Dossou Agadja

This article is not adequately provided with supporting documents (for example individual proofs ). Information without sufficient evidence could be removed soon. Please help Wikipedia by researching the information and including good evidence.

Dossou Agadja was the fifth king of Dahomey . He succeeded his brother Houessou Akaba and ruled from 1708 to 1732.

Akaba's only son, Agbo Sassa, was only 10 years old when Akaba died, so Agadja came to the throne. He denied his nephew the throne when he came of age and drove him into exile.

Agadja's government was marked by ongoing wars. The Yoruba soldiers of the kingdom of Oyo were repulsed by the army of Abomey (the capital of Dahomey); Agadja made peace and from then on paid tribute. For the next hundred years these annual payments to the King of Oyo continued in the form of young men and women destined for slavery or sacrificial ceremonies, as well as clothing, weapons, animals and pearls.

Nevertheless, the empire grew under Agadja's rule. Allada was conquered in 1724, and in 1727 the kingdom of Savi and its capital Ouidah . The latter victory was achieved, among other things, by a shock squad of female cavalry , called Amazons by European observers . These Amazons became a dynastic tradition. With the conquest of Savi and Ouidah, Agadja gained direct access to the sea, which enabled him to conduct the lucrative slave trade with Europe. His symbol of power, a European ship ( caravel ), can also be seen in this context .

predecessor	Office	successor
Aqaba	King of Dahomey 1708–1732	Tegbesu