Porto-Novo << PAWR toh NOH voh >> is the official capital of Benin. However, most of the nation’s government activity takes place in the nearby city of Cotonou. About 265,000 people live in Porto-Novo. The city lies in southeastern Benin on the Lagoon of Porto-Novo, an inlet of the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean. Porto-Novo is a main trading center for goods produced in Benin. A railroad and Benin’s chief river, the Ouémé, connect the city with the interior of the country.
Porto-Novo was probably founded in the 1600’s by the Adja, an African people. Later in the 1600’s, the Portuguese founded a trading post in the city. Porto-Novo became a center of the slave trade in the 1770’s. French colonial influence began in the mid-1800’s. The city became a regional capital of French West Africa after that colony was established in 1904. When Benin gained independence from France in 1960, Porto-Novo became the capital.
