West Africa or Historic Guinea Region Guinea is the historical name of the coastal region of the Gulf of Guinea in the western part of Africa. It extends to the north coast. Historically, this region of sub-Saharan Africa was the first to trade with Europeans. The region became rich by selling ivory , gold, and slaves , and many kingdoms were formed in the 18th and 19th centuries. Although these states were smaller in size than the vast coastal states, they had much higher population densities and were much more centrally controlled and technologically advanced. Due to the presence of these states, the colonial Europeans faced more obstacles here than in other parts of Africa. Due to this, at the very end of the 19th century, the region came under the control of Europeans. The name Guinea has moved from the Barbarian word " aginaw" into Portuguese and into various European languages. It originally meant "black" , meaning "the land of the blacks". The Guinea region is often divided into Lower Guinea and Upper Guinea. Lower Guinea is one of the most densely populated regions in Africa. It consists of southern Nigeria , Benin , Togo and Ghana. Upper Guinea, on the other hand, is much less populated ; It stretches from Cতte d'Ivoire to Guinea-Bissau. European merchants of the last century divided the Guinea region into several parts based on what was exported. The eastern part of Benin and Nigeria was named the Slave Coast, the present Ghana region was named the Gold Coast, and to the west was the Ivory Coast . To the west, present-day Liberia and Sierra Leone are known as the Pepper Coast or Grain Coast .