Dahomey Kingdom By: Noah Long, Collin Longacre, Justin Graham

Overview Of the Dahomey Kingdom: ● Who Created/Established ● Founded ● Dissolved (Defeated) ● Location ● Key Facts/Points about the Dahomey Kingdom ● How they Came to Power ● Significance of the Kingdom ● (Visual Aids to help throughout) ● Bibliography

Who: Do-Aklin, one of the three brothers of the Kingdom of Allada, established the Dahomey Kingdom through its core center, the Kingdom of Abomey Agaja took the Allada and Whydah kingdoms and created the enlarged kingdom of Dahomey Other kings such as Tegbesu, Kpengla, and Agonglo facilitated the strengthening and creation of the Dahomey legacy through militarization and slave trading Once King Adandozen was stripped of power by the great Gezu, the Dahomey Kingdom reached its highest point in power and impact. (Britannica & Dahomey Encyclopedia)

Where: K (Britannica) ● A kingdom in West Africa ● Specifically located in the region currently known as Southern Benin ● Focused on slave and palm oil trading ● Stretched from the Gulf of Guinea to the Niger river (Britannica)

When: - The Dahomey Kingdom flourished during the 18th and 19th centuries Allada in 1724 and Whydah in 1727 are conquered by Agaja, where European forts had already been established. The enlarged state was called Dahomey; Abomey, Allada, and Whydah were its provinces Thriving on the sale of slaves to the Europeans, the Kingdom of Dahomey prospered and acquired new provinces under kings Tegbesu (1732–74), Kpengla (1774–89), and Agonglo (1789–97) Approximately 1840 is when the Kingdom’s fortune changed due to Great Britain putting and end to overseas slave trade -

When: (continued) After the stop of overseas trading of slaves around 1840 Gezu, the King of Dahomey, transitioned the kingdom into palm oil exports that were created by slaves on palm plantations instead of selling the slaves overseas This was a valiant attempt to keep the country running well economically, but the Kingdom still slipped into a decline due to palm oils not being as profitable as selling slaves The Dahomeyans were defeated in 1892 by a French expedition led by Col. Alfred-Amedee Dodds Once defeated, the French expedition set up a protectorate and made Dahomey into a colony (Britannica)

What: ● The Dahomey Kingdom was the most powerful kingdom Western Africa had seen at that time (Dahomey Encyclopedia) ○ Two military units-Right & Left (Migan & Mehu) ○ Power concentrations on the kingdom and the building up of the military ○ Became so wealthy and powerful through the slave trade with more European countries ● Portugal declared a protectorate over the kingdom (Benin Timeline) ● The Dahomey Kingdom was based on an absolute monarchy ● European countries supported and fed the power through trade and military support (Dahomey Encyclopedia)

What: (continued) The Dahomey Kingdom was set for conquest and consolidation (Dahomey Encyclopedia) Expansion played a big factor in the power gains of the kingdom Captives were often also held Constant warring/fighting over territorial issues West African Vodun is religion of Dahomey Kingdom This religion sought to protect people from anything that may prohibit them from fulfilling their life duties (Vodun)

How the Dahomeyan Kingdom Rose and Fell Rise became powerful from Atlantic Slave Trade slaves were sold for either weapons or kept to work plantations slaves were only sold to the coastal European nations, they did not trade with fellow African nations Gezu ended humiliation from neighboring kingdom Oyo he also refined the bureaucracy and encouraged the arts became dominant force in Western Africa(Britannica)

How the Dahomeyan Kingdom Rose and Fell Fall began to decline in power when the Atlantic Slave Trade ended Gezu swiftly made the switch to Palm Oil exports and slaves were then kept by the Dahomey the Palm Oil did not match the outputs from slave trading French attacked the weaker Dahomeyan Kingdom in 1892, making it one of the French colonies (Britannica)

Why it was Significant European Exploration Dahomey was never taken during European Exploration because they used Dahomey to bring in Africans for the slave trade although was conquered by France when slave trade ended (Britannica) Significance Vital part of slave trade: captured the slaves for Europeans (A Guide to...) most powerful Kingdom in Western Africa at its peak Gain independence from France in future, becomes Benin, one of the most stable African countries today (Benin Country)

Questions? What was the most influential part about the Dahomeyan Empire? Why?

Bibliography "A Guide to Primary Resources for US History :." A Guide to Primary Resources for US History :. Web. 01 Mar "Benin Country Profile - BBC News." BBC News. Web. 01 Mar "Benin | History - Geography - Republic, Africa." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 01 Mar "Dