African Kingdoms

Abomey / Dahomey / Dahomania (Fon Kingdom) (Africa)
AD 17th Century - 1894

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The pre-history of Africa contains a far longer period of human habitation than any other area on Earth, thanks to it being the cradle of humankind's evolution. Much of this pre-history involves a great deal of uncertainty in which small windows of opportunity to view events can be gained through archaeology. Even more recent prehistory is shrouded in uncertainty, requiring analysis and archaeology to help define it.

Situated in West 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. These tribal groups had possibly been forced to move due to the slave trade, after which they coalesced around a highly centralised, strict military culture which was aimed at securing and eventually expanding the borders of the small kingdom.

The kingdom covered the southern third of the modern republic of Benin, with the Edo empire to its west. The modern state bore its name well into the modern period, until 1975 in fact, when it was renamed the more neutral republic of Benin to appease the large number of ethnic groups which formed part of the relatively new modern state.

Dahomey, Dahomania, or Danhome bore no relation to the Benin empire despite modern Benin bearing that name while largely incorporating Dahomey's territory. It was the kingdom of the Fon people, one of those groups which form the modern Benin state.

The kingdom practised human sacrifice in large numbers and traded captives to the slave traders who prospered along its coastline, which was part of the notorious Slave Coast which stretched into Akan territory to the west. Its rulers were known as ahosu, meaning the same as 'king'.

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(Information by Peter Kessler, with additional information by Edward Dawson, from the John De Cleene Archive, from History of West Africa, J F Ade Ajayi & Michael Crowder (Longman, 1985), from Encyclopaedia Britannica (Eleventh Edition, Cambridge (England), 1910), from African States and Rulers, John Stewart (McFarland, 2005), from The New Atlas of African History, G S P Freeman-Grenville (Rex Collins, London, 1991), from Times Atlas of World History (Maplewood, 1979), from All Africa: All Its Political Entities of Independent or Other Status, Elisa Daggs (Hastings House, 1970), from Historical Dictionary of Dahomey (People's Republic of Benin), Samuel Decalo (Scarecrow Press, 1976), from African Powder Keg: Revolt and Dissent in Six Emergent Nations, Ronald Matthews (The Bodley Head, 1966), and from External Links: Encyclopaedia Britannica, and Atlas Monographique des Communes du Benin (dead link), and Wanderlust Travel Magazine, and History of the Newly Elected / Appointed Oba of Benin (Daily Mail, dead link), and Genealogical Gleanings (dead link), and MFA receives rare West African art pieces, Geoff Edgers (Boston Globe, 29 June 2012, accessed 14 March 2023).)

? - 1620

Declared the founding of the Abomey kingdom.

c.1610s?

A group of Aja from the coastal kingdom of Allada move northwards to settle amongst the Fon people of the interior. They are led by Gangnihessou (Ganye Hessu), also referred to as Do-Aklin in oral tradition which is the only source for these events.

Vodun people are practitioners of the Vodun religion which primarily is found amongst the Aja, Ewe, and Fon peoples of West Africa, particularly in countries such as Benin, Togo, Ghana, and Nigeria

c.1620 - 1645

Possibly invention. Established kingdom's capital.

by c.1650

By this date (if not a little before) the recently-arrived Aja have gained dominance. They declare a kingdom of Abomey which lies on the eastern edges of the Edo empire. It is Dakodonou who is claimed as the state's creator, although he may also be a later invention to provide a solid foundation story for Abomey.

c.1645 - 1685

Son of Dakodonou. Formed state structures.

1685 - 1708

Son. m Hanebe, who apparently co-ruled. Smallpox.

fl c.1690s

Wife and apparent co-ruler. Possibly also his sister.

1690s

Akaba's reign is characterised by war and military expansion. His enemies, the Nago (or Western Yoruba), attack Abomey and burn the chief town. The warriors of Abomey ultimately defeat the Nago armies and the kingdom extends to include the banks of the River Oueme.

Dahomey's female warriors were dubbed 'Amazonians' by Europeans who saw them, being known for their ferociousness and prowess in combat, and for being protectors of the ahosu

1702

The Akwamu cross the River Volta to occupy Whydah, a coastal state which is normally subservient to Abomey (now in southern Benin). This and the Asante clan states are both expanding their territory in this period, often to the detriment of neighbouring kingdoms.

Abomey itself changes its name to Dahomey around this time, for reasons which appear to be based on a story regarding the ahosu, Houessou Akaba, killing a rival king named Dan, taking his land, and burying him under the construction of a new royal palace. The palace becomes known as 'Dan Home' and the state becomes Dahomey. The name Abomey remains in use, however, for quite some time.

1708

When Houessou Akaba dies of smallpox his son, Agbo Sassa, is too young to succeed him. Instead his brother secures the throne to become the fifth official king. Agbo is later forced into exile when he attempts to claim the throne.

People of the Akwamu state photographed during the early or mid-twentieth century, perhaps around the time of the formation of Ghana, by which time they had formed part of the Asante state for about two hundred years

1708 - 1740

Brother of Akaba. Conquered Allada.

