Dahomey

Kingdom of Dahomey
c. 1600–1904
Top: Flag of Béhanzin (c. 1890–c. 1894) Bottom: Flag of Ghezo (1818–1858) 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.
Status	Kingdom, vassal state of the Oyo Empire (1730–1823), French Protectorate (1894–1904)
Capital	Abomey
Common languages	Fon
Religion	Vodun
Demonym(s)	Dahomean
Government	Absolute monarchy
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
Currency	Cowrie
Preceded by Succeeded by Kingdom of Ardra Kingdom of Whydah French Dahomey
Today part of	Benin

History of Benin
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey
Early history
Great Ardra c. 1100–1724 Oyo Empire c. 1300–1836 Songhai Empire c. 1464–1591 Kingdom of Akwamu c. 1480–1734 Atlantic slave trade c. 1500–1800 Dutch Slave Coast c. 1660–1760 Kingdom of Whydah c. 1580–1728 Kingdom of Dahomey c. 1600–1904 Annual Customs c. 1730–1904
Modern period
First Franco-Dahomean War 1890 Second Franco-Dahomean War 1892–1894 French Dahomey 1894–1958 French West Africa 1895–1958 Republic of Dahomey 1958–1975 Soglo coup 1963 Kérékou coup 1972 People's Republic of Benin 1975–1990 Mercenary coup attempt 1977 Republic of Benin 1990–present
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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 First Franco-Dahomean War in 1890, resulting in French victory. The kingdom finally fell in 1894 when the last king, Béhanzin, was defeated by France in the Second Franco-Dahomean War, leading to the country being annexed into French West Africa as the colony of French Dahomey, later gaining independence in 1960 as the Republic of Dahomey, which would later rename itself Benin in 1975.