Dahomey

This article is about the kingdom from 1600 until 1900. For the republic from 1958–1975 (now known as Benin), see Republic of Dahomey.
For the documentary film, see Dahomey (film).

Kingdom of Dahomey
Danhɔmɛ (Fon)
c. 1600–1904
Flag of Dahomey
Top: Flag of Béhanzin (c. 1890–c. 1894)
Bottom: Flag of Ghezo (1818–1858)
Coat of arms (c. 1890–c. 1894) of Dahomey
Coat of arms (c. 1890–c. 1894)
The Kingdom of Dahomey around 1894, superimposed on a map of the modern-day Republic of Benin, in the region of West Africa.
The Kingdom of Dahomey around 1894, superimposed on a map of the modern-day Republic of Benin, in the region of West Africa.
StatusKingdom, vassal state of the Oyo Empire (1730–1823), French Protectorate (1894–1904)
CapitalAbomey
Common languagesFon
Religion
Vodun
Demonym(s)Dahomean
GovernmentMonarchy
Ahosu (King) 
• c. 1600–1625 (first)
Do-Aklin
• 1894–1900 (last)
Agoli-agbo
History 
• Aja settlers from Allada settle on Abomey Plateau
c. 1600
• Dakodonu begins conquest on Abomey Plateau
c. 1620
• King Agaja conquers Allada and Whydah
1724–1727
• King Ghezo defeats the Oyo Empire and ends tributary status
1823
• Annexed into French Dahomey
1894
• Disestablished
1904
Area
1700[1]10,000 km2 (3,900 sq mi)
Population
• 1700[1]
350,000
CurrencyCowrie
Preceded by		 Succeeded by
Kingdom of Ardra
Kingdom of Whydah
French Dahomey
Today part ofBenin
History of Benin
Coat of arms of Benin
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey
Early history
Modern period

The Kingdom of Dahomey (/dəˈhoʊmi/) was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. It developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the Atlantic coast which granted it unhindered access to the tricontinental Atlantic Slave Trade.

For much of the middle 19th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey became a key regional state, after eventually ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire.[1] European visitors extensively documented the kingdom, and it became one of the most familiar African nations known to Europeans.[2] The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor,[3] significant international trade and diplomatic relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an organized military. Notable in the kingdom were significant artwork, an all-female military unit called the Dahomey Amazons by European observers, and the elaborate religious practices of Vodun.[4]

The growth of Dahomey coincided with the growth of the Atlantic slave trade, and it became known to Europeans as a major supplier of slaves.[2] Dahomey was a highly militaristic society constantly organised for warfare; it engaged in wars and raids against neighboring nations and sold captives into the Atlantic slave trade in exchange for European goods such as rifles, gunpowder, fabrics, cowrie shells, tobacco, pipes, and alcohol.[5][6] Other captives became slaves in Dahomey, where they worked on royal plantations[7] or were killed in human sacrifices during the festival celebrations known as the Annual Customs of Dahomey.[8] The Annual Customs of Dahomey involved significant collection and distribution of gifts and tribute, religious Vodun ceremonies, military parades, and discussions by dignitaries about the future for the kingdom.

In the 1840s, Dahomey began to face decline with British pressure to abolish the slave trade, which included the British Royal Navy imposing a naval blockade against the kingdom and enforcing anti-slavery patrols near its coast.[9] Dahomey was also weakened after failing to invade and capture slaves in Abeokuta, a Yoruba city-state which was founded by the Oyo Empire refugees migrating southward.[10] Dahomey later began experiencing territorial disputes with France which led to the war in 1890 and part of the kingdom becoming a French protectorate. The kingdom fell four years later, when renewed fighting resulted in the last king, Béhanzin, to be overthrown and the country annexed into French West Africa.

French Dahomey would gain independence in 1960 as the Republic of Dahomey, which would rename itself Benin in 1975.

  1. ^ a b Heywood, Linda M.; John K. Thornton (2009). "Kongo and Dahomey, 1660–1815". In Bailyn, Bernard & Patricia L. Denault (ed.). Soundings in Atlantic history: latent structures and intellectual currents, 1500–1830. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
  2. ^ a b Law, Robin (July 1986). "Dahomey and the Slave Trade: Reflections on the Historiography of the Rise of Dahomey". The Journal of African History. 27 (2): 237–267. doi:10.1017/S0021853700036665. ISSN 1469-5138. S2CID 165754199.
  3. ^ Polanyi, Karl (1966). Dahomey and the Slave Trade: An Analysis of an Archaic Economy. Seattle: University of Washington Press.
  4. ^ R. Rummel (1997)"Death by government". Transaction Publishers. p. 63. ISBN 1-56000-927-6
  5. ^ "The women soldiers of Dahomey pedagogical unit 1 | Women".
  6. ^ "Dahomey | historical kingdom, Africa | Britannica". www.britannica.com. May 30, 2023.
  7. ^ "Dahomey | historical kingdom, Africa | Britannica". www.britannica.com. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  8. ^ Law, Robin (July 1986). "Dahomey and the Slave Trade: Reflections on the Historiography of the Rise of Dahomey". The Journal of African History. 27 (2): 237–267. doi:10.1017/S0021853700036665. ISSN 1469-5138. S2CID 165754199.
  9. ^ Law, Robin (1997). "The Politics of Commercial Transition: Factional Conflict in Dahomey in the Context of the Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade" (PDF). The Journal of African History. 38 (2): 213–233. doi:10.1017/s0021853796006846. hdl:1893/280. S2CID 15681629. Archived from the original (PDF) on September 21, 2017. Retrieved April 20, 2018.
  10. ^ Akintoye, Stephen (2010). A history of the Yoruba people. Amalion Publishing. pp. 300–303. ISBN 9782359260069.