Dalzel, archibald 1793 the history of dahomey, and inland kingdom of africa. The kingdom of dahomey 75 lived as parasites within the walls ofthe palace. Kingdom of dahomey article about kingdom of dahomey by the. On the african role in the transatlantic slave trade in. The prehistory of dahomey kingdom and the queen mother. Grade 58dahomey was a powerful west african kingdom that flourished in the 17th and 18th centuries. Dating back to the amazons of ancient asia minor, myths of fierce, autonomous women of martial excellence abound. Ironically, the french chose to name their new colony dahomey in honor of the destroyed kingdom. The new students reference workdahomey wikisource, the. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Dahomeys women warriors history smithsonian magazine. Dahomey, kingdom in western africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern benin. Wonders of the african world episodes slave kingdoms.
The kingdom of dahomey was an african kingdom that existed from about 1600 until 1904. In five brief but thorough chapters, koslow describes the. As early as 1729, european traders recorded existence of the fightingwomen of the fon dahomey people and their neighbors the ashanti. Kingdom by dosu alfonse available from rakuten kobo. Issue 1960 weaver, wood sculptor, fisherman and net, potter.
Blood, decapitation, human sacrifice and the dahomey kingdom. Dahomean attempts at expansion eastward, however, brought it up against the powerful state of abeokuta also in nigeria. The kingdom of oyo, around 300 kilometers 190 miles inland, was the most successful of these kingdoms. Moreover, the women of both kingdoms prided themselves on bodies. More often than not, these stories prove more legend than history.
Slavery and the kingdoms of oyo, dahomey and asante. Brue, agent du comptoir francais etabli a whydah, revue coloniale, 7 septembre 1845, 63. During the 1720s, the kingdom of allada and the kingdom of whydah came under dahomey. Artefacts looted by british soldiers from the kingdom of benin in presentday nigeria during the benin invasion of 1897 are. The kingdom of dahomey, like those of benin and ashanti, is an instance of. Dahomey definition of dahomey by the free dictionary. It lies between the german colony of togoland and the british territory of lagos, and extends inland for about miles. Hence, it was necessarily a society divided against itself, a society in conflict. And the actual direction of the wind was driving him along to the kingdom of dahomey, among the most savage races, and into the power of a ruler who was in the habit of sacrificing thousands of human victims at his public orgies. On the origins of the amazons of dahomey history in.
The tribal kingdom of dahomey in west africa was ended by french colonial occupation in 1894, after they took control during the dahomey war of 18921894. There were at least a few contemporary examples of successful warrior queens, the bestknown of whom was probably nzinga of. This gave dahomey direct access to the coast where they could profit from the slave trade directly and aquire firearms for further expansion and conquest. King gezo, dahomey images the abolition of the slave trade.
Factional conflict in dahomey in the context of the ending of the atlantic slave trade pdf. Proper usage and audio pronunciation of the word dahomey. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer no kindle device required. Like france, the united kingdom is set to return stolen artefacts to nigeria, temporarily. To get the free app, enter your mobile phone number. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of allada, which, like neighbouring whydah now ouidah, had grown rich on the. The ancient kingdom of dahomey, that had its capital in abomey, established its power, and its expansion, on a permanent state of war that allowed it to capture prisoners belonging to other ethnic groups to be resold as slaves in return of arms and goods. From its origin the kingdom of dahomey was a predatory state. It benefited from terrain sufficiently unforested and free of the tsetse fly and other diseasecarrying insects to allow for the breeding of horses. The kingdom of dahomey was a powerful west african state founded in the seventeenth century which survived until 1894. Second, benedict will mark the 150th anniversary of the evangelization of benin, commemorating the arrival in 1861 of two priests of the society of african missions in ouidah, the main port and a center of the slave trade in what was then called the kingdom of dahomey. Under king agaja17161740 the kingdom of dahomey was expanded. The women soldiers of dahomey elite troops of women soldiers, probably established in the early eighteenth century, contributed to the military power of the kingdom of dahomey in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
The kingdom of dahomey its power under the kings gezo 181858 and glele 185889. Fon allfemale military regiment of the kingdom of dahomey in the presentday republic of benin. This is a great video that informs you about intelligence sagacious discipline female warrior tribe that use anomalous tactics to neutralize and destroy thei. The dahomey amazons are the only documented frontline female troops in modern warfare history. Compiled from authentic memoirs, with an introduction and notes. Such a policy would leave many free blacks in france. Karl polanyi dahomey and the slave trade an analysis of an archaic economy seattle 1966 akinjogbin dahomey and its neighbours 17081818 london 1967 see fortes and evans. They acquired the name amazons by western observers due to. Women and slavery in the kingdom of dahomey persee. Dahomey village ganvie 1960 prime minister hubert maga 1960 maga issue surcharged 1961 emblem of the entente 1960 c. During the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, dahomey was one of the african states best known to europeans, and was. Pdf the kingdom of dahomey rose to power on the slave coast of west africa. We have attempted to establish that the indigenous west african polity, dahomey, was a society in transition from kin to civil structure.
