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Guinea, Gulf of

(Encyclopedia)Guinea, Gulf of gĭnˈē [key], large open arm of the Atlantic Ocean formed by the great bend of the coast of W Africa. It extends from the western coast of Côte d'Ivoire to the Gabon estuary and is ...

Burton, Sir Richard Francis

(Encyclopedia)Burton, Sir Richard Francis, 1821–90, English explorer, writer, and linguist. He joined (1842) the service of the East India Company and, while stationed in India, acquired a thorough knowledge of t...

Lomé

(Encyclopedia)Lomé lômāˈ [key], city (2010 pop. 837,437), capital of Togo, on the Gulf of Guinea. It is the country's administrative, communications, and industrial center, and the chief port, handling such ite...

Ewe

(Encyclopedia)Ewe āˈvā, –wā [key], African people, numbering over 3 million, who live in SE Ghana, S Togo, and S Benin. When German Togoland was partitioned after World War I, the Ewe in that colony were divi...

Yoruba

(Encyclopedia)Yoruba yōˈro͞obä [key], people of SW Nigeria and Benin, numbering about 20 million. Today many of the large cities in Nigeria (including Lagos, Ibadan, and Abeokuta) are in Yorubaland. The old Yor...

Porto-Novo

(Encyclopedia)Porto-Novo pôrˈtō nōˈvō [key], city (1992 pop. 179,138), capital of Benin, S Benin, a port on Porto-Novo lagoon, an arm of the Gulf of Guinea. It is Benin's second largest city and an administra...

Cotonou

(Encyclopedia)Cotonou kōtōno͞oˈ [key], city, capital of Atlantique prov., S Benin, on the Gulf of Guinea. ...

Maga, Hubert

(Encyclopedia)Maga, Hubert (Hubert Coutoucou Maga) übârˈ mäˈgä [key], 1916–2000, political leader in Dahomey (now Benin). A teacher, he became active in politics and was (1951–58) a representative in the ...

Great Lakes, lakes and region, E Africa

(Encyclopedia)Great Lakes, group of freshwater lakes lying along the Great Rift Valley, E Africa, including Lakes Victoria, Tanganyika, Nyasa, Turkana, Albert, Kivu, and Edward. Lakes Victoria, Albert, and Edward e...

Parakou

(Encyclopedia)Parakou pârˌəko͞oˈ [key], town (1992 pop. 103,577), central Benin. It is the trade center for a cotton, grain, and livestock-raising area. Located at the head of the railroad from Cotonou, it is ...