Porto-Novo


Porto-Novo is the capital of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
As the name suggests, Porto-Novo was originally developed as a port for the slave trade led by the Portuguese Empire.
Porto-Novo is a port on an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion of the country. It is Benin's second-largest city, and although Porto-Novo 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.

Etymology

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

History

Porto-Novo was once a tributary of the Yoruba kingdom of Oyo, 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 by the Yorubas, and Hogbonu by the Gun.
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 and his group to the region of Ajashein 1688. This new group brought with them their own language, and settled among the original Yoruba. It would appear that each ethnic group has since maintained their ethnic idenitites without one group being linguistically assimilated into the other.
In 1730, the Portuguese Eucaristo de Campos named the city "Porto-Novo" because of its resemblance to the city of Porto. It was originally developed as a port for the slave trade.
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. 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. 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. 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.

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. From 1908, the king held the title of Chef supérieur.
Many Afro-Brazilians settled in Porto-Novo following their return to Africa after emancipation in Brazil. Brazilian architecture and foods are important to the city's cultural life.
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. 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.

Seat of government

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

Economy

The region around Porto-Novo produces palm oil, cotton and kapok. Petroleum was discovered off the coast of the city in the 1990s, and has since then become an important export. Porto-Novo has a cement factory. The city is home to a branch of the Banque Internationale du Bénin, a major bank in Benin, and the Ouando Market.

Transport

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

Demographics

Porto-Novo had an enumerated population of 264,320 in 2013. The residents are mostly Yoruba and Gun people as well as people from other parts of the country, and from neighbouring Nigeria.
Population trend:

Administrative divisions

music is endemic to Porto-Novo. 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. 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. The music is also played in the city's Roman Catholic churches, but the royal bird crest symbol has been replaced with a cross.

Sports

The Stade Municipale and the Stade Charles de Gaulle are the largest football stadiums in the city.

Places of worship

Among the places of worship, Christian churches are predominant: Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto Novo, Protestant Methodist Church in Benin, Celestial Church of Christ, Baptist Church of Benin, Living Faith Church Worldwide, Redeemed Christian Church of God, Assemblies of God. There are also Muslim mosques, most notably the Grand Mosque. There are also several Voodoo temples in the city.

Notable people