The Bight of Biafra, also known as the Bight of Bonny, is a bight off the west- central

Africa Africa is the world's second-largest and second-most populous continent after Asia. At about 30.3 million km2 (11.7 million square miles) including adjacent islands, it covers 20% of Earth's land area and 6% of its total surfac ...

n coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. This "bight" has also sometimes been erroneously referred to as the "Bight of Africa" because it is at this point where the direction of the Western coastline of the African continent most prominently changes from a North/ South orientation to an East/ West orientation.

Geography

The Bight of Biafra, between Cape Formosa and Cape Lopez, is the most eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea; it contains the islands Bioko (part of

Equatorial Guinea Equatorial Guinea, officially the Republic of Equatorial Guinea, is a country on the west coast of Central Africa. It has an area of . Formerly the colony of Spanish Guinea, its post-independence name refers to its location both near the Equ ...

São Tomé and Príncipe São Tomé and Príncipe, officially the Democratic Republic of São Tomé and Príncipe, is an island country in the Gulf of Guinea, off the western equatorial coast of Central Africa. It consists of two archipelagos around the two main isla ...

. The name Biafra – as indicating the country – fell into disuse in the later part of the 19th century 1710 moll

A 1710 map indicates that the region known as "Biafar" was located in present-day

Cameroon Cameroon, officially the Republic of Cameroon, is a country in Central Africa. It shares boundaries with Nigeria to the west and north, Chad to the northeast, the Central African Republic to the east, and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the R ...

. The Bight of Biafra extends east from the

River Delta A river delta is a landform, archetypically triangular, created by the deposition of the sediments that are carried by the waters of a river, where the river merges with a body of slow-moving water or with a body of stagnant water. The creat ...

of the

Niger Niger, officially the Republic of the Niger, is a landlocked country in West Africa. It is a unitary state Geography of Niger#Political geography, bordered by Libya to the Libya–Niger border, north-east, Chad to the Chad–Niger border, east ...

in the north until it reaches Cape Lopez in Gabon."Biafra, Bight of."
''

Encyclopædia Britannica The is a general knowledge, general-knowledge English-language encyclopaedia. It has been published by Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc. since 1768, although the company has changed ownership seven times. The 2010 version of the 15th edition, ...

''. Encyclopædia Britannica Online Library Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc., 2013. Retrieved 2 November 2013. Besides the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mali, Nige ...

, other rivers reaching the bay are the Cross River, Calabar River, Ndian, Wouri, Sanaga, Nyong River, Ntem, Mbia,

Mbini Mbini is a town in Río Muni, Equatorial Guinea, lying at the mouth of the Benito River. ''Mbini'' is the Ndowe language, Ndowe name for Río Muni. It is located 44 km southwest of Bata, Equatorial Guinea, Bata. In 1994, the population was ...

, Muni and Komo River. The main islands in the Bay are Bioko and

Príncipe Príncipe (; ) is the smaller, northern major island of the country of São Tomé and Príncipe lying off the west coast of Africa in the Gulf of Guinea. It has an area of (including offshore islets) and a population of 7,324 at the 2012 Cens ...

; other important islands are Ilhéu Bom Bom, Ilhéu Caroço, Elobey Grande and Elobey Chico. Countries located on the Bight of Biafra are

Nigeria Nigeria, officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf of Guinea in the Atlantic Ocean to the south. It covers an area of . With Demographics of Nigeria, ...

( Bioko Island and Rio Muni), and

Gabon Gabon ( ; ), officially the Gabonese Republic (), is a country on the Atlantic coast of Central Africa, on the equator, bordered by Equatorial Guinea to the northwest, Cameroon to the north, the Republic of the Congo to the east and south, and ...

History

The Bight of Biafra accounted for an estimated 10.7% of all enslaved people that were transported to the Americas between 1519-1700. Between 1701-1800, it accounted for an estimated 14.97%. Slaves purchased from the markets on the Bight of Biafra included Bamileke,

Efik The Efik are an ethnic group located primarily in southern Nigeria, and western Cameroon. Within Nigeria, the Efik can be found in the present-day Cross River State and Akwa Ibom state. The Efik speak the Efik language which is a member of the ...

/ Ibibio, Igbo, Tikar, Bakossi, Fang, Massa, Bubi and many more. These captured Africans arrived in what would become the United States and were sold in

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, which held 60% of all slaves on the eastern coast. Virginia and surrounding colonies held 30,000 slaves. Normally, enslaved people were cheaper when bought in

because they preferred to die rather than accept slavery. By the middle of the eighteenth century, Bonny had emerged as the major slave trading port on the Bight of Biafra outpacing the earlier dominant slave ports at Elem Kalabari (also known then as New Calabar) and Old Calabar. These 3 ports together accounted for over 90% of the slave trade emanating from the Bight of Biafra.

