Kingdom of Dahomey

File:Kpenglaandamazons.jpg

King Kpengla (right, under parasol and carrying sword), leads a troop of Dahomey Amazons. Subjects can be seen kowtowing (left, foreground)

Dahomey was a kingdom in Africa, situated in what is now the nation of Benin. The kingdom was founded in the seventeenth century and survived until the late nineteenth century, when it was conquered by French troops from Senegal and incorporated into France's West African colonies.

History

The origins of Dahomey can be traced back to the Fon people of the interior who banded together in a conglomerate in order to oppose the political authority of the Yoruba of Oyo. Technically an official subject of the Yoruba of Oyo, the Fon people were forced to pay tribute to their political conquerers and were subjected to calvary raids made by the Oyo armies in order to supply the slave trade.

In order to unite the Fon people in opposition to the Yoruba of Oyo, leaders who rose to positions of power capitalized on the ability to perform well on the battlefield. With military skill being prized as the ultimate expression of authority, the king of the Fon came to embody uncontested authority, and his will was enforced by the army.

King Wegbaja rose to power in roughly 1650 and came to embody the militaristic values that had become embedded among the Fon people. Based in his capital of Abomey, Wegbaja and his successors succeeded in establishing a highly centralized state with a deep-rooted traditional of autocratic cenralized government. Economically, Wegbaja and his successors profited mainly from the slave trade and relations with slavers along the coast. As he embarked on wars to expand their territory, they began using rifles and other firearms traded with French and Spanish slave-traders for young men captured in battle, who fetched a very high price from the European slave-merchants.

Later expansion of Dahomey into towards the coast met with resistance from the alafin, or ruler, of Oyo, who resented the political and economic rise of their subject. Soon after the march to the sea, the alafin of Oyo sent clavary raids to Oyo in 1726, completeely defeating the army. Later calvary invasions in 1728, 1729, and 1730, in which Oyo proved sucessful, hindered the plans for coastal expansion.

In 1902 Dahomey was declared a French colony. In the movement of African decolonization following WWII, Dahomey became an autonomous republic, it would gained full independence in 1960. The Republic of Dahomey changed its name to Benin in 1975.

In 1971, American novelist Frank Yerby published The Man From Dahomey, a historical novel set partially in Dahomey, which does a good job of unfolding Dahomean culture to the reader.

Kings of Dahomey

Gangnihessou unknown - 1620

According to tradition, Gangnihessou came from a dynasty that originated the 16th century. Based in Tado, a city on the banks of the river Moro( in modern day Togo), the dynasty rose to eminence on the basis of one of his four brothers, who became the king of Great Ardra. After the death of the king, his territories were divided over the three brothers remaining brothers, one of which was Gangnihessou.

Ganihhessou ruled around 1620 as was dethroned by his brother Dakodonou while traveling through the kingdom. His symbols were the male gangnihessou-bird, a drum, and a hunting stick with throwing stick. (The bird was a rebus for his name.)

Dakodonou, 1620-1645

Dakodonou was the second King of Dahomey, who ruled from 1620 to 1645. Dakodonou is portrayed as a brutal and violent man. His symbols were an indigo jar (a reference to his murder of a certain indigo planter named Donou, whose body he made sport of by rolling it around in his indigo jar and whose name he appended to his own original name, 'Dako'), a tinder box, and a war club. Before dying, Dakodonou named his nephew, Aho Houegbadja, as his successor.

Houegbadja (or Webbaja) 1645-1685

Aho Houegbadja was the third King of Dahomey. He succeeded his uncle, Dakodonou, and ruled from 1645 to 1685.

Houegbadja established the political authority and boundaries of Abomey proper by naming the city as his capital. By building his palace (named "Agbome"—in the midst of the ramparts) near Guedevi, an area located a few kilometers to the northwest of Bohicon he established the area as the seat of political authority. He was responsible for forming the political culture that would characterize Dahomey,and his reign was marked by autocratic rule. Houegbadja's symbols were a fish (houe), fish trap (adja), and war club hoe (kpota).

