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Kings Of Dahomey
The King of Dahomey (''Ahosu'' in the Fon language) was the ruler of Dahomey, a West African List of kingdoms in Africa throughout history, kingdom in the southern part of present-day Benin, which lasted from 1600 until 1900 when the French Third Republic abolished the political authority of the Kingdom. The rulers served a prominent position in Fon ancestor worship leading the Annual Customs of Dahomey, Annual Customs and this important position caused the French to bring back the exiled king of Dahomey for ceremonial purposes in 1910. Since 2000, there have been rival claimants as king and there has so far been no political solution. The Palace and seat of government were in the town of Abomey. Early historiography of the King of Dahomey presented them as Absolute monarchy, absolute rulers who formally owned all property and people of the kingdom. However, recent histories have emphasized that there was significant political contestation limiting the power of the king and that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Akaba Of Dahomey
Akaba also known as Adahunzo or Housseou was an early King of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1685 until ''c.''1716. King Houegbadja had created the basic structure of the kingdom on the Abomey plateau. His first children were the twins of Akaba and Hangbe and they were followed by another son of Houegbadja who would become King Agaja. As the oldest son, Akaba became the king upon Houegbadja's death and ruled until 1716 when he died during battle in the Ouémé River Valley, either of small pox or in battle. When he died his sister, Hangbe, became the ruler and began preparing Akaba's oldest son, Agbo Sassa, for the throne. In 1718, Agaja, the next oldest son after Akaba from Houegbadja, fought with Agbo Sassa and Hangbe and became the next King of Dahomey. Symbol The chameleon symbolized his adaptability of policies.It was also a symbol of his patience to wait to ascend to the throne (as he ascended the throne in such an old age), inspired from the quote ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Second Franco-Dahomean War
The Second Franco-Dahomean War, which raged from 1892 to 1894, was a major conflict between French Third Republic, France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their growing colonial territory of French West Africa. Background In 1890, the Fon people, Fon kingdom of Dahomey and the Third French Republic had gone to war in what was remembered as the First Franco-Dahomean War over the former's rights to certain territories, specifically those in the Ouémé Department, Ouémé Valley. The Fon ceased hostilities with the French after two military defeats, withdrawal (military), withdrawing their forces and signing a treaty conceding to all of France's demands. However, Dahomey remained a potent force in the area and quickly re-armed with modern weapons in anticipation of a second, decisive conflict. ''Casus belli'' After re-arming and regrouping, the Fon returned to raiding the Oué ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
First Franco-Dahomean War
The First Franco-Dahomean War was fought in 1890 between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. Background At the close of the 19th century, European powers were busy conquering and colonising much of Africa. In what is today Benin, the main colonial power was the Third French Republic. The French had established commercial ties with the indigenous peoples of the area including one of West Africa's most powerful states at the time, the Fon kingdom of Dahomey. In 1851, a Franco-Dahomean friendship treaty was ratified allowing the French to operate commercially and missionaries to enter the country. By 1890, the Fon kingdom of Dahomey was at the height of its power. It laid claim to almost all the coast of modern Benin plus much of south-central Benin as far north as Atcheribé. One of Dahomey's most important tributaries was the small kingdom of Porto-Novo near the coast. The kingdom had been at odds with Dahomey on and off since the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Béhanzin
Gbehanzin also known as Béhanzin ( – 10 December 1906) is considered the eleventh (if Adandozan is not counted) King of Dahomey, modern-day Republic of Benin. Upon taking the throne, he changed his name from Kondo. Following his father Glele's suicide, Béhanzin ascended the throne in January 1890 and ruled until 1894, when he was defeated by the French in the Second Franco-Dahomean War and exiled to Martinique. Béhanzin was Dahomey's last independent ruler established through traditional power structures. He led the resistance to French colonization of his kingdom, during the Dahomey Wars. Biography Béhanzin was seen by his people as intelligent and courageous. He saw that the Europeans were gradually encroaching on this section of the West African Coast, and as a result attempted a foreign policy of isolating the Europeans and rebuffing them. As prince just before the death of his father Glele, Béhanzin declined to meet French envoy Jean Bayol, claiming conflic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Glele
