Definition: A republic in western Africa, south of NIGER and between TOGO and NIGERIA. Its capital is Porto-Novo. It was formerly called Dahomey. In the 17th century it was a kingdom in the southern area of Africa. Coastal footholds were established by the French who deposed the ruler by 1892. It was made a French colony in 1894 and gained independence in 1960. Benin comes from the name of the indigenous inhabitants, the Bini, now more closely linked with southern Nigeria (Benin City, a town there). Bini may be related to the Arabic bani, sons. (From Webster's New Geographical Dictionary, 1988, p136, 310 & Room, Brewer's Dictionary of Names, 1992, p60)