Akaba, 1685-1708

Houessou Akabawas the fourth King of Dahomey. He succeeded his father, Aho Houegbadja, and ruled from 1685 to 1708.

Houessou Akaba's reign was characterized by war and military expansion. His enemies, the Nago (Western Yoruba) kings, attacked Abomey and burned the town. But the warriors of Abomey ultimately defeated the Nago armies and the kingdom extended to include the banks of the Oueme River. Akaba failed, however, to capture Porto-Novo.Akaba's symbols were the warthog and a saber.

Akaba died of smallpox in 1708. Because his only son, Agbo Sassa, was only 10, Akaba was succeeded by his brother, Dossou Agadja.

Agadja, 1708-1732

Dossou Agadja was the third King of Dahomey. He succeeded Houessou Akaba, and ruled from 1708 to 1740. [1]

Despite the fact that Agadja had gained the throne due to the youth of Agbo Sassa, the righful heir, he refused to surrender power when the boy came of age and forced Agbo Sassa into exile.

Agadja's reign was characterized by continual warfare. The Yorùbá soldiers of the kingdom of Oyo defeated the army of Abomey. The peace terms required Agadja to pay tribut to the Oyo Empire, a system that continued for the next hundred years. The Tribute of the Kingdom of Abomey to the King of Oyo took the form of an annual tribute in young men and women destined for slavery or death in ceremonies, as well as cloth, guns, animals and pearls.

The kingdom of Abomey grew during Agadja's reign, and conquered Allada in 1724. In 1727 it conquered the kingdom of Savi, and gained control of its major city, Ouidah. When Abomey conquered Savi and Ouidah, it gained direct access to the sea and took over the lucrative slave trade with the Europeans. As a result, Agadja's symbol is a European caravel boat. Agadja's victory over Ouidah came, in part, as a result of his use of a corps of women shock-troopers, called Dahomey Amazons by the Europeans after the women warriors of Greek myth, in his army. The Amazons became a dynastic tradition.

In 1733 Agadja was visited by a party headed by the Dutchman Jacob Elet who had come to negotiate the release of three employees of the Dutch West India Company that had been taken hostage in the attack on Jakin of 1732.

Agadja was succeeded by Tegbessou.

Tegbessou, 1732-1774

Tegbessou was the sixth King of Dahomey. He succeeded Agadja, and ruled from 1740 to 1774.

Tegbessou's reign was characterized by internal corruption and failed foreign policy. He killed many coup-plotters and political enemies, refused to pay tribute to the Yorubas, and lost many battles in the punitive raids that followed. His main symbol is a buffalo wearing a tunic. His other symbols are the blunderbuss, a weapon he gave his warriors—the first time in Dahomey that the royal army had ready access to firearms—and a door decorated with three noseless heads, a reference to his victory over a rebellious tributary people, the Zou, whose corpses he mutilated.

"In the early 18th century, Kings of Dahomey (known today as Benin) became big players in the slave trade, waging a bitter war on their neighbours, resulting in the capture of 10,000, including another important slave trader, the King of Whydah. King Tegbessou made £250,000 a year selling people into slavery in 1750." [[2]]

Tegbessou was succeeded by Kpengla.

Kpengla, 1774-1789

Kpengla was the seventh King of Dahomey. He succeeded Tegbessou, and ruled from 1774 to 1789.

Kpengla's reign focused on expansion and dramtically increased the size of the kingdom. In order to expand westward, he killed the chief of the Popo people, Agbamou, and spread his empire into modern day Togo. He destroyed the villages of Ekpe and Badagry (in what is now Nigeria), which were interfering with Dahomey's regional monopoly on the slave trade. His main symbol is the akpan bird, a trade gun (flintlocks became the standard issue to the Dahomean army during his reign), and a Dahomey Amazon striking her head against a tree (a reference to a humorous war story stemming from one of his military campaigns).

Kpengla was succeeded by Agonglo.

Agonglo, 1789-1797

Agonglo was the eighth King of Dahomey. He succeeded his father, Kpengla, and ruled from 1789 to 1797.