Dahomey synonyms, dahomey pronunciation, dahomey translation, english dictionary definition of dahomey. Dahomeys female troops were not the only martial women of their time. The aims of the emerging state were directly antagonistic to the traditional selfsufficient ways of life practiced by the collectivities. The kingdom of dahomey 73 made the kingdom sfortune and enabled the dahomean army to become one ofthe most feared in west mrica. In an age of waring african kingdoms, primes inter pares was the blood thirsty kingdom of dahomey. Kingdom of dahomey article about kingdom of dahomey by. Situated in western africa, the fon kingdom of dahomey or abomey in its earliest years was formed by a mixture of various local ethnic groups on the abomey plain. Nov 26, 2016 the dahomey amazons are the only documented frontline female troops in modern warfare history. On the african role in the transatlantic slave trade in dahomey. Some three years before brue, british trader thomas hutton visited abomey and gauged the strength of the kings female bodyguard at an even 1,000. Never helpful for a travel blog but reverence for the kingdom still lives long after its demise. The dahomey amazons the most feared women in history. Bay emory university, atlanta the kpojito, the female reignmate to the king of dahomey, is said by twentiethcentury dahomeans to have been the richest and most powerful. Dahomey and its neighbours, 17081818 internet archive.
Dahomey and its neighbours, 17081818 by akinjogbin, i. Today, a giant cross marks the spot where the two missionaries disembarked. Gezo liberated dahomey from its subjection to oyo by defeating the latter in 1823. Pdf the kingdom of dahomey rose to power on the slave coast of west africa during the tumultuous atlantic era 16th19th centuries ce. Kingdom of dahomey synonyms, kingdom of dahomey pronunciation, kingdom of dahomey translation, english dictionary definition of kingdom of dahomey. The history of the kingdom of dahomey spans 300 years from around 1600 until 1904 with the. Sep 23, 2011 dahomeys female troops were not the only martial women of their time.
Dahomey amazons fon allfemale military regiment of the kingdom of dahomey in the presentday republic of benin. Agadjassuccessors all extended the boundaries ofthe kingdom. Dahomey, a precolonial west african kingdom, is located in what is now southern benin. The state was granted autonomy as the republic of dahomey in 1958, followed by full independence in 1960. In 1818 gezo, the king who was to become the most revered in dahomean history, came to the throne. Learn vocabulary, terms, and more with flashcards, games, and other study tools. Free from new strategies were also adopted, however, alladan hegemony, and. In fact, the dahomey kingdom held the lands in this part of southwestern benin long after the french had taken control of the country. Dahomey by robin law t he historiography of the kingdom of dahomey, which emerged as the most powerful state on the slave coast of west africa in the early eighteenth century, is immensely rich. The independent republic of dahomey existed from 19601975. From 1894 until 1960 dahomey was a part of french west africa. On the north it is bounded by the french military territory of the niger. The history of the kingdom of dahomey spans 300 years from around 1600 until 1904 with the rise of the kingdom of dahomey as a major power on the atlantic coast of modernday benin until french conquest. The kingdom became a major regional power in the 1720s when it conquered the coastal kingdoms of allada and whydah.
Information about dahomey in the dictionary, synonyms and antonyms. On the origins of the amazons of dahomey history in africa. Dahomey an ancient west african kingdom internet archive. Agaja, third ruler of the west african kingdom of dahomey 170840, who was able to extend his kingdom southward to the coast and who consolidated and centralized it through important administrative reforms. The warrior kings the kingdoms of africa koslow, philip on. Dahomey reached the height of its power and prestige during the heyday of the atlantic slave trade in the. Dahomey was the name of a country in africa now called the republic of benin. Image taken from page 255 of travels in western africa in 1845 and 1846 comprising a journey through the kingdom of dabomey, etc 112289682. Exploring the palaces of the dahomey kingdom, benin.
From the 1640s, four inland states near the gulf of guinea were growing in wealth and power from the slave trade. Founded in the early seventeenth century, the kingdom of dahomey began to spread from the city of abomey during the reign of king houegbadja 16451685. The bibliography in robert histoire du dahomey paris 1962 lists about 250 items see melville herskovits dahomey an ancient west african kingdom evanston 2nd ed. Often recruited as teenagers, the women soldiers lived in the royal palace, isolated from society. Once dubbed a small black sparta, residents of dahomy shared with the spartans an intense militarism and sense of collectivism. The amazons of dahomey were a military corps of women appointed to serve in battles under the direction of the fon king of the kingdom of dahomey in the presentday republic of benin. Schomburg center for research in black culture manuscripts, archives and rare books division. The tribal groups, possibly forced to move due to the slave trade, coalesced around a highly centralised, strict military culture which was aimed at securing. Originally retained as an elite royal guard, dahomey s held semisacred status as celibate warrior wives of the king. When the french built their railway they were forced to avoid the kingdom and build their national railway 10 kilometers to the east just to avoid intruding. The rise of the kingdom of dahomey coincided with the growth of the slave trade in the area, and consequently has often served as a case study of the impact of the slave trade upon african societies. Mar 11, 2018 never helpful for a travel blog but reverence for the kingdom still lives long after its demise. Kingdom of dahomey definition of kingdom of dahomey by.
321 186 721 694 891 172 47 317 253 1200 241 378 885 380 1544 567 285 989 1018 1258 1352 337 1097 512 786 1055 188 130 213 656 1492 1091 1371 377 1440