and formed six great military stations of which
Calcutta is the chief, as well as the seat of gov-
ernment of the whole British empire in Asia. The
total population is about 3,000,000, of whom about
nine-tenths are native Hindoos, and the remain-
der a mixed race of Mahometans, descendants of
of the early conquerors, by intermarriages with
the natives; and a few Europeans. Manufactures
of cotton, or silk, are carried on in almost every
town of the province, and in the principal cities
the works in gold and jewelry are very extensive.
The nature and present extent of the commerce
of Bengal will be more fully elucidated under the
head oF Calcutta, and the nature and extent of
revenue under the head of Hindoostan.

Benguela. a maritime district on the west coast
of South Africa, lying south of the Congo river,
between the lat. of 10. 30. and 16. S. There are
two towns or settlements of the Portuguese on the
coast, called Benguela, Old and New, the former
in the lat. of 10. 50. and the other in about 12.
30. S. from whence the Portuguese and Brazilian
ships obtain a considerable portion of their slaves.

Beni, a large river of South America, rising
near the south extremity of La Paz, running north,
parallel with, and within the most easterly ridge
of the Andes, and forming the east branch of the
Ucaya'le, which falls into the Amazon after run-
ning from south to north through the whole inte-
rior of Peru. The Jesuits founded some settle-
ments on the banks of the Beni, of which St. Fran-
cisco, Trinidad, and Reyez, in the lat. of 12. to

14. S. are the chief.

Benicarlo, a town of Valencia, Spain, a few m.
north of Peniscola. It is celebrated for its wines,
of which considerable quantities are exported.

Benigno, St. a populous village of Piedmont,
situate on the high road to the Alps, about 10 m.
N. of Turin. Pop. about 4,500.

Benihassen, a maritime province of Fez, border-
ing on the Atlantic, of which New Salee or Rabat,
in lat. 34. 5. N. is the principal outport.

Benin, a country in North Africa, towards the
east extremity of Upper Guinea, lying principal-
ly north and west of the river Formosa, the en-
trance to which is in lat. 5. 33. N. and 4. 35. E.
long. It is bounded on the west by Dahomey;
on the east by Waree; and north by undefined
boundaries and countries but little known. Benin
. exhibits many beautiful landscapes; but the air
s noxious near the coast, on account of the gross
vapours from the marshes. Oranges and lemons
grow on the side of the roads, and the cotton and
pepper plants are indigenous to the soil, but both
are very imperfectly cultivated. Among the ani-
mals are elephants in great number, leopards,
stags, wild boars, civet and mountain cats, horses,
hares, and hairy sheep ; a vast number of serpents
and other reptiles; and the principal birds are
parroquets, pigeons, partridges, storks, and ostri-
ches. The dress of the natives is neat. The rich
wear white calico or cotton petticoats, but the up-
per part of the body is commonly naked. The
women use great art in dressing their hair, which
they reduce into a variety of forms. The people
"are skilful in making various sorts of dyes; and
they manufacture some cotton into cloths. Poly-
gamy is allowed, and the number of wives is lim-
ited by the state of their circumstances only.
Though jealous of each other, they offer their
wives to Europeans. Their religion is paganism,
the king himself being fetiche, and as such the
chief object of adoration in his dominion. The
Chief town, called also Benin, is one of the most
populous of all Western Africa, containing about

15,000 inhabitants. It is situate inland about 40
m. from Gatto, a town standing at the head of a
large inlet of the Formosa river. The road from
Gatto to Benin is over a level country, in some
places swampy and thickly wooded, and the coun-
try around the town of Benin is also thickly wood-
ed. Like all other African towns, Benin is very
unequally laid out. The houses are all built with
clay, and covered with reeds, straw, or leaves.
The royal palace is of vast extent, but neither el-
egant nor commodious. All male slaves here are
foreigners; for the inhabitants cannot be sold for
such, only they bear the name of the king s
slaves. Since the restriction of the slave-trade to
the south of the equator, Benin, in common with
the whole extent of the western coast of Africa,
from the river Gambia, in lat. 13. N. to Malemba,
in lat. 5. S. has shewn itself capable of affording
all the means requisite for the formation of an
intercourse, as social and reciprocal, as the slave
traffic was debasing, partial, and vicious. The
commerce of Great Britain with this part of Africa
is inconsiderable.

Benin-Dazy, St. a town of France, in the de-
partment of Nievre, having several iron mines in
its vicinity. Pop. 1,600.

Benisuef, a town of Egypt, with manufactures
of carpets, and woolen and linen stuffs, seated on
the Nile, 60. m. S. of Cairo.

Benkenstein, or Benneekenstein, a town of the
Prussian states, in the duchy of Saxony, 11 m.
S. W. of Halberstadt.

Benningen, a village of Wirtemburg, on the
Neckar, where the remains of a Roman town
were discovered in 1597.

Bennington, a village in Hertfordshire, England
near Stevenage. Here the Mercian kings had a
palace; and the castle, in which a council was
held in 850, still remains near the church. Pop.
658.

Bennington, a County forming the south-west
part of the state of Vermont, bordering on the
state of New York. Pop. 17,470.

Bennington, the chief town of the preceding
County. Though the largest and oldest town in
the state, the judicial courts are commonly held
at Rutland and Windsor alternately. Near this
town, General Stark gained two battles, on Aug
16th, 1777, which contributed to the subsequent
surrender of general Burgoyne’s army. Benning-
ton is situate at the foot of the Green Mountains
near the S. W. corner of the state, 30 m. E. by
N. of Albany and 129 S. S. W. of Montpelier.
Pop. 3,419.

There are also towns of this name in New York,
Pa., Ohio and Alabama.

Bensalem, t. Burks Co. Pa.

Bensboro, p.v. Pitt Co. N. C. 60 m. S.E. Raleigh.

Bensberg, a town of the duchy of Berg, West-
phalia, 7 m. E of Mulheim, on the Rhine.

Bensheim, a town of Germany, 25 miles N. N.
W. of Heidelberg, and 10 N. E. of Worms. Pop.
about 3,100.

Bensington, commonly called Benson, a town
in Oxfordshire, Eng. on the high road from Lon-
don to Oxford. It was formerly the abode of royal-
ty, and has a hospital called God’s House. Pop.
960.

Benson, p.t. Rutland Co. Vt. on L. Champlain.
Pop. 1,493.

Bmtheim, formerly a county of the circle of
Westphalia, hut now forming part of the kingdom
of Hanover. It is about 18 miles in breadth and