Bight of Benin

Bight of Benin, bay in West Africa, forming the western part of the Gulf of Guinea. The Bight of Benin extends from the mouth of the Volta River to the mouth of the Niger River and measures 720 km (450 mi) long. It is fed by the Mono, Ouémé, Ogun, and Benin rivers. Principal ports include Accra, Ghana; Lomé, Togo; Porto-Novo and Cotonou, Benin; and Lagos, Nigeria. The coast is characterized by rough surf and low offshore islands that protect shallow anchorages.

Throughout the 18th century the Bight of Benin was known as the Slave Coast, when Badagri (in Nigeria) and Ouidah (in Benin) were major slaving ports. Between 1711 and 1810 one million people were captured along the Bight of Benin, most of them from the Yoruba ethnic group in southwest Nigeria and some from the Hausa and Nupe groups living north of the Niger.