LAGOS A City of Opportunity

The Nigerian city of Lagos is Africa’s most heavily populated city. It is home to an estimated 21 million people. Researchers at the Global Cities Institute predict it will be the world’s largest city by the year 2100. By then, they estimate the city’s population will have reached 88 million.

The kingdom of Benin developed a strong relationship with the Portuguese who came to the island to trade. The Portuguese called the island the Portuguese word for “lakes.” In the 1700s and 1800s, they used Lagos as a port for the slave trade. Between 1444 and 1869, Portuguese ships carried 5.8 million Africans into slavery in Brazil and other countries.