Modern Benin is located along the western coast of Africa. Benin covers only 112,622 square kilometers, making it one of the smallest countries in Africa. Today's Benin, however, differs significantly from the kingdom it was during the precolonial and colonial periods. People, culture and government have all changed because of colonization. (The World Fact Book, 2014)The great kingdom of Dahomey once resided where Benin is today. The origins of Dahomey date back to the 1600s, during which two groups of people named Aja and Fon occupied Dahomey (The World Fact Book, 2014). The Fon people practiced the religion of Voodoo and believed that God was Voodoo. During their occupation, the Fon and Aja people established two large cities, Abomey and Ouidah. Ouidah quickly became a major trading port, particularly for slaves (The Africa Guide, nd). Although it was ultimately the French who colonized Dahomey, known since 1975 as Benin, the Portuguese were in fact the first Europeans to reach Dahomey and settle there. a trading fort at Port-Novo. Many other European countries such as Holland, Spain and France followed and established trading ports along the coast (“Benin”, 2008). In the mid-1600s, the British began arriving in Ouidah and building a trading fort. Thanks to the construction of the trading forts, trade along the coast of Dahomey flourished, with the main export being slaves (Republic of Benin, n.d.). Consequently, the west coast of Africa became known as the "slave coast" until the abolition of slavery in the early 1800s (Bondarenko, n.d.). The kings of Dahomey grew rich from this trade and obtained weapons from European traders which were used to conquer other West African kingdoms. This expa...... middle of paper ......://my.vanderbilt.edu/f13afdevfilm/2013/09/the-impacts-of-colonialism-and-slavery-in-modern-benin/ Osagie, E., Ph.D. (Presenter). (1999, December 10). Benin in contemporary Nigeria, an agenda for the 21st century. Conference presented at the Oba Akenzua Cultural Center, Benin City, Benin. Republic of Benin. (nd). The history, culture, people and religions of Benin. Retrieved March 16, 2014 from http://www.ambabenin.dk/benin_cult.htmRyan, JC (2001). Countries and their cultures: Benin (Vol. 1) (CR Ember & M. Ember, Eds.). New York: Macmillan Reference USA. Shokpeka, SA and Nwaokocha, OA (2009). British colonial economic policy in Nigeria, the example of the province of Benin 1914-1954. Human Ecology, 28(1), 58-65.The World Fact Book. (March 11, 2014). Benign. Accessed March 17, 2014, from https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/bn.html