Why the Portuguese called it Benin City

In the late sixteen century, a time when the word "City" really meant city, a time when the words - village and hamlet were the only word use to describe settlements in black-Africa, a time when blacks where called monkeys, at a time when the English believes and thinks black-Africans lives on trees and a time before the English even dreamt of coming to sub-Sahara Africa, Dutch and Portuguese traders were already using the name Benin city to identify Benin. Benin which was originally called Ile Binu (land of anger) which was changed by Oba Eweka (King Eweka) to Ubini which was sometimes shortened as Bini which the Portuguese corrupted in their own language and wrote down as Benin City. The question is why did they call it a city in such a time? The pictures and writings of then explorers, missionaries and traders may give us some of the answers.

Roese, P. M., and D. M. Bondarenko in their book, A Popular History of Benin. The Rise and Fall of a Mighty Forest Kingdom, wrote:
 

"The kingdom and the capital city were both called Benin. The city of Benin was laid out in a system of huge straight streets. These streets were very wide, very long, and well maintained although they were not paved. You could travel on foot in a straight line for 15 or 20 minutes and not see the end of the street. Other streets opened from the main streets. They were also wide. Houses were built in rows along all of the streets. On the street front side, houses had covered porches to keep people dry as they sat outside. The Dutch and Portuguese traders who came to Benin by sea were not invited into the nobles' or artists homes. So we don't know how their homes were arranged, or what the back looked like. But we do know about the palace. "
 

"Dutch and Portuguese traders were invited into the king's palace - and thus we have written records of what the palace looked like."The king's court is very big, having within it many wide squares with galleries round them where watch is always kept. I went so far within these builds that I passed through four such squared, and wherever I looked I still saw gate after gate which opened into other places."

A seventeenth century Dutch engraving from Olfert Dapper's Nauwkeurige Beschrijvinge der Afrikaansche Gewesten, published in Amsterdam in 1668 described the palace thus:

"The king's palace or court is a square, and is as large as the town of Haarlem and entirely surrounded by a special wall, like that which encircles the town. It is divided into many magnificent palaces, houses, and apartments of the courtiers, and comprises beautiful and long square galleries, about as large as the Exchange at Amsterdam, but one larger than another, resting on wooden pillars, from top to bottom covered with cast copper, on which are engraved the pictures of their war exploits and battles, and are kept very clean. Most palaces and houses of the king are covered with palm leaves instead of square pieces of wood, and every roof is decorated with a small turret ending in a point, on which birds are standing, birds cast in copper with outspread wings, cleverly made after living models."