Porto-Novo

Porto-Novo(Portuguesefor 'New Port',Portuguese pronunciation:[ˈpoɾtuˈnovu],French pronunciation:[pɔʁtɔnɔvo];Yoruba:Àjàṣẹ́;Fon:Xɔ̀gbónù; also known asHogbonuandAjashe) is thecapitalandsecond-largest cityofBenin. The commune covers an area of 110 square kilometres (42 sq mi) and as of 2002 had a population of 223,552 people.
Situated on an inlet of theGulf of Guinea, in the southeastern portion of the country, the city was originally developed as a port for thetransatlanticslave tradeled by thePortuguese Empire. It is Benin's second-largest city, and although it is the official capital, where the national legislature sits, the larger city ofCotonouis theseat of government, where most of the government buildings are situated and government departments operate.
The namePorto-Novois ofPortugueseorigin, literally meaning "New Port". It remains untranslated in French, thenational languageof Benin.
Porto-Novo was once a tributary of theYorubakingdom ofOyo,which had offered it protection from the neighbouringFon, 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 calledAjashe(Àjàṣẹ́ in Yoruba orthography) by the Yorubas, andHogbonuby theGun.
Although historically the original inhabitants of the area wereYorubaspeaking, there seems to have been a wave of migration from the region ofAlladafurther west in the 1600s, which brought Te-Agbalin (or Te Agdanlin) and his group to the region of Ajashe in 1688.
In 1730, the Portuguese Eucaristo de Campos named the city "Porto-Novo" because of its resemblance to the city ofPorto.It was originally developed as a port for theslave trade.
In 1861, theBritish, who were active in nearbyNigeria, bombarded the city, which persuaded the Kingdom of Porto-Novo to acceptFrenchprotection in 1863.The neighbouringKingdom of Dahomeyobjected to French involvement in the region and war broke out between the two states. In 1883, Porto-Novo was incorporated into the French "colony ofDahomeyand 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 earlierGunmigrants, 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 ofChef supérieur.
ManyAfro-Brazilianssettled in Porto-Novo following their return to Africa afteremancipationinBrazil.Brazilian architecture and foods are important to the city's cultural life.
Under French colonial rule, flight across the newborderto British-ruledNigeriain 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 andEgun-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.
Benin's parliament (Assemblée nationale) is in Porto-Novo, the official capital, butCotonouis the seat of government and houses most of the governmental ministries.
The region around Porto-Novo producespalm oil,cottonandkapok.Petroleumwas discovered off the coast of the city in 1968 and has become an important export since the 1990s.Porto-Novo has a cement factory.The city is home to a branch of theBanque Internationale du Bénin, a major bank in Benin, and theOuando Market.
Porto-Novo is served by an extension of theBénirailtrain system.Privately owned motorcycle taxis known aszemijanare used throughout the city.The city is located about 40 kilometres (25 miles) away fromCotonou Airport, which has flights to major cities in West Africa and Europe.
Porto-Novo had an enumerated population of 264,320 in 2013.The residents are mostlyYorubaand Gun people as well as people from other parts of the country, and from neighbouringNigeria.
Population trend:
Porto-Novo has atropical savanna climate(KöppenAw) with consistently hot and humid conditions and two wet seasons: a long wet season from March to July and a shorter rain season in September and October. The city’s location on the edge of theDahomey Gapmakes it much drier than would be expected so close to the equator, although it is less dry thanAccraorLomé.
Adjoganmusic is endemic to Porto-Novo.The style of music is played on analounloun, 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'sRoman Catholicchurches, but the royal bird crest symbol has been replaced with a cross.
TheStade Municipaland theStade Charles de Gaulleare the largestfootballstadiums in the city.
Among theplaces of worship,Christianchurches are predominant:Roman Catholic Diocese of Porto Novo(Catholic Church),Protestant Methodist Church in Benin(World Methodist Council),Celestial Church of Christ,Union of Baptist Churches of Benin(Baptist World Alliance),Living Faith Church Worldwide,Redeemed Christian Church of God,Assemblies of God.There are alsoMuslimmosques, most notably the Grand Mosque.There are also several Voodoo temples in the city.