Benin

[be-neen]

noun

1. Formerly Dahomey. a republic in W Africa: formerly part of French West Africa; gained independence in 1960. 44,290 sq. mi. (114,711 sq. km). Porto Novo.

2. Bight of, a bay in N Gulf of Guinea in W Africa.

3. a former native kingdom in W Africa: now incorporated into Nigeria.

4. a river in S Nigeria, flowing into the Bight of Benin.

Benin

/ bɛˈniːn /

noun

1. Former name (until 1975): Dahomey. a republic in W Africa, on the Bight of Benin , a section of the Gulf of Guinea: in the early 19th century a powerful kingdom, famed for its women warriors; became a French colony in 1893, gaining independence in 1960. It consists chiefly of coastal lagoons and swamps in the south, a fertile plain and marshes in the centre, and the Atakora Mountains in the northwest. Official language: French. Religion: animist majority. Currency: franc. Capital: Porto Novo (the government is based in Cotonou). Pop: 9 877 292 (2013 est). Area: 112 622 sq km (43 474 sq miles)

2. a former kingdom of W Africa, powerful from the 14th to the 17th centuries: now a province of S Nigeria: noted for its bronzes

Example Sentences

In 2022, Germany was the first country to return some of the famous Benin Bronzes to Nigeria in a bid to deal with its "dark colonial history".

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"We need to decolonise the term 'Benin Bronzes' itself," she explained.

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They were looted by British troops in 1897 from the West African kingdom of Benin, in modern-day Nigeria's Edo state - and many were auctioned off in London and are in collections all over the world.

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The museum in Edo state was in part conceived as a home for the Benin Bronzes - artefacts looted from there by British soldiers in the 19th Century.

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Over the past decade, Benin has seen robust growth, regularly exceeding six percent annually.

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