BENIN, FLAG OF

national flag with horizontal stripes of yellow and red and, at the hoist, a vertical green stripe. It has a width-to-length ratio of 2 to 3. The national flag of Dahomey (now Benin) was officially adopted on November 16, 1959, following the establishment of an autonomous republic in that former French colony. Like many neighbouring countries, it chose the pan-African colours (red-yellow-green) that had been used by the African Democratic Rally-i.e., the legislators in the French National Assembly who represented French West Africa following World War II. The colours were also associated with Ethiopia, the oldest independent African state, and with the flags of contemporaneously independent Ghana (1957 flag design), Cameroon (1957), and Guinea (1958). Yellow and green corresponded to the savannas of the north and the palm groves of the south, while red referred to the blood of ancestors who defended the homeland and the link between all parts of the country. The flag did not change when the country became independent on August 1, 1960. The government followed Marxist policies from 1974 and subsequently changed the country's name to Benin. On December 1, 1975, the national flag was replaced. The Benin People's Revolutionary Party expressed its socialist program in a red flag bearing a green star in the upper hoist. The national flag was exactly the reverse-a flag of green, representing the agricultural base of the economy, with a red star for national unity and revolution. Economic failures and the disintegration of Soviet influence led to the demise of this regime, and on August 1, 1990, the original flag and coat of arms were restored. Whitney Smith History As a political unit, Benin was created by the French colonial conquest at the end of the 19th century. In the precolonial period, the territory comprised a multiplicity of independent states, differing in language and culture. The south was occupied mainly by Ewe-speaking peoples, who traced their traditional origins to the town of Tado (in modern Togo). During the 16th and 17th centuries, the most powerful state in this area was the kingdom of Allada (Ardra), but in the 18th and 19th centuries its place was taken by Dahomey. In the north, the largest group was the Bariba, the most important state being the kingdom of Nikki, which formed part of a confederacy including other Bariba states located in what is today Nigeria. The Somba, in the northwest, did not form a kingdom. The slave trade The Portuguese first explored the coast of Benin in 1472 but did not begin trading there until 1553. During the 17th century the Dutch, English, French, and other Europeans also entered the trade. The principal export before the mid-19th century was always slaves. The volume of slave exports was at first small, but it increased rapidly in the second half of the 17th century, when this area became known to Europeans as the "Slave Coast," and remained high until the 1840s. The principal centre for the trade was the coastal kingdom of Ouidah (Whydah), which was originally a tributary of Allada but which had become an independent state by the 1680s. The slaves exported were predominantly war captives and were drawn from the entire area of modern Benin, including northern peoples such as the Bariba as well as communities near the coast. The Atlantic slave trade had a substantial and deleterious impact in Benin, causing the depopulation of certain areas as well as a general militarization of society. The prominence of slaves from this area in the transatlantic trade is reflected in the survival of elements of its culture in black communities of the New World, especially in the "voodoo" religion of Haiti, which incorporates many spirit cults and deities of the Ewe-speaking peoples. The economy Since independence, Benin's regular and developmental budgets have been dependent on external support, primarily from France and international organizations. This support has rendered a little less painful the formidable economic stagnation and low standard of living of the overwhelming majority of the population. The regime that came to power in a 1972 coup attempted from 1975 to restructure the economy more or less along socialist principles and to disengage from dependence on France. Most sectors of the economy were nationalized or otherwise turned over to government control, and economic relations were established with the Soviet Union and other socialist countries, as well as with Benin's neighbours. By the early 1980s it was clear that-though the economy was restructured and, at least on paper, more efficient and diversified and France's contribution to Benin's economy diminished-corruption persisted and that the overall economic situation had not improved. "Liberalization" of the economy in the mid-1980s also failed to produce positive results. Accompanying changes in the constitution and regime in the early 1990s, the remnants and slogans of Marxism were wiped out, and privatization of the economy began. Resources The few stretches of tropical