Bight of Biafra 1849, Britain established its military influence over the Bight of Biafra by building a naval base and consulate on the island of Fernando Poo, under the authority of the British Consuls of the Bight of Benin: On 6 August 1861, the Bight of Biafra and the neighboring Bight of Benin (under its own British consuls) became a united British consulate, again under British consuls: In 1967, the Eastern Region of Nigeria seceded from the Nigerian State and adopted the name of its coastline, the adjoining Bight of Biafra, becoming the newly independent Republic of Biafra. This independence was short-lived as
Bight of Biafra Bight of Biafra The Bight of Biafra (also known as the Bight of Bonny) is a bight off the West African coast, in the easternmost part of the Gulf of Guinea. The Bight of Biafra, or Mafra (named after the town Mafra in southern Portugal), between Capes Formosa and Lopez, is the most eastern part of the Gulf of Guinea; it contains the islands Fernando Poo [Equatorial Guinea], Prince’s and St Thomas’s. The name Biafra – as indicating the country – fell into disuse in the later part of the 19th century A 1710 map indicates that the region known