Vitor Abdala
Special Report

Cotonou (Benin) - The Republic of Benin, the second stop on president Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva's latest trip to Africa, covers 112,000 square kilometers on the west coast of Africa, in the northern part of the Gulf of Guinea. Benin exports cotton, pineapple, palm oil and nuts. It has a population of 7.4 million.

Benin was a French colony until independence in 1960. In the 1990s, after being run by a series of dictators, it made a peaceful transition to democracy. Mathieu Kerekou was elected president in 1996 and reelected in 2001. New presidential elections are scheduled for this March.

In the past Benin was known as the Kingdom of Dahomey and as such it was an important trading post in the slave trade beginning in the 17th century. Dahomey had commercial relations with all the European powers of that era - France, England, Denmark and Portugal.

Slaves from Benin brought their culture with them to Brazil and one of the most lasting results of their presence is candomblé.

Today there is a community in Benin, numbering perhaps some 5,000, who are known as Agudás. They are descendents of slaves who returned to Benin from Brazil, mostly in the 18th century.

Translation: Allen Bennett