and political parties. In 1900 it was made Dahomey's capital. Dahomey gained independence from France in 1960 and became the People’s Republic of Benin in 1974.

Since the transition to democratic government in 1991, Benin has undergone a sea change on the economic front. Benin’s economy is principally agricultural. It is self-sufficient in basic foodstuffs, the main export commodities being cotton, peanuts, coffee and palm oil. The manufacturing sector concentrates on light industry and primary products. A planned joint hydroelectric project with neighbouring Togo is intended to reduce Benin’s dependence on imported energy (mostly from Ghana), which currently accounts for a significant proportion of the country’s imports.

There are about 42 different ethnic groups in Benin most of them are of African descent and can be divided into five broad clusters: the Voltaic, the Sudanese, the Fulani, the Ewe and the Yoruba. The foreign community consists mainly of the French. Despite regional differences, citizens enjoy a great degree of freedom with the reformed Constitution of 1991. However, women experience widespread societal discrimination, especially in rural areas. French, Fon and Yoruba are the main languages spoken here.