Day 123 Cotonou, Benin

 

Today was fairly much of a non-event. The long series of bus rides we've been taking on excursions finally took its toll. We both got up this morning, looked at each other, and said, "Nah!" Behind the scenes, I'd been dealing with the Benin authorities (although they'd mostly ignored us and the ship's agent) about my visa. 

You must pay about $60 to get a tourist visa to visit the country. It's all online,
and although tedious, you fill out forms, and you get a PDF in return, which contains your visa. I submitted my application about 3 weeks ago, the transaction was accepted, and I then moved on to Allisons. Her visa returned in two minutes, but there was no sign of mine in the email. All I had was a transaction confirmation, a charge against my credit card, and a number that was (probably) my visa. I was assured that everything would (probably) be OK. That was one too many probably's in a strange country where the police carry automatic weapons, and the customs/immigration officers are armed.

Benin is a small country on the underbelly of West Africa. Its population is around 13 million, almost all of whom live on the coast. Benin is also one of the least developed countries in Africa (and we've certainly seen a few), and unlike its neighbours is not blessed with an abundance of natural geological resources. Its main exports are palm oil and cotton. Cotton accounts for about 40% of the GDP.

Not much is known about the area prior to the 15th Century, but during the 16th and 17th centuries, the Kingdom of Dahomey (the old name for the country prior to 1972) started to expand and butt heads with the Oyo empire. This rivalry, which continued for several centuries, indirectly led to the rise of the slave trade.

One interesting fact is that the King had an elite corps of female soldiers known
as the Ahosi and later as the Dahomian Amazons. A 100-foot statue of a female soldier is smack in the middle of downtown, and these fighters are still revered today.

The Kings of Dahomey sold their captives (mainly the Oyo) to the Portuguese as part of the Atlantic Slave Trade. By 1750, the King earned 250,000 UK pounds a year (a massive sum) selling captives to the traders. This gave the overall area the name "The Slave Coast" (compared to the Ivory or Gold Coasts further to the west). The British 1808 ban on the slave trade severely crimped his business, and the last slave was sold to Brazil in 1885. The photo shows the Gate Of No Return on the beach. That's a common theme in these countries. No salve ever returned once they passed through the gate.

This decline allowed the French to take over and colonize (now called French Dahomey) in 1892. They did very little to the land, keeping it in reserve just in case any natural resources were ever discovered. None were, and ultimately, independence was granted in 1958. Predictably, political chaos ensued, and coups and revolutions were commonplace. Then, in 1972, Lt. Col. Mathieu Kérékou launched a successful coup and became president of the Republic of Benin until 1991 and again from 1996 to 2001. He was actually the first sitting African president ever to lose an election and peacefully transfer power.

Ironically, the businessman Patrice Talon won the 2016 election, running on a platform of economic and constitutional reforms. One of which was the limit of the President to just one five-year term. He won the 2021 election and was re-elected. Enough said.