1975 — Dahomey Becomes Benin

On November 30, 1975, Mathieu Kérékou abolished the Republic of Dahomey and proclaimed the People's Republic of Benin — a name taken from the Bight of Benin on the coast, meant to unite the country beyond the old southern heartland. A name drawn from Dahomey had spoken, above all, of one region and its past; a name drawn from the shared coastline could claim, at least in intention, to belong to the whole country at once.

Kérékou, who had seized power in 1972 and declared Marxism-Leninism a year earlier, turned the date into National Day. It stayed that way until 1990, when he abandoned Marxism and the country became simply the Republic of Benin.