Lagos (Nigeria) and Lagos (Portugal)

Lagos (Nigeria), city in southwestern Nigeria, in Lagos State, located on the Bight of Benin (an arm of the Atlantic Ocean). Lagos is Nigeria’s largest city, chief port, and principal economic and cultural center. It served as Nigeria’s capital until 1991, when the seat of federal government was moved to Abuja, in central Nigeria.

The Lagos metropolitan area spreads over much of Lagos State (3345 sq km/1292 sq mi), which is located on four principal islands and adjacent parts of the Nigerian mainland. The islands are connected to each other and to the mainland by bridges and landfills. Major sections of the city include the old city, which now serves as the commercial district, on western Lagos Island; Ikoyi Island, situated just east of Lagos Island and joined to it by a landfill; Apapa, the chief port district, located on the mainland; residential Victoria Island; and industrialized Iddo Island. Important mainland suburbs, incorporated as part of the city in 1967, include Ebute-Metta, Yaba, Suru Lere, Ajegunle, Shomolu, Agege, Mushin, and Ikeja.

HISTORY

The site of an old Yoruba settlement named Eko, Lagos was visited by Portuguese traders in 1472 and named for a port in Portugal. The Portuguese developed Lagos as a major center for the trade of goods and slaves. The city served in this capacity until 1861, when it was annexed by the British, who by this time opposed slavery. The British governed Lagos as a crown colony. British rule was opposed by several local Yoruba states, and a series of conflicts in the 1870s and 1880s hampered British trade with the interior. The British conquered these states in the late 1880s and early 1890s, expanding the territory of the colony. In 1914 Lagos became the capital of the Colony and Protectorate of Nigeria. In 1960 the city became the capital of independent Nigeria. As Nigeria’s oil industry boomed in the early 1970s, Lagos began developing rapidly. The population of Lagos ballooned as migrants from all over Nigeria and from neighboring countries flocked to the city. In accordance with a plan first announced in 1976 to combat Lagos’s explosive growth, the seat of the Nigerian federal government was moved from Lagos to Abuja in December 1991. However, much of the federal bureaucracy continued to operate out of Lagos.

Lagos (Portugal), coastal town in the extreme southwestern part of Portugal, located on the Bay of Lagos, 30 km (19 mi) northeast of Cape Saint Vincent, the most southwesterly point of Portugal. Lagos has a mild, sunny climate and an average annual rainfall of 500 to 1000 mm (20 to 40 in). Although it occupies the site of an ancient Roman colony and was a significant settlement during the Arab occupation of the late 12th century and subsequent Portuguese reconquest, Lagos has few ancient monuments left because of damage caused by numerous earthquakes. Its historic significance is due to Prince Henry the Navigator, who sponsored many important expeditions that set sail from this harbor. The Bay of Lagos is so extensive that 407 British warships once carried out maneuvers in it at the same time. Population (1994) 11,746.