Al Jazeera English published this video item, entitled “Benin showcases looted artefacts returned by France” – below is their description.
For the first time in more than 100 years, people in Benin will be able to see artefacts looted by French colonial soldiers.
The treasures were returned from a French museum last year and they have gone on display at the Presidential palace in Cotonou alongside contemporary artworks.
In neighbouring Nigeria, the king of the Benin kingdom has also welcomed home two stolen bronzes from British universities.
To date, some 90,000 African works have been tallied in France’s museums, with President Emmanuel Macron promising to ‘continue the work’ of restitution.
Al Jazeera’s Barbara Angopa reports.
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Al Jazeera English YouTube Channel
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In This Story: Benin
Benin, officially the Republic of Benin, is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as Dahomey, the country gained full independence from France in 1960.
It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the small southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean.
The capital of Benin is Porto-Novo, but the seat of government is in Cotonou, the country’s largest city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of 114,763 square kilometres (44,310 sq mi) and its population in 2018 was estimated to be approximately 11.49 million.
The official language of Benin is French, with several indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also being commonly spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Roman Catholicism, followed closely by Islam, Vodun (commonly referred to as Voodoo outside the country) and Protestantism.
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