Glele, or Badohou (died December 29, 1889), was the tenth King of Dahomey, ruling from 1858 until his suicide in 1889. Life Badohou, who took the throne name Glele, is considered (if Adandozan is not counted) to be the tenth King of the Aja kingdom of Dahomey (part of modern-day 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, and to capture slaves. During his rule he sustained Dahomey's renaissance as a center of palm oil sales and slave trade. 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 British diplomatic overtures, however, distrusting their manners and noting that they were much more activist in their opposition to the History of slavery, sl ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghezo
Ghezo, also spelled Gezo, was King of Dahomey (present-day Republic of Benin) from 1818 until 1858. Ghezo replaced his brother Adandozan (who ruled from 1797 to 1818) as king through a coup with the assistance of the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Félix de Sousa. He ruled over the kingdom during a tumultuous period, punctuated by the British blockade of the ports of Dahomey in order to stop the Atlantic slave trade. Ghezo ended Dahomey's tributary status to the Oyo Empire. Afterwards, he dealt with significant domestic dissent, as well as pressure from the British Empire, to end the slave trade. He promised to end the slave trade in 1852, but resumed slave efforts in 1857. Ghezo was assassinated in 1858, and his son Glele became the new king. Rise to power Ghezo was a son born with the name Gakpe to King Agonglo and was a younger brother to Adandozan. When Agonglo died, there was a succession struggle between his sons before Adandozan was enthroned. An oral tradition ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ghezo King Of Dahomey (cropped)
Ghezo, also spelled Gezo, was King of Dahomey (present-day Republic of Benin) from 1818 until 1858. Ghezo replaced his brother Adandozan (who ruled from 1797 to 1818) as king through a coup with the assistance of the Brazilian slave trader Francisco Félix de Sousa. He ruled over the kingdom during a tumultuous period, punctuated by the British blockade of the ports of Dahomey in order to stop the Atlantic slave trade. Ghezo ended Dahomey's tributary status to the Oyo Empire. Afterwards, he dealt with significant domestic dissent, as well as pressure from the British Empire, to end the slave trade. He promised to end the slave trade in 1852, but resumed slave efforts in 1857. Ghezo was assassinated in 1858, and his son Glele became the new king. Rise to power Ghezo was a son born with the name Gakpe to King Agonglo and was a younger brother to Adandozan. When Agonglo died, there was a succession struggle between his sons before Adandozan was enthroned. An oral tradition whic ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Adandozan
Adandozan was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1797 until 1818. His rule ended with a coup by his brother Ghezo who then erased Adandozan from the official history resulting in high uncertainty about many aspects of his life. Adandozan took over from his father Agonglo in 1797 but was quite young at the time and so there was a regent in charge of the kingdom until 1804. Dealing with the economic depression that had defined the administrations of his father Agonglo and grandfather Kpengla, Adandozan tried to reduce slavery to decrease European trade, and when these failed reform the economy to focus on agriculture. Unfortunately, these efforts did not end domestic dissent and in 1818 at the Annual Customs of Dahomey, Ghezo and Francisco Félix de Sousa, a powerful Brazilian slave trader, organized a coup d'état A coup d'état (; ; ), or simply a coup , is typically an illegal and overt attempt by a military organization or other government ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agonglo
Agonglo was a King of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1789 until 1797. Agonglo took over from his father King Kpengla in 1789 and inherited many of the economic problems that developed during Kpengla's reign. Because of the poor economy, Agonglo was often constrained by domestic opposition. As a response, he reformed many of the economic policies (lowered taxes and removed constrains on the slave trade) and did military expeditions to try to increase the supply for the Atlantic slave trade. Many of these efforts were unsuccessful and European traders became less active in the ports of the kingdom. As a final effort, Agonglo accepted two Portuguese Catholic missionaries which resulted in a large outcry in royal circles and resulted in his assassination on May 1, 1797. Adandozan, his second oldest son, was named the new king. Rise to power Agonglo was the oldest son of King Kpengla (ruled 1774–1789), who had ruled over a long-term economic crisis in Daho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
