Bight of Benin

Bight of Benin Bay of Benin Golfe du Bénin
Gulf of Guinea map showing the Bight of Benin.
Coordinates	5°00′N 2°06′E / 5.0°N 2.1°E / 5.0; 2.1Coordinates: 5°00′N 2°06′E / 5.0°N 2.1°E / 5.0; 2.1
River sources	Niger
Ocean/sea sources	Gulf of Guinea Atlantic Ocean
Basin countries	Ghana, Togo, Benin, Nigeria
Max. length	300 km (190 mi)
Max. width	640 km (400 mi)
Settlements	Cotonou

The Bight of Benin or Bay of Benin is a bight in the Gulf of Guinea area on the western African coast.

It 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 Republic of Benin and this bight were both named after the Benin Empire. On December 25, 2003, UTAGE Flight 141 crashed in the Bight.

Historical associations with the Atlantic slave trade led to the region becoming known as the Slave Coast. As in many other regions across Africa, powerful indigenous kingdoms along the Bight of Benin relied heavily on a long established slave trade that expanded greatly after the arrival of European powers and became a global trade with the colonization of the Americas.

The Bight of Benin has a long association with slavery, its shore being known as the Slave Coast. An old rhyme says:

A variation goes:

This is said to be a slavery jingle or sea shanty about the risk of malaria in the Bight. A third version of the couplet is

The author Philip McCutchan has written a book titled Beware, beware the Bight of Benin.

A short story by Elizabeth Coatsworth, "The Forgotten Island" (1942), deals with a treasure from Benin. A variation of the rhyme is also mentioned.

In Patrick O'Brian's novel The Commodore (1996), Dr. Maturin recites the rhyme when he learned of his ship's destination. Commodore Aubrey checks him, telling him it is bad luck to say that out loud on the way in.