Description : Ouidah (/ˈwiːdə/) or Whydah (/ˈhwɪdə, -ɔː/; Yoruba: Xwéda; Ouidah, Juida, and Juda by the French; Ajudá by the Portuguese; and Fida by the Dutch), formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin. The commune covers an area of 364 km2 (141 sq mi) and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people. In local tradition Kpase is supposed to have founded the town. This probably happened towards the end of the sixteenth century. The town was originally known as Glēxwé, literally 'Farmhouse', and was part of the Kingdom of Whydah. Ouidah saw its role in international trade rise when the British built a fort here in 1650. Whydah troops pushed their way into the African interior, capturing millions of people through tribal wars, and selling them to the Europeans and Arabs. By 1716, when the massive English slave ship Whydah Gally arrived to purchase 500 slaves from King Haffon to sell in Jamaica, the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the Triangular trade.
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