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Porto-Novo

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}}Template:Main other Template:Langnf, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}, {{#invoke:IPA|main}}; Template:Langx; Template:Langx; also known as Hogbonu and Ajashe) is the capital and second-largest city of Benin. The commune covers an area of Template:Convert and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.<ref name="Atlasbenin">{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref><ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

In 1863, following British bombardment, Porto-Novo accepted French protection, and by 1900, it became the capital of French Dahomey.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref> After Benin's independence in 1960, Porto-Novo retained its status as the official capital, while Cotonou emerged as the economic and administrative hub.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation |CitationClass=web }}</ref>

Situated on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion of the country, the city was originally developed as a port for the transatlantic slave trade led by the Portuguese Empire. It is Benin's second-largest city, and although it is the official capital, where the national legislature sits, the larger city of Cotonou is the seat of government, where most of the government buildings are situated and government departments operate.

EtymologyEdit

The name Porto-Novo is of Portuguese origin, literally meaning "New Port". It remains untranslated in French, the national language of Benin.

HistoryEdit

Template:See also Porto-Novo was once a tributary of the Yoruba Oyo Empire,<ref name=beninguide>Template:Cite book</ref><ref>Template:Cite book</ref> which had offered it protection from the neighbouring Fon, who were expanding their influence and power in the region. The Yoruba community in Porto-Novo today remains one of the two ethnicities aboriginal to the city. The city was originally called Ajashe (Àjàṣẹ́ in Yoruba orthography) by the Yorubas, and Hogbonu by the Gun.Template:Citation needed

Although historically the original inhabitants of the area were Yoruba speaking, there seems to have been a wave of migration from the region of Allada further west in the 1600s, which brought Te-Agbalin (or Te Agdanlin) and his group to the region of Ajashe in 1688.<ref name="Bradt"/> Template:Citation needed

In 1730, the Portuguese Eucaristo de Campos named the city "Porto-Novo." Although colonizers claim the name was due to its resemblance to the city of Porto,<ref>Mathurin C. Houngnikpo, Samuel Decalo, Historical Dictionary of Benin, Rowman & Littlefield, USA, 2013, p. 297</ref><ref>Britannica, Porto-Novo Template:Webarchive, britannica.com, USA, accessed on July 7, 2019</ref> the real reason was to signal the development of a new port for the slave trade.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref>

In 1861, the British, who were active in nearby Nigeria, bombarded the city, which persuaded the Kingdom of Porto-Novo to accept French protection in 1863.<ref name="prelude">Template:Cite bookTemplate:ISBN?</ref> The neighbouring Kingdom of Dahomey objected to French involvement in the region and war broke out between the two states. In 1883, Porto-Novo was incorporated into the French "colony of Dahomey and its dependencies" and in 1900, it became Dahomey's capital city.<ref name="Bradt"/> As a consequence, a community that had previously exhibited endoglossic bilingualism now began to exhibit exoglossic bilingualism, with the addition of French to the language repertoire of the city's inhabitants.Template:Citation needed Unlike the city's earlier Gun migrants, however, the French sought to impose their language in all spheres of life and completely stamp out the use and proliferation of indigenous languages.Template:Citation needed

File:Y Pranishnikoff, Porto Novo, Groupe de Naturels (1887).jpg
Porto-Novo (1887)

The kings of Porto-Novo continued to rule in the city, both officially and unofficially, until the death of the last king, Alohinto Gbeffa, in 1976.<ref name="Bradt">Butler, Stuart (2019) Bradt Travel Guide - Benin, pgs. 121-131</ref> From 1908, the king held the title of Chef supérieur.Template:Citation needed

Many Afro-Brazilians settled in Porto-Novo following their return to Africa after emancipation in Brazil.Template:Citation needed Brazilian architecture and foods are important to the city's cultural life.Template:Citation needed

Under French colonial rule, flight across the new border to British-ruled Nigeria in order to avoid harsh taxation, military service and forced labour was common.Template:Citation needed Of note is the fact that the Nigeria-Benin southern border area arbitrarily cuts through contiguous areas of Yoruba and Egun-speaking people. A combination of the aforementioned facts, coupled with the fact that the city itself lies within the sphere of Nigerian socioeconomic influence, have given Porto-Novians a preference for some measure of bi-nationality or dual citizenship, with the necessary linguistic consequences; for example, Nigerian home video films in Yoruba with English subtitles have become popular in Porto-Novo and its suburbs.Template:Citation needed

Seat of governmentEdit

Benin's parliament (Assemblée nationale) is in Porto-Novo, the official capital, but Cotonou is the seat of government and houses most of the governmental ministries.

