A city and island in the Niger delta, on the Bight of Benin. Lagos began as a military encampment on the eastern edge of the Benin state, and evolved into a separate Kingdom. A slave brokerage state, it was seized by the British in the 1860's and used as the base of operations for the British Consul to Benin. It was Nigeria's capital until being supplanted in 1991 by Abuja, upcountry. Also called Eko.