Lagos, a seaport town of Portugal, in the province of Algarve, 110 m. S. S. E. of Lisbon, on the N. W. shore of Lagos bay; pop. about 8,000. It is well built, and contains three churches, three convents, a civil and military hospital, an almshouse, a grammar school, and a handsome aqueduct. Its inhabitants are chiefly engaged in the tunny and sardine fishery. The harbor, which is only navigable for small vessels, is defended by four forts. In the bay of Lagos, Aug. 17, 1759, a British fleet under Boscawen obtained a decisive victory over a French squadron under De la Clue.

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Lagos, a British settlement on the coast of Dahomey, W. Africa, comprising the island of Lagos, called Eko by the natives, and the coast from the river Yerewa, near Badagry, to Ode, about lon. 4° 10' E.; pop. in 1871, 60,221, of whom only 92 were whites. Within these bounds are the fortified trading posts of Badagry, Lagos, Palma, and Leckie, and a few native villages. The station at Ode is now abandoned. A strip of country back of these forts, from 5 to 12 m. wide, is considered to be under the protection of Great Britain. The coast is low and sandy, with outlying bars and lagoons inland. The island of Lagos is at the mouth of Ikorodu lagoon, which opens into the sea through a narrow channel. Large vessels do not pass in, but land their cargoes on the outer beach, whence they are carried by canoes to the inner lagoon. A narrow arm of this lagoon stretches westward parallel to the coast about 60 m. to Denham lagoon. Badagry is on the inner side of this strait. Palma and Leckie are on the outer coast, 70 or 80 m. further E. The chief rivers which empty into the lagoon are the Yerewa, the Ogun or Lagos, and the Ona. The trade at these settlements was once flourishing, and previous to the troubles on the Gold coast the revenue amounted to £45,000. The principal exports are palm oil and kernels, shea butter, ground nuts, cotton, and indigo.

In 1872 the value of the imports was £366,256; exports, £444,848. The revenue for the same year was £41,346; expenditure, £41,346; public debt, £18,628. - The town of Lagos had in 1871 a population of 36,005, of whom 82 were white. The church (of England) missionary society, the Weslcyan society, and the Roman Catholics have churches and schools there. The hospital, built originally as a barrack for troops, is the principal public building. Lagos was formerly the capital of a small territory tributary to Dahomey. It was one of the chief slave-trading stations on the coast, and was strongly fortified. In November, 1851, a British consul was fired on while negotiating a treaty for the abolition of the slave trade, and a small force from the steamer Bloodhound, which attempted to avenge the insult, was driven off. In December following an organized attack was made, and it was captured, although defended by 5,000 men and more than 50 guns. It was formally ceded to Great Britain in 1861.