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Bight of Benin
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Bight of Benin is a bight (a type of bay) on the western African coast that extends eastward for about 400 miles (640 km) from Cape St. Paul to the Nun outlet of the Niger River. To the east it is continued by the Bight of Bonny (formerly Bight of Biafra). The bight is part of the Gulf of Guinea.
The Bight of Benin is known for its fearsome tides and has a long association with slavery. An old rhyme says Beware, beware the Bight of the Benin, for few come out though many go in. Another version goes Beware beware, the Bight of Benin: one comes out, where fifty went in! This is said to be a slavery jingle about the risk of disease in the Bight.
The author Philip McCutchan has written a book titled "Beware, beware the Bight of Benin."
A short stort by Elizabeth Coatsworth, "The Forgotten Island" (1942), deals with a treasure from Benin. The rhyme is also mentioned.
On December 25, 2003, UTA Flight 141 crashed in the Bight.
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