The story
In 1727, King Agaja of Dahomey led his army to the coast and captured Whydah (Ouidah), the major slave-trading port on the Bight of Benin. Dahomey was a state centered on Abomey, founded in the early 1600s, and Agaja (who ruled until 1740, from about 1708) had already conquered nearby kingdoms. Taking Whydah gave him direct access to European traders and their guns.
Dahomey's army was disciplined and included female regiments, later called the Agojie. Oyo's cavalry invaded repeatedly, in 1726 and from 1728 to 1730, and Dahomey paid tribute to Oyo. Dahomey kept control of the coast and sold war captives to Europeans in large numbers. Later kings shifted toward palm oil exports as the slave trade ended. France conquered the kingdom in the early 1890s after wars with King Behanzin. Dahomey's kings are known for a centralized government that tightly controlled trade and kept a standing army, which set it apart from many neighbors.
Why it mattered
- Dahomey became one of the main suppliers of captives to the Atlantic slave trade.
- Its military state, including the Agojie women soldiers, became a famous example of a centralized West African kingdom.
- France's conquest of Dahomey in 1892 to 1894 later became the colony of Dahomey, now Benin.
Sources
- King of Dahomey (Agaja) Britannica
- Benin: History Britannica
- The Real Warriors Behind The Woman King Smithsonian Magazine
Drafted by AI (Claude) from the sources above and checked against them by AI; no historian has reviewed this page. Spot a mistake? Suggest a correction. How pages are made
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