forest that remain in Benin, mostly in the southwest and central areas, contain mahogany, iroko, teak, samba, and other tropical hardwoods. The rivers and lagoons are rich in fish. Mineral deposits include iron ore both in the Atakora Mountains and northeast of Kandi, limestone deposits at Onigbolo, chromium ore and a little gold in the northwest near Natitingou, marble at Dadjo, an important deposit of pottery clay at Sakt, and ilmenite (a mineral source of titanium) near the coast. Offshore oil was discovered in 1968 in the Sm field near Cotonou and has been exploited since 1982. The land Relief Benin consists of five natural regions. The coastal region is low, flat, and sandy, backed by tidal marshes and lagoons. It is composed of, in effect, a long sandbar on which grow clumps of coconut palms; the lagoons are narrower in the western part of the country, where many have become marshes because of silting, and wider in the east, and some are interconnected. In the west the Grand-Popo Lagoon extends into neighbouring Togo, while in the east the Porto-Novo Lagoon provides a natural waterway to the port of Lagos, Nigeria, although its use is discouraged by the political boundary. Only at Grand-Popo and at Cotonou do the lagoons have outlets to the sea. Behind the coastal region extends the barre country-the word being a French adaptation of the Portuguese word barro ("clay"). A fertile plateau, the barre region contains the Lama Marsh, a vast swampy area stretching from Abomey to Allada. The landscape is generally flat, although occasional hills occur, rising to about 1,300 feet (400 metres). The Benin plateaus, four in number, are to be found in the environs of Abomey, Ktou, Aplahou (or Parahou), and Zagnanado. The plateaus consist of clays on a crystalline base. The Abomey, Aplahou, and Zagnanado plateaus are from 300 to 750 feet high, and the Ktou plateau is up to 500 feet in height. The Atakora Mountains, in the northwest of the country, form a continuation of the Togo Mountains to the south. Running southwest to northeast and reaching an altitude of 2,103 feet (641 metres) at their highest point, they consist of a highly metamorphosed quartzite interior. The Niger plains, in the northeast of Benin, slope down to the Niger River valley. They consist of clayey sandstones. Drainage Apart from the Niger River, which, with its tributaries the Mkrou, Alibori, and Sota, drains the northeastern part of the country, the three principal rivers in Benin are the Mono, the Couffo, and the Oum. The Mono, which rises in Togo, forms the frontier between Togo and Benin near the coast. The Couffo, near which stands Abomey, flows southward from the Benin plateaus to drain into the coastal lagoons at Ahm. The Oum rises in the Atakora Mountains and flows southward for 280 miles; near its mouth it divides into two branches, one draining to the east into Porto-Novo Lagoon and the other to the west into Nokou Lake. The Atakora Mountains form a divide between the Volta and Niger basins. The people Despite attempts at greater national unity and integration since 1960, differences among Benin's ethnic groups survive to a marked degree. The Fon, who make up nearly 40 percent of the population, live in various parts of the country and especially in Cotonou. The Yoruba, who are related to the Nigerian Yoruba, live mainly in southeastern Benin and constitute about one-eighth of Benin's population. In the vicinity of Porto-Novo the Goun (Gun) and the Yoruba (known in Pob and Ktou as Nago, or Nagot) are so intermixed as to be hardly distinguishable. Among other southern groups are various Adja peoples, including the Aizo, the Holi, and the Mina. The Bariba, the fourth-largest ethnic group, comprise several subgroups and make up about one-twelfth of Benin's population. They inhabit the northeast, especially towns such as Nikki and Kandi that were once Bariba kingdoms. The Somba (Ditamari) are found in Natitingou and in villages in the northwest. Other northern groups include the Dendi, the Djougou, the Pila (Pilapila), and the nomadic Fulani (Peul). Several thousand French, Lebanese, and other nationals reside in Benin, primarily in Cotonou and Porto-Novo. French is the official language and the language of instruction, but each ethnic group has its own language, which the educated also speak. Most adults living in the various ethnic communities also speak the dominant language of each region. The most widely spoken languages are Fon, Ge (Mina), Bariba, Yoruba, and Dendi. Religious groups Although Christian missions have been active in the coastal region since the 16th century, only one-fifth of the total population is Christian; of the Christians, about four-fifths are Roman Catholic. Islam has adherents in the north and southeast; about one-sixth of the total population is Muslim. Most of the population adheres to traditional religions. In the south, animist religions, which include fetishes (objects regarded with awe as the embodiment of a powerful spirit) for which Benin is renowned, retain their traditional strength.