Discussion Board Forum 1
Rhonda Ray
HIWD 320 Africa
HIWD 320 Africa
Liberty University in Lynchburg VA
The African nation that I have chosen to write my blog post on is Benin. I discovered after taking AncestryDNA test that my ancestors came from The Kingdom of Dahomey (Dan-ho-me, “on the belly of Dan”), also known as the Republic of Benin. This tropical country is located 438 miles from the equator. The latitude ranges from 6°30′ N to 12°30′ N and its longitude is from 1° E to 3°40′ E.
This narrow clubshaped trip of land was once a major power on the Atlantic coast. Its neighboring countries are Burkina Faso, Niger, Nigeria and Togo. The country is 75 miles long and 202 miles wide.
The weather is typically equatorial—hot and humid, with a dry season from December to March, in which the harmattan blows in a northeasterly to southwesterly direction. Temperatures range between 72° F and 95° F. The rainy season is between March & July; there is a short dry season between July & September and a short wet season between mid-September to mid-November. In the southwest the rainfall is considerably low and the dry seasons are long. The poorest countries are in the tropics. The land is less fertile, dry and where Malaria is most prevalent.
Benin has 10 major cities and is divided into 12 departments with 77 communes. In 1999 the departments were divided into 2 halves. The majority of the population lives on the southern coast of Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northern tropical portion of the Atlantic.
Benin – Largest Cities
NAME
|
POPULATION
|
LATITUDE/LONGITUDE
|
Cotonou
|
780,000
|
6.365/2.418
|
Abomey-Calavi
|
385,755
|
6.449/2.356
|
Djougou
|
237,040
|
9.709/1.666
|
Porto-Novo
|
234,168
|
6.496/2.604
|
Parkakou
|
163,753
|
9.337/2.63
|
Bohicon
|
125,092
|
7.178/2.067
|
Kandi
|
109,701
|
11.134/2.939
|
Lokossa
|
86,971
|
6.639/1.717
|
Ouidah
|
83,503
|
6.363/2.085
|
Abomey-Calavi
|
82,154
|
7.183/1.991
|
The largest city is Cotonou. The “La terre de barre” plateaus splits the country running north and south along the Couffo, Zou and Queme Rivers. Cotonou lies southeast of the country between the Atlantic and Lake Nokoue´. In addition to being the largest city in Benin, it is where most of the country’s government buildings and diplomatic services seat.
The capital city Porto-Novo is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea. It is was originally a port for slaves in the 16th century during the Trans-Atlantic Slave trade.
Parakou in the eastern part of Benin and is the capital of the 12th department of Borgou. Borgou is split in the northeast by fertile highlands and savannah. Cotton, corn, and cassava are the crops grown in this region.
Sources:
http://www.nationsencyclopedia.com/Africa/index.html
Reader, John. Africa: A Biography of the Continent. New York: A.A. Knopf, 1998. Print.
http://www.nationsencyclopedica.com/Africa/Benin
http://www.nationsencyclopedica.com/Africa/Benin-Climate.html#ixzz4xOJhD8Cy