1724 - 1728

Conquering his ancestral homeland in Allada in 1724 or 1728 (sources conflict), Agadja goes on in 1727 to conquer Savi, including its major city of Ouidah (potentially disputed with Akwamu). Agadja's victory comes in part as a result of his use of a corps of shock female troopers who are labelled Amazons by Europeans after the women warriors of Greek myth.

These African Amazons become a dynastic tradition. When Dahomey conquers Savi and Ouidah, it gains direct access to the sea and takes over the lucrative slave trade with the Europeans.

1730

Agadja is unable to defeat the neighbouring kingdom of Oyo. Instead Dahomey becomes tributary to it, although in all other respects it retains its independence. For the next century Dahomey pays an annual tribute to the king of Oyo which consists of young men and women who are destined for slavery or death in ceremonies, as well as cloth, guns, animals, and pearls.

Dahomey tribespeople were photographed for Hubert Howe Bancroft's The Book of the Fair, published in Chicago in 1893, by which time Dahomey was the subject of extreme interest by the French, and its former status as a regional power was eroded

1740 - 1774

Generally a poor ruler with many internal intrigues.

1774 - 1789

Son. Died of smallpox.

1774 - 1789

In contrast to the defeatist and fractious rule of Tegbessou, Kplinga's reign again increases the size of the kingdom. He kills Agbamou, chief of the Popo people, thereby extending the state into what is currently Togo. He destroys the villages of Ekpe and Badagry (in what is now Nigeria), which have been interfering with Dahomey's regional monopoly of the slave trade.

1789 - 1797

Son. A successful consolidator.

1797 - 1818

Son. Uncontrolled, possibly insane. Imprisoned.

1818 - 1856

Brother. Seized throne with Brazilian backing.

1818

After having removed his unstable brother and claimed the throne as the official ninth ahosu (Adandozan  is not counted) Gakpe assumes the throne name of Ghezo (Gezo).

Dahomey grew in power throughout the 1700s, becoming a major force in the region after it succeeded the older Allada state

Throughout his reign until his death he wages a military campaign every year during the dry season. He raises revenue by selling his prisoners of war into slavery. He also ends tributary payments to Oyo and is able to repulse Oyo's retaliatory attack. Then the Mahis are also defeated.

1821

The British presence along the West African coast is formalised with the creation of the British Gold Coast crown colony. This not only helps to keep the competing French and their Ivory Coast territory from expanding eastwards, but also gives Britain a foothold in influencing the affairs of the Asante kingdom.

Only grass and bush separate the French West Africa territories to the north from Asante, and the kingdom of Dahomey borders Asante to the east, so the French focus their attentions here instead.

by 1850

As successful as Ghezo's reign may be, greater forces are now at play in the region, not least the gradually intruding European colonial holdings. Dahomey increasingly loses its status as the regional power.

West Africa in the second half of the nineteenth century was a place of development, with large tribal empires existing or arising during the period (click or tap on map to view full sized)

1856 - 1889

Son. Avenged his father's death in battle.

1863

Porto Novo (Ajache Ipo) becomes the French 'Porto-Novo Protectorate'. Emperor Napoleon III soon abandons it but it is re-established in 1882. Glele signs treaties with the French who have previously acquired a concession in Ajache Ipo from its ruler.

The French are successful in negotiating with Glele, receiving a grant for a customs and commerce concession in Cotonou. Glele resists British diplomatic overtures though, distrusting their manners and their anti-slavery activities.

Despite the formal end of the slave trade and its interdiction by European and New World powers, Glele continues slavery as a domestic institution. His fields are primarily cared for by slaves, and slaves are becoming a major source of ceremonial 'messengers to the ancestors' (sacrificial victims).

The year 1863 saw European colonial intrusions begin into Dahomey's territorial interests, and those intrusions would not stop until 1894, when Dahomey itself was drawn fully under French colonial control

1889 - 1894

Son. Lost independence in 1893. Exiled 1894.

1892 - 1894

From their base in what, from 1893, is the Porto-Novo Colony the French begin take control of the territory during the Dahomey War, having already separated Dassa. They use mainly African troops, quite possibly from neighbouring tribes which are only too happy to end the kingdom's dominance of the region.

Abomey, the capital, is burned in 1892 and Behanzin surrenders himself in 1893. The French establish the Dahomey Colony as a protectorate after detaching Allada as a separate protectorate.

1894 - 1898

Brother. French vassal ahosu. Last 'ruler'.

1894 - 1958

With the last independent ruling ahosu removed and exiled by France and a pliable vassal ruler put in place, the Dahomey Colony is incorporated along with many other West African states into the French West Africa colony.

Despite the loss of Commandant Lamy, in 1900 the French managed to join up all of their West African possessions at the Battle of Kousséri, which took place on the banks of the River Chari, dividing modern Chad and Cameroon

1899

Civilian governorship of French Sudan is temporarily ended when the entire colony is reorganised so that eleven of the southern districts are parcelled out to various French coastal territories, including Dahomey Colony, French Guinea, and Ivory Coast.

The remainder is split into two administrative regions: those of Middle Niger and Upper Senegal, which are subservient to the authority of other French colonies. It is only in 1958 that an autonomous state will emerge out of the former kingdom, becoming in 1960 the nation state of Dahomey.