King of Dahomey

Tapestry depicting several kings of Dahomey and their regnal years.

The King of Dahomey (Ahosu in the Fon language) was the ruler of Dahomey, a West African kingdom in the southern part of present-day Benin, which lasted from 1600 until 1900 when the French Third Republic abolished the political authority of the Kingdom. The rulers served a prominent position in Fon ancestor worship leading the Annual Customs and this important position caused the French to bring back the exiled king of Dahomey for ceremonial purposes in 1910. Since 2000, there have been rival claimants as king and there has so far been no political solution.[1] The Palace and seat of government were in the town of Abomey. Early historiography of the King of Dahomey presented them as absolute rulers who formally owned all property and people of the kingdom. However, recent histories have emphasized that there was significant political contestation limiting the power of the king[2] and that there was a female ruler of Dahomey, Hangbe, who was largely written out of early histories.[3]

  1. ^ Araujo, Ana Lucia (2010). Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic. Amherst, NY: Cambria Press. ISBN 978-1-60497-714-1.
  2. ^ Yoder, John C. (1974). "Fly and Elephant Parties: Political Polarization in Dahomey, 1840-1870". The Journal of African History. 15 (3): 417–432. doi:10.1017/s0021853700013566.
  3. ^ Alpern, Stanley B. (1998). "On the Origins of the Amazons of Dahomey". History in Africa. 25: 9–25. doi:10.2307/3172178.