Dahomey Amazons

The Dahomey Amazons (Fon: Agojie, Agoji, Mino, or Minon) were a Fon all-female military regiment of the Kingdom of Dahomey (in today's Benin, West Africa) that existed from the 17th century until the late 19th century. They were the only female army in modern history.^[1] They were named Amazons by Western Europeans who encountered them, due to the story of the female warriors of Amazons in Greek mythology.

The emergence of an all-female military regiment was the result of Dahomey's male population facing high casualties in the increasingly frequent violence and warfare with neighbouring West African states. This led to Dahomey being one of the leading states in the slave trade with the Oyo Empire, which used slaves for commodity exchange in West Africa until the slave trade in the region ended. The lack of men likely led the kings of Dahomey to recruit women into the army. It should be further noted that the formation of a female-only army unit was a retaliation and manoeuvre around the forced tribute of male slaves to Oyo each year. ^[2]