Benin, called Dahomey at the time, became independent in 1960.

Benin is a largely agricultural nation in West Africa that is populated by more than six million people. In the 1700s, Benin, then called Dahomey, became the leading slave trading nation in Africa. An average of over 10,000 prisoners of war were shipped from Dahomey to the Americas each year as slaves. Dahomey became a French colony in 1904, becoming part of French West Africa. Dahomey gained independence from France on this day in 1960. There followed ten years of unsettled military rule, during which there were five coups, nine changes in government and five different constitutions. Despite the upheaval, no leader was killed during this period. A 1972 coup began a period of Marxist rule, during which the country was renamed Benin. Today, Benin is a democracy. French remains the official language of Benin, but the tribal languages Fon and Yoruba are spoken by a majority of the people.
 

EDSITEment
In The Royal Art of Benin (3–5), students learn how royal power was communicated in a society without written records—through brass plaques. Craftspeople from Benin created these works of art to speak to the people about the powers of their divine king.

Learn about trade products and trade routes important in ancient West Africa in Trekking to Timbuktu: Trade in Ancient West Africa (6–8). A student version of the lesson is also available.

In Women in Africa: Tradition and Change (9–12), students learn about the role of women in traditional African village life, understand the contextual nature of artwork within traditional African village life, become familiar with women writers of postcolonial Africa and examine how the traditions of village life influence postcolonial literature.

ARTSEDGE
The ARTSEDGE mini-site African Odyssey (K–12) includes many resources to study the history and culture of Africa. In the country profile of Benin, students learn about the physical geography, climate, recent history and economy of Benin.

Xpeditions
In AIDS in Africa I: The Scope of the Problem (9–12), students search for data related to the discrepancy between the impact of AIDS on people in sub-Saharan Africa and on people in the U.S. and determine mathematically the relative impact of AIDS on Africa versus its impact on the U.S. The companion lesson, AIDS in Africa II: More Than Sympathy (9–12), focuses on why the disastrous numbers surrounding the AIDS epidemic in Africa exist.