BENIN

1 August 1960:
Dahomey (now Benin) gains independence from France

Links to explore this further:

For a broad overview of African independence go to our site’s coverage of African Independence (chronology and history)

visit http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/CIA_Maps/
Benin_19841.gif for a full screen map, and

http://www.sas.upenn.edu/African_Studies/Country_Specific/
benin_EDoc.html for a very brief coverage of Beninese history

http://www.lonelyplanet.com/destinations/africa/benin/history.htm has a much fuller history of Benin

http://epa-prema.net/abomeyGB/ is the front page of the Abomey Historical museum, or just click on

http://epa-prema.net/abomeyGB/abomey2_gb.htm to go straight to the history page

http://www.countryreports.org/background/benin.htm has a brief history of Benin and its post-independence politics which highlights that Benin was the first African country to successfully transition from dictatorship to a pluralistic political system.