Talk:Benin

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Untitled[edit]

It would be a good idea to make some sort of distinction between the old Fon kingdom of Dahomey and the French-founded state which later took on that name, as the two states are by no means coterminous. Currently, Dahomey sends one to information about the Republic of Benin, which strikes me as inappropriate. Come to think of it, there also ought to be a distinction between Benin the republic and Benin the kingdom, as the two have absolutely nothing to do with each other, apart from the capriciousness of Mathieu Kerekou.

The above is ridiculous. Benin the republic and Benin the kingdom do have a lot to do with each other. The kingdom of Agbomey, which used to be in present day Benin Republic, was a tributary of the kingdom of Oyo for some time. Oyo, Benin, and Agbomey all were involved with one another through trades, wars, etc. They were neighbors. To say they had nothing at all to do with each other is ridiculous and myopic.Pardessus1 (talk) 19:33, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

OtherUses template[edit]

Please change the article to use Template:OtherUses instead of Template:otheruses it currently uses. The OtherUses template has information about the contents of the article.

{{OtherUses|info=information about the contents of the article}}

For a sample use of this template refer to the articles Alabama or Algiers--—The preceding unsigned comment was added by DuKot (talkcontribs) .

Note that that functionality is now at {{otheruses1}}. {{OtherUses}} redirects to {{otheruses}}, and is deprecated.--Srleffler 18:41, 23 July 2006 (UTC)

Benin and Marxism[edit]

How long after the 1989 collapse of East European Communism did Kérékou abandon Marxism? And was it because of an economic crisis, or because the political winds had shifted? 192.195.66.45 14:07, 26 September 2005 (UTC)

By summer 1990 Marxist retoric had largely disappeared. The flag had been replaced, although people were obviously not very familiar with the new one (it would sometimes be seen flying upside down), and it was rare to hear anyone addressed as comrade - though I don't know if that was ever common. Bookshops continued to sell school textbook with revolutionary slogans in their introductions, but it would have been economically unfeasible to issue new editions just for that. Marxism doesn't seem to have been of much importance to many people even before 1989, except that it meant that some had the opportunity to go abroad for university education. kwami 22:07, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

DeMOGRAPHY[edit]

as im readin the page now there is nothing under demography. can sum1 add sumthin.

How's that? kwami 22:08, 1 April 2006 (UTC)

Well there wasnt before.....

sacrifice up, slavery down[edit]

"Due to the amount of Human sacrifices, the amount of slaves exported decreased from 20,000 in the end of the seventeenth century to 12,000 in the beginning of the 1800's; the decline is partly due to many colonial countries declaring slave trade illegal. This decline continued until 1885, when the last Portuguese trade vessel with slaves departed from the coast of present day Benin."

Is this really true? Why did sacrificing suddenly increase? --Gbleem 12:43, 27 July 2006 (UTC)


I believe those numbers are questionable. Some historians indicate the deportation of slaves numbered about 1-2 million by the end of the slave trade. A documentary on Benin's reconciliation movement (Noble Desire) indicates the number was much larger than 20,000. The slave trade in Dahomey began in the 15th century with the Portuguese. Thoughts? Vandora8 (talk) 21:52, 30 May 2009 (UTC)

Human blood.[edit]

sealed with human blood Are the walls of the palace really sealed with human blood? --Gbleem 12:55, 27 July 2006 (UTC)

Yes, but not exactly "sealed". Human blood was used as the liquid mixer to mold the clay that was in turn used to erect the walls. Pardessus1 (talk) 19:38, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

Writing of the Edo[edit]

http://www.kirchersociety.org/blog/?p=939 hey, is there something about this on wiki? i am curious... —The preceding unsigned comment was added by 160.114.144.150 (talk) 13:48, 20 January 2007 (UTC).

UGGGHHHH Why dont you guys have MAJOR RESOURCES!?!?!?! I NEED TO DO A PROJECT AND ITS DUE TOMARROW!!!!!!!

trade unions[edit]

I added a short bit about trade unions and the informal economy (and a copy in the main Economy of Benin). It doesn't begin to do the topic justice, but it's a start.abot azz and sex--Bookandcoffee 21:37, 30 July 2007 (UTC)

Pres. George W. Bush visited Feb. 16, 2008, and received national honor[edit]

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2008/02/20080216-4.html

his comments at the NEWS section of the WHITE HOUSE website

President Bush Presented Grand Cross of the National Order of Benin Cadjehoun International Airport Cotonou, Benin White House News Africa Trip 2008 8:28 A.M. (Local)

PRESIDENT BUSH: Mr. President, thank you. Laura and I are honored to be with you -- and the First Lady. I gratefully accept this on behalf of the American people. I stand here by your side as a friend, a believer in your vision and a partner in your willingness to confront the disease and poverty and -- that affect mankind.