Timeline

Between 1525 and 1859, the British accounted for over two-thirds of slaves exported from the Bight of Biafra to the

New World The term "New World" is used to describe the majority of lands of Earth's Western Hemisphere, particularly the Americas, and sometimes Oceania."America." ''The Oxford Companion to the English Language'' (). McArthur, Tom, ed., 1992. New York: ...

. In 1777,

Portugal Portugal, officially the Portuguese Republic, is a country on the Iberian Peninsula in Southwestern Europe. Featuring Cabo da Roca, the westernmost point in continental Europe, Portugal borders Spain to its north and east, with which it share ...

transferred control of Fernando Po and Annobón to Spanish suzerainty thus introducing

Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...

into the early colonial history of the Bight of Biafra. In 1807, the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Northwestern Europe, off the coast of European mainland, the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

made illegal the international trade in slaves, and the

Royal Navy The Royal Navy (RN) is the naval warfare force of the United Kingdom. It is a component of His Majesty's Naval Service, and its officers hold their commissions from the King of the United Kingdom, King. Although warships were used by Kingdom ...

was deployed to forcibly prevent slavers from the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...

West Africa West Africa, also known as Western Africa, is the westernmost region of Africa. The United Nations geoscheme for Africa#Western Africa, United Nations defines Western Africa as the 16 countries of Benin, Burkina Faso, Cape Verde, The Gambia, Gha ...

and

Arabia The Arabian Peninsula (, , or , , ) or Arabia, is a peninsula in West Asia, situated north-east of Africa on the Arabian plate. At , comparable in size to India, the Arabian Peninsula is the largest peninsula in the world. Geographically, the ...

from plying their trade. On 30 June 1849, Britain established its military influence over the Bight of Biafra by building a naval base and consulate on the island of Fernando Po, under the authority of the British

Consul Consul (abbrev. ''cos.''; Latin plural ''consules'') was the title of one of the two chief magistrates of the Roman Republic, and subsequently also an important title under the Roman Empire. The title was used in other European city-states thro ...

s of the Bight of Benin: On 6 August 1861, the Bight of Biafra and the neighboring Bight of Benin (under its own British consuls) became a united British consulate, again under British consuls: *May 1852–1853:

Louis Fraser Louis Fraser (1810 – 1866) was a British Zoology, zoologist and collector. In his early years, Fraser was curator of the Museum of the Zoological Society of London. Little is known about Fraser's early life. He was born in 1810 and married Mary A ...

* 1853-April 1859: Benjamin Campbell * April 1859–1860: George Brand * 1860-January 1861: Henry Hand * January-May 1861: Henry Grant Foote * May-6 August 1861: William McCoskry (acting) * 1861-December 1864: Richard Francis Burton * December 1864–1873: Charles Livingstone * 1873-1878: George Hartley * 1878-13 September 1879: David Hopkins * 13 September 1879-5 June 1885: Edward Hyde Hewett. In 1967, the Eastern Region of Nigeria seceded from the Nigerian State and adopted the name of its coastline, the adjoining Bight of Biafra, becoming the newly independent Republic of Biafra. This independence was short-lived as the new state lost the ensuing

Nigerian Civil War The Nigerian Civil War (6 July 1967 – 15 January 1970), also known as the Biafran War, Nigeria-Biafra War, or Biafra War, was fought between Nigeria and the Republic of Biafra, a Secession, secessionist state which had declared its independen ...

. In 1975, by decree, the Nigerian government changed the name of the Bight of Biafra to the Bight of Bonny.

Slave traders

* Daniel Backhouse * George Case * William Boats * William Davenport * John Shaw * Samuel Shaw

References

External links

Worldstatesmen
{{Authority control Bays of the Atlantic Ocean Gulf of Guinea Biafra Regions of Africa Bodies of water of Cameroon Bodies of water of Equatorial Guinea Bodies of water of Gabon Bodies of water of Nigeria Cameroon–Equatorial Guinea border Cameroon–Nigeria border Equatorial Guinea–Gabon border Equatorial Guinea–São Tomé and Príncipe border Gabon–São Tomé and Príncipe border Nigeria–São Tomé and Príncipe border Equatorial Guinea–Nigeria border Bights (geography)