Kingdom of Dahomey
Dahomey or Dahome ( French Dahomé ) was a West African kingdom that existed on the coast of the Bay of Benin for about 260 years .
In 1960, with reference to the old kingdom, the modern state of Dahomey was founded , the territory of which partly coincided with the territory of the old kingdom, but extended far beyond that in the northern parts. In 1975 this state was renamed the People's Republic of Benin (since 1990 Republic of Benin ).
location
At the end of the 19th century , the kingdom of Dahomey bordered the Yoruba land in the east and extended as far as the Volta in the west . It thus comprised an area that stretched for almost 300 km from what is now western Nigeria to what is now Ghana . In the north it extended from the coast about 150 km to the north, roughly to the northern border of today's Beninese department of Collines . The capital and center of the kingdom was the city of Abomey, now in Benin .
history
The Kingdom of Dahomey was founded in the 17th century and lasted until the late 19th century when it was conquered by French forces from Senegal and later became part of French West Africa .
The origins of Dahomeys can be traced back to a group of Adja from the coastal kingdom of Allada who moved inland and settled between the Fon resident there. From around 1650 the immigrants dominated the tribes of the Fon and the Wegbaja and made one of their ranks king. Their capital, Abomey , became the center of a centralized state under Houegbadja and his successors with a deeply rooted cult of the king with a sacred character. There were also human sacrifices for the ancestors of the royal family. All land belonged directly to the respective king, who levied taxes on all crops.
Economically, however, the kings of Dahomey benefited most from the slave trade on the coasts. By the time the kings embarked on a strategy of expansion, they were already using rifles and other firearms acquired through the slave trade for America with the Europeans. Under King Agadja (he ruled from 1708 to 1732) they conquered Allada, from which the ruling families descended, and thus got direct access to the coast and to the docks of European slave traders. The neighboring kingdom of the Oyo , Dahomey's main competitor in the slave trade, could not be conquered. Rather, Oyo succeeded around 1730 in making Dahomey tribute .
Despite the tribute obligation, Dahomey retained its independence and continued to expand through the trade in slaves and later in palm oil from plantations . Furthermore, the king retained the monopoly on all land and all trade.
From the 17th to the end of the 19th century Dahomey had women's regiments in the army.
On September 10, 1885, Portugal signed a treaty with the Kingdom of Dahomey in the hinterland of São João Baptista d'Ajudá , through which Portugal took over the protectorate over its entire coast in early 1886. In 1892, however, Dahomey fell to France. French troops, mostly of African origin, finally captured Dahomey between 1892 and 1894.
Royal insignia
Royal insignia are Katakle (three-legged stool ), Afokpa ( sandals ), Avotita (woven cloth, decorated with appliqués ), Awe ( parasol ), Mankpo or Récade (staff), So ( rifle ) and Hwi (saber). The stool and sandals legitimize the newly elected king. The cloth, the parasol and the récade are symbols of the king in public. The saber and the rifle imply the warlike character of the kingdom.
Culture
The official language of the kingdom was Fon .
The Royal Palaces of Abomey were added to the Unesco World Heritage List in 1985 .
See also
literature
- Archibald Dalzel : History of Dahomy, an Inland Kingdom in Africa . Collected from credible news, along with an introduction by Archibald Dalzel, former commander in Whydah, and now on the coastal promontory. Translated from English. Schwickert, Leipzig 1799 ( digital.staatsbibliothek-berlin.de [accessed October 1, 2018] Original title: History of Dahomy . London 1793.).
- Robert Cornevin: Histoire du Dahomey . Editions Berger Levrault, Paris 1962.
- A. Le Hérissé : L'Ancien Royaume du Dahomey . H. Charles-Lavauzelle, Paris 1911.
- Melville J. Herskovits : Dahomey, an Ancient West African Kingdom . JJ Augustin, New York 1938.
- James Cameron Monroe: Kingdoms of Slavery . In: Spectrum of Science , August 2012, pp. 60–66.
- Werner Peukert: The Atlantic slave trade of Dahomey 1740-1797. Economic anthropology and social history (= studies on cultural studies, volume 40). Wiesbaden, Franz Steiner, 1978.
Web links
- The Kingdom of Dahomey between the slave trade and the French colony comprehensive background information
Individual evidence
- ↑ Ulf Hagemann: The Kingdom of Dahomey between the slave trade and the French colony . First publication: October 1, 2002, geschichte.uni-hannover.de; Retrieved February 6, 2010
- ^ Brockhaus' Conversations-Lexikon, 13th edition. Supplementary volume, pages 17 (Africa) and 602 (Portugal). Leipzig 1887
- ↑ Mathurin C. Houngnikpo, Samuel Decalo: Historical Dictionary of Benin , published by Scarecrow Press, 2012, ISBN 978-0-8108-7373-5 , page 215 books.google.de