Bender

Bender, a strongly fortified town, in the Russian province of Bessarabia, on the Dniester, 82 miles NW. of Odessa by rail. The principal industries are the manufacture of bricks, stoneware, paper, and leather, with agriculture, fishing, and mining. It was captured by the Russians from the Turks in 1770, 1789, 1806, and 1811, and ceded to Russia in 1812. Pop. 44,684. - Bender-Abbas is also another name for the town of Gombroon (q.v.).

Bendigo

Ben'digo (for some time renamed Sandhurst), a town of Victoria, on Bendigo Creek, 101 miles by rail NNW. of Melbourne, in the centre of a rich auriferous country. It owes its rise to the discovery of gold here in 1851. The mines employ 4500 miners, and yield about 150,000 oz. per annum. Bendigo was proclaimed a municipality in 1855, a borough in 1863, and a city in 1871. Pop. (1881) 28,662; (1891) 26,774; (1901) 41,900.

Benevento

Beneven'to (anc. Beneventum), a city of Italy, on a hill near the confluence of the Calore and Sabato, 61 miles NE. of Naples by rail. It has a citadel, a fine old archiepiscopal cathedral, and a magnificent arch, erected in 114 a.d. to the honour of the Emperor Trajan. From 1053, when it was given to the pope by the Emperor Henry III., until 1860, when it was united with the kingdom of Italy, Benevento was governed through a resident cardinal with the title of Legate. Pop. 25,000.

Benfieldside

Benfieldside, a Durham township, 13 miles SW. of Gateshead. Pop. 7259.

Bengazi

Benga'zi (anc. Hesperis), a North African seaport, capital of the Turkish vilayet of Barca, on the coast of the Gulf of Sidra. Pop. 7000.

Benguela

Benguela (Ben-gay'la), a country of W. Africa, bordering on the Atlantic, between Angola on the N. and Mossamedes on the S., and lying roughly between 10° and 15° S. lat. and 12° and 17° E. long. Its surface is generally mountainous, rising from the coast-line inland in a series of terraces. Sulphur, copper, and petroleum are found in the mountains, and also gold and silver in small quantities. - Sao Felipe de Benguela, the Portuguese capital of the above region, on a level plain near the sea, in 12° 33' S. lat., was once a great slave-station. Pop. 2000 natives and a garrison of 100 men. The harbour is good, though difficult of entrance. See From Benguella to Yacca, by Capello and Ivens (1883).

Benhar

Benhar, East, a Linlithgowshire mining village, 1 1/2 mile NNW. of Fauldhouse. Pop. 57a Beni', an impetuous river of South America, in the state of Bolivia, rises in the La Paz Cordillera of the Andes, at a height of almost 12,000 feet, and joins the Mamore, after a course of over 1000 miles, to form the Madeira, one of the largest affluents of the Amazon.

Benicarlo

Benicar'lo, a town of Spain, 84 miles SW. of Tarragona. Pop. 7913.

Benicia

Benicia, capital of Solano county, California, and formerly capital of the state, on the Car-quinez Strait, 30 miles NE. of San Francisco. It has a commodious harbour, and is the seat of the U.S. Pacific arsenal. Pop. 2794.