2019-08-01 Thu

Independence Day of Benin is a public holiday in Benin that falls on 1st August every year. This is Benin's National Day and commemorates full independence from France on 1 August 1960.

Benin is a country in West Africa which was a European source to import Slaves during the age of Discoveries and Imperialism. However, after the abolition of the slave trade, the country went under the control of the French towards the end of the 1800s for almost half a century.

In 1946 with the establishment of the Fourth French Republic, Dahomey became an overseas territory of France with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. Now inwards the country started going towards the Independence from France as in December 1958 it became the Republic of Dahomey with a self-governing autonomous republic.

Finally, on 11 July 1960, France agreed to Dahomey becoming fully independent. Dahomey gained its full independence on 1 August 1960, with Hubert Maga becoming Dahomey's first president. The commemoration was held in the country on the completion of 50th year in 2010 with the issuance of 3 stamps.

The stamp shown above is a 500 CFA stamp depicting one of the modern cities of Benin in the Background.

Image Courtesy: https://colnect.com

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