Agonglo made several reforms which pleased his subjects: taxes were lowered, and a greater distribution of gifts was made during the annual customs. He reformed the shape of the asen, or sacrificial altar, and supported the surface by ribs rather than a metal cone, typical of the earlier Allada style altars. After the period of aggressive military expansion of his father, Agonglo consolidated the rule of the dynasty, his few military battles, however, were sucessful. His symbol is the pineapple. Agonglo is also notable in being the first of the Dahomean kings to marry a European—one of his wives was Sophie, a Dutch metisse.

Agonglo was succeeded by his eldest son, Adandozan.

Adandozan, 1797-1818

Adandozan was a King of Dahomey (now Benin), technically the ninth, though he is not counted as one of the twelve kings. His name has largely been erased from the history of Abomey (the capital of Dahomey), and to this day is generally not spoken out loud in the city. He became king when, in 1797, the previous King of Dahomey, Agonglo, died, leaving the throne to his eldest son.

Adandozan's symbols were a baboon with a swollen stomach, full mouth, and ear of corn in hand (an unflattering reference to his enemy, the King of Oyo), and a large parasol ('the king overshadows his enemies'). These symbols are not included in Abomey appliques, for the same reasons that Adandozan is not included in Abomey's history.

The traditional stories about Adandozan's rule (which are retold, with some changing of names, in Bruce Chatwin's novel The Viceroy of Ouidah) portray him as extremely cruel: he is said to have raised hyenas to which he would throw live subjects for amusement; he is pictured slitting a pregnant woman's abdomen open on a bet to see whether he could predict the sex of the fetus.

Adandozan is portrayed as an incompetent warrior and general, and as a betrayer of the royal family: he is said to have sold his brother's, Gakpe, mother into slavery, forcing Gakpe, who had previously feigned idiocy to avoid attracting his brother's attention, to flee into exile near Kana. Adandozan is portrayed as hopelessly mad, struggling foolishly with the European powers. He refused to pay Francisco Felix da Souza, a Brazilian merchant and trader who had become a major middle-man in the Ouidah slave market, for services rendered, imprisoned and tortured de Souza, and then attempted to have his own ministers sell the slaves directly. According to legend, de Souza escaped with the aid of Gakpe, who returned from exile for that purpose. In return, de Souza helped Gakpe marshall a military force and take the throne with the assistance of the terrified council of ministers. Gakpe then put Adandozan in prison.

This traditional portrayal may be wrong: like Richard II of England in the Wars of the Roses, Adandozan may have been the object of a propagandistic rewriting of history after he lost the throne, turned into a monster by his successor as a means of excusing the coup d'état and legitimizing the new regime. All stories agree that Adandozan tried to force more favorable terms of trade with the Europeans involved in the export of slaves, and seriously undermined the power of the extended royal family and Vodun cult practitioners at court through administrative reforms.

It may be that these policies themselves provoked Adandozan's powerful opponents to support a coup against him. In order to justify the coup, Gakpe may then have been obliged to have his griots (oral historians) tell of the monstrous and mad Adandozan.

Ghezo,(or Gakpe) 1818-1856

File:GleleLeftandGhezoRight1863 .jpg

King Ghezo (right), with his son the future King Glele in 1863

Ghezo was the ninth King of Dahomey (now Benin), considered one of the greatest of the twelve historical kings. He ruled from 1818 to 1858. His name before ascending to the throne was Gakpe.

Ghezo's symbols are two birds on a tree, a buffalo, and a clay jar sieve with holes in it held by two hands, a symbol of unity. Ghezo is said to have used the sieve as a metaphor for the kind of unity needed for the country to defeat its enemies and overcome its problems; i.e., it takes everyone's hand to block the sieve's holes and hold water. The pierced clay jar upheld by multiple hands has become a national symbol in Benin —a large portrayal of it is the backdrop of the speaker's podium in Benin's National Assembly.

Ghezo ascended to the throne after he overthrew his brother, Adandozan, in a coup d'état. The traditional stories state that Adandozan was a cruel ruler, but these may have been invented by Ghezo's historians to justify the coup.