We would not be standing here if you and your government was not committed to your people. You mentioned some of the dollar money we're spending with you, but those dollars come with great compassion from the American people. We care when we see suffering. We believe we're all children of God. And so it's a great honor to accept this award, and the American people send their blessings. (Applause.)

END 8:40 A.M. (Local)

Timothyjshaw (talk) 22:19, 16 February 2008 (UTC)timothyjshaw

History Dates[edit]

The history section takes off and runs on and on with-out any dates until some-time well into the text a date finally turns up. This is ridiculous. Kdammers (talk) 02:43, 17 February 2008 (UTC)

Capital[edit]

For years and years I thought the capital had been moved to Cotonou not long after the country was renamed Benin. From this article and the Cotonou and Porto Novo articles I gather that Porto Novo has always been the capital. But in what sense is it the capital if the government is in Cotonou? This seems to be something worth explaining in the article. —Largo Plazo (talk) 17:55, 9 April 2008 (UTC)

Porto-Novo has always been the capital. In fact, it is called the "political capital" while Cotonou is called the "economic capital". For years, most political offices but for the National Assembly, were situated in Cotonou, but Porto-Novo still remained the official capital. It was in the early 2000's (2000, 2001) that then president Kerekou decided to rehabilitate the capital and bring back all the political offices to Porto-Novo. That move is still in progress. Pardessus1 (talk) 19:52, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

Colony and independence[edit]

These sections should be expanded, as something must have happened during those years - government, education, economic changes, etc.--Parkwells (talk) 20:30, 10 May 2008 (UTC)

Benin the king is called or reffered to the oba. Each clan in the tribe has one. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.221.202.133 (talk) 00:12, 16 May 2008 (UTC)

Talk page history[edit]

After some User:Grawp [1] page move vandalism, we don’t seem to have any talk page history (or archives) before April 29th repair of Seresin. Anybody an idea where its gone?--Van helsing (talk) 19:23, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

The page auto deleted when I moved it back. I've restored the history. What you wish to do with the content that was on this page before the move is up to you. It's in the history, so you can archive it or restore it here, or something else. seresin ( ¡? ) 19:32, 31 May 2008 (UTC)
Let’s restore, not too big of a page to archive, thanks for your quick response seresin. --Van helsing (talk) 20:53, 31 May 2008 (UTC)

Annual rainfall[edit]

340mm can not be correct. 1340 seems to be right. somebody wants to change it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 141.13.248.13 (talk) 12:29, 3 January 2009 (UTC)


i love this page so much i had to give it a big kiss love always you —Preceding unsigned comment added by 208.108.120.252 (talk) 12:45, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Population problem...[edit]

Why does it say,

- July 2005 estimate 8,439,0002 (89th)

- 2009 census 6,769,914

Did 4 years see population decline in benin?

Possibly, but I know it didn't see close to a 25% drop, Benin is one of the most stable countries in Africa. There is no way that is accurate.Oakley77 (talk) 20:07, 25 May 2012 (UTC)

It should be reversed. The population has been growing and is nearing the 9 million mark (if it hasn't surpassed it already). Pardessus1 (talk) 19:54, 5 August 2013 (UTC)

File inclusion[edit]

I am including a file related to the concept of the world as a whole and its relationship to Benin. I hope it could be used if needed. Thanks. --Camilo Sanchez (talk) 06:23, 13 November 2009 (UTC)

File:Coat of arms of planet earth benin.svg
Coat of arms of Planet Earth with the name of Benin

List of Large Cities by size[edit]

That list seems incredibly wrong to me. Djougou is bigger than Parakou??? On what planet???? Maybe the information is just extremely outdated. I strongly recommend that someone try to find more accurate recent information. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 86.198.127.190 (talk) 07:56, 18 February 2014 (UTC)

Requested move 18 September 2015[edit]

The following is a closed discussion of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on the talk page. Editors desiring to contest the closing decision should consider a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.

The result of the move request was: Withdrawn. Shhhhwwww!! (talk) 00:40, 20 September 2015 (UTC)


(non-admin closure)å

– No WP:PRIMARYTOPIC. Similar to Republic of Macedonia, Republic of Congo, Federated States of Micronesia, and State of Palestine. Shhhhwwww!! (talk) 03:51, 18 September 2015 (UTC)

  • Oppose the current title is clearly the primary topic and the common name. No rationale from the nom has been presented to support that this isn't the case. Lugnuts Dick Laurent is dead 06:53, 18 September 2015 (UTC)
Oppose per Lugnuts-this one is a no-brainer-the rest are contested names or named after something in long use much more well known.--Kintetsubuffalo (talk) 04:46, 19 September 2015 (UTC)
  • Oppose BMK (talk) 23:47, 19 September 2015 (UTC)

The above discussion is preserved as an archive of a requested move. Please do not modify it. Subsequent comments should be made in a new section on this talk page or in a move review. No further edits should be made to this section.