Ouidah

Ouidah

Benin
also spelled  Whydah 

      town in southern Benin, western Africa. It lies along the Gulf of Guinea. The town was the main port of the Kingdom of Abomey (Dahomey) in the 18th and 19th centuries. Portuguese, French, Dutch, Danish, British, and Americans all vied for a share of the slave and palm-oil trade made available through Ouidah by the efficiently organized and centralized kingdom. The town was an intellectual hub in part because of the number of “Brazilians”—as individuals of mixed Afro-European heritage and slaves or their descendants returning from Brazil were known—who settled there and served as cultural intermediaries. In 1893 the area came under French control. Some of the old forts, a cathedral, and a temple of the Abomey traditional religion remain. Coconut, palm, and coffee are grown in the area. Ouidah is connected by road and railway to Cotonou, 20 miles (32 km) east, the major port and commercial centre of Benin. Pop. (2002) 37,647.

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Universalium. 2010.

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Look at other dictionaries:

  • Ouidah —   Commune and city   Basilica of Ouidah …   Wikipedia

  • Ouidah — Ouidah …   Deutsch Wikipedia

  • Ouidah — Le fort portugais de Ouidah Administration Pays   …   Wikipédia en Français

  • Ouidah I —   Arrondissement   Country  Benin Department Atlantique Depart …   Wikipedia

  • Ouidah II —   Arrondissement   Country  Benin Department Atlantique Depar …   Wikipedia

  • Ouidah IV —   Arrondissement   Country  Benin Department Atlantique Depar …   Wikipedia

  • Ouidah —   [wi da], Stadt in der Republik Benin, nahe der Küste an einer Lagune westlich von Cotonou, 64 100 Einwohner; Museum (Dokumentation des Sklavenhandels) im Fort. Ouidah ist heute Zentrum fetischistischer Kulte mit vielen Tempeln und Klöstern.  … …   Universal-Lexikon

  • Ouidah — (spr. ui ), Ort in Dahome, s. Ajuda …   Kleines Konversations-Lexikon

  • Ouidah — v. et port du Bénin, à l O. de Cotonou; 30 000 hab. Les Français y établirent en 1623 un comptoir qui se livra à la traite des esclaves au XVIIIe s. Les Portugais y possédaient une enclave …   Encyclopédie Universelle

  • Ouidah — es una ciudad en la costa atlántica de Benín. Conocida originalmente como Ajudá, los portugueses tomaron la ciudad en 1580, después de lo cual creció alrededor del comercio de esclavos. Portugueses, ingleses, franceses y daneses construyeron… …   Wikipedia Español

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