Throughout his reign, Ghezo waged a military campaign every year during the dry season. His prisoners-of-war were sold into slavery, thus fattening the royal treasury, increasing the annual budget, and making war a very efficient means of raising revenues. Due to the increased strength army and budget, Ghezo stopped the Oyo tribute once and for all. He formalized his army, gave his 4,000 Dahomey Amazon female warriors uniforms, required soldiers to drill with guns and sabres regularly, and was able to repulse Oyo's attack when it came.

From the time of King Ghezo onward, Dahomey became increasingly militaristic, with Ghezo placing great importance on the army, its budget and its structures. An intrinsic part of the army of Dahomey, which increased in importance as the state became more militaristic, was the elite fighting force called the Amazons.

Members of the Amazons could enroll voluntarily, or were involuntarily enrolled if their husbands complained to the King about their behavior. Members of the Amazons was supposed to hone any aggressive character traits for the purpose of war. During their membership they were not allowed to have children or be part of married life. Many of the Amazons were virgins. The regiment had a semi-sacred status, which was intertwined with the Fon belief in Vodun.

The Amazons were trained in a way reminiscent of Sparta, toughening themselves up with intense physical exercise and overcoming pain. During their training, discipline was emphasized, as it was the defining feature of the fighting force. In the latter period, the Amazons were armed with Winchester rifles, clubs and knives. Units were under female command and often decapitated their captives.

Ghezo was also seen as an extremely shrewd administrator. Because of his slave revenues, he could afford to lower taxes, thus stimulating the agricultural and mercantile economy: agriculture expanded, as did trade in a variety of goods with France. He instituted new judicial procedures, and was considered to be a just judge of his subjects. He was much loved, and his sudden death in a battle against the Yorubas was considered a tragedy.

Ghezo was succeeded by Glele.

Glele, 1856-1889

Badohou, who took the throne name Glele, is considered (if Adandozan is not counted) to be the tenth King of Dahomey (now Benin). He succeeded his father, Ghezo, and ruled from 1858 to 1889.

Glele continued his father's successful war campaigns, in part to avenge his father's death, in part to capture slaves. Glele also signed treaties with the French, who had previously acquired a concession in Porto-Novo from its king. The French were successful in negotiating with Glele and receiving a grant for a customs and commerce concession in Cotonou during his reign. Glele resisted English diplomatic overtures, however, distrusting their manners and noting that they were much more activist in their opposition to the slave trade: though revolutionary France itself had outlawed slavery at the end of the 1700s it allowed the trade to continue elsewhere; Britain outlawed slavery in the U.K. and in its overseas possessions in 1833, and had its navy make raids against slavers along the West African coast starting in 1840.

Glele, despite the formal end of the slave trade and its interdiction by the Europeans and New World powers, continued slavery as a domestic institution: his fields were primarily cared for by slaves, and slaves became a major source of 'messengers to the ancestors' (sacrificial victims) in ceremonies.

Near the end of Glele's reign, relations with France deteriorated due to Cotonou's growing commercial influence and differences of interpretation between Dahomey and France regarding the extent and terms of the Cotonou concession grant. Glele, already on his death bed, had his son Prince Kondo take charge of negotiations with the French.

Glele's symbols are the lion and the ritual knife of the adepts of Gu (Vodun of fire, iron, war, and cutting edges).

Glele died on December 29, 1889, to be succeeded by Kondo, who took the name Behanzin.

Behanzin, 1889-1894

Behanzin (1844 - December 10 1906, in Blida, Algeria) is considered the eleventh (if Adandozan is not counted) King of Dahomey (now Benin). Upon taking the throne, he changed his name from Kondo to Behanzin,a s it was traditional for Dahomey kings to assume a throne name. He succeeded his father, Glele, and ruled from 1889 to 1894. Behanzin was Abomey's last independent ruler established through traditional power structures, and considered to be a great ruler.