EconomyEdit

File:Marche ouando porto-novo.jpg
Ouando Market in Porto-Novo

The region around Porto-Novo produces palm oil, cotton and kapok.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Petroleum was discovered off the coast of the city in 1968 and has become an important export since the 1990s.<ref>Template:Cite book</ref> Porto-Novo has a cement factory.Template:Citation needed The city is home to a branch of the Banque Internationale du Bénin, a major bank in Benin, and the Ouando Market.Template:Citation needed

TransportEdit

File:Joseph H Ahissou photo charcoal transportation in PortoNovo.jpg
Charcoal transportation by motorcycle

Porto-Novo is served by an extension of the Bénirail train system.Template:Citation needed Privately owned motorcycle taxis known as zemijan are used throughout the city.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The city is located about Template:Convert away from Cotonou Airport, which has flights to major cities in West Africa and Europe.

DemographicsEdit

Porto-Novo had an enumerated population of 264,320 in 2013.<ref name="citypopulation.de"/> The residents are mostly Yoruba and Gun people as well as people from other parts of the country, and from neighbouring Nigeria.

Population trend:<ref name="citypopulation.de"/>

  • 1979: 133,168 (census)
  • 1992: 179,138 (census)
  • 2002: 223,552 (census)
  • 2013: 264,320 (census)

GeographyEdit

Porto-Novo is located in the south of Benin, 13 kilometers from the Atlantic Ocean, separated by a lagoon.<ref>Emma-Christiane Leite, "Dynamique des écosystèmes aquatiques au Bénin : le cas du complexe Nokoué Lake-lagoon of Porto-Novo", in Koffi Atta, Tanga Pierre Zoungrana et al., Logiques paysannes et espaces agraires en Afrique, Karthala, 2010, pp. 273–290. Template:ISBN</ref> Its altitude is approximately 245 meters and it covers an area of 52 km².<ref name="Gandounou8">Template:Harvtxt.</ref>

It is located 30 kilometers west of Cotonou, the economic capital, and 12 kilometers from the Nigerian border to the east. Neighboring municipalities include Akpro-Missérété, Avrankou, and Adjarra to the north, Sèmè-Podji to the south, Adjarra to the east, and Aguégués to the west.

ClimateEdit

Porto-Novo has a tropical savanna climate (Köppen Aw) with consistently hot and humid conditions and two wet seasons: a long wet season from March to July and a shorter rain season in September and October. The city’s location on the edge of the Dahomey Gap makes it much drier than would be expected so close to the equator, although it is less dry than Accra or Lomé. Template:Weather box

Administrative divisionsEdit

File:Buildings of the National Assembly of Benin 2019.jpg
The National Assembly building

CultureEdit

  • The Porto-Novo Museum of Ethnography contains a large collection of Yoruba masks, as well as items on the history of the city and of Benin.<ref name="Bradt"/>
  • King Toffa's Palace (also known as the Musée Honmé and the Royal Palace), now a museum, shows what life was like for African royalty.<ref name="Bradt"/> The palace and the surrounding district was added to the UNESCO World Heritage Tentative List on October 31, 1996 in the Cultural category.<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation

|CitationClass=web }}</ref>

  • Jardin Place Jean Bayol is a large plaza which contains a statue of the first King of Porto-Novo.
  • The Da Silva Museum is a museum of Beninese history.<ref name="Bradt"/> It shows what life was like for the returning Afro-Brazilians.
  • The palais de Gouverneur (governor's palace) is the home of the national legislature.
  • The Isèbayé Foundation is a museum of Voodoo and Beninese history.<ref name="Bradt"/>

MusicEdit

Adjogan music is endemic to Porto-Novo.<ref>Template:Citation</ref> The style of music is played on an alounloun, a stick with metallic rings attached which jingle in time with the beating of the stick.Template:Citation needed The alounloun is said to descend from the staff of office of King Te-Agdanlin and was traditionally played to honour the King and his ministers.Template:Citation needed The music is also played in the city's Roman Catholic churches, but the royal bird crest symbol has been replaced with a cross.Template:Citation needed

SportsEdit

The Stade Municipal and the Stade Charles de Gaulle are the largest football stadiums in the city.Template:Citation needed

Places of worshipEdit

File:Grande Mosquee Porto-Novo Benin Joseph Herve Ahissou.jpg
The Grande Mosquée in Porto-Novo. Its architecture was inspired by the churches of Salvador de Bahia.Template:Citation needed
File:Porto Novo Cathedral.jpg
Porto Novo Cathedral

Among the places of worship, Christian churches are predominant: Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto Novo (Catholic Church), Protestant Methodist Church in Benin (World Methodist Council), Celestial Church of Christ, Union of Baptist Churches of Benin (Baptist World Alliance), Living Faith Church Worldwide, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Assemblies of God.<ref>J. Gordon Melton, Martin Baumann, ‘‘Religions of the World: A Comprehensive Encyclopedia of Beliefs and Practices’’, ABC-CLIO, USA, 2010, p. 338</ref> There are also Muslim mosques, most notably the Grand Mosque.<ref name="Bradt"/> There are also several Voodoo temples in the city.<ref name="Bradt"/>

Notable peopleEdit

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NotesEdit

Template:Reflist

Further readingEdit

External linksEdit

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Template:Yoruba topics Template:List of African capitals Template:Communes of Benin Template:Ouémé Department

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