Behanzin was seen by his people as intelligent and courageous. He saw that the Europeans were gradually encroaching on his kingdom, and as a result attempted a foreign policy of isolating the Europeans and rebuffing them. Just before Glele's death, Behanzin declined to meet French envoy Jean Bayol, claiming conflicts in his schedule due to ritual and ceremonial obligations. As a result, Bayol returned to Cotonou to prepare to go to war against Behanzin, named king upon Glele's death. Seeing the preparations, the Dahomeans attacked Bayol's forces outside Cotonou in 1890; the French army stood fast due to superior weaponry and a strategically advantageous position. Eventually Behanzin's forces were forced to withdraw. Behanzin returned to Abomey, Bayol to France for a time.

The peace lasted two years, during which time the French continued to occupy Cotonou. Both sides continued to buy arms in preparation for another battle. In 1892, the soldiers of Abomey attacked villages near Grand Popo and Porto-Novo in an effort to reassert the older boundaries of Dahomey. This was seen as an act of war by the French, who claimed interests in both areas. Bayol, by now named Colonial Governor by the French, declared war on Behanzin. The French war machine justified the aggression by characterizing the Dahomeans as savages in need of civilizing, and pointing to what it called the "human sacrifice" of the annual customs and at a king's death, and to the continued practice of slavery, as evidence of this savagery.

Similarly, the usual European allegations of Dahomean savagery do not take into account the role of the annual customs in Dahomean society, the deepness of traditional belief in the spirit world, the complex social organization seen in the court bureaucracy and policy making process, and the fact that at many of the very points where blood flowed most freely in Dahomean history, it was also flowing freely in Europe, through wars, civil wars, and revolutions. This is not to excuse any of the evils of the Dahomean traditional society, but only to put them in perspective and to point out that the term "savage" when applied to Dahomey by defenders of its European colonization is used more for its propaganda value than for its ability to describe honestly the level of organization or the cultural values of traditional Dahomean society.

File:Behanzin1894.jpg

Behanzin in 1894

Through superior intelligence gathering, superior weaponry, subversion by some members of the royal family who had been corrupted by bribes, and a campaign of psychological warfare that included cutting down most of the sacred trees in the Oueme and Zou, and an unexpected attack strategy, the French succeeded in defeating Dahomey, the last of the traditional African kingdoms to succumb to European colonization. Instead of attacking Abomey directly by marching straight north from Calavi just north of Cotonou, French General Alfred Dodds attacked from Porto-Novo, moving up the Oueme valley until he was within striking distance of Abomey, via Cove and Bohicon.

The French were victorious, and in 1894, Behanzin surrendered his person to Dodds, without signing any instrument of national surrender or treaty. He lived out the remainder of his life in exile in Martinique and Algeria. After his death, his remains were returned to Abomey.

His symbols are the shark, the egg (a rebus of his name), and a captive hanging from a flagpole (a reference to a boastful and rebellious Nago practitioner of harmful magic from Ketou whom the king hanged from a flagpole as punishment for his pride). But, his most famous symbol is the smoking pipe, seen on the picture to the right. This is because he claimed that there wasn't a minute in his life, even when he was a baby, that he was not smoking.

Behzanzin was succeeded by Agoli-agbo, his distant relative and one-time Army Chief of Staff, the only potential ruler which the French were willing to instate.

Sources and further reading

• Wonders of the African World - The Slave Kingdoms, PBS.org. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• MacGregor, Ashley and Stacie Mallas. The Dahomey Amazons, University of North Carolina. Retrieved May 29, 2007.
• Ronen, Dov. 1975. Dahomey: Between Tradition and Modernity. Ithaca: Cornell University Press. ISBN 0801409276
• Ellis, Alfred Burdon. 1966. The Ewe-speaking peoples of the Slave Coast of West Africa: their religion, manners, customs, laws, languages etc. Oosterhout: Anthropological publication. (pp. 177-138.)
• Davidson, Basil. 1998. "West Africa Before the Colonial Era, A History to 1850". London: Pearson Education. ISBN 058231853X

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• Gangnihessou  ^history
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• Agadja  ^history
• Tegbessou  ^history
• Kpengla  ^history
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• Ghezo  ^history
• Glele  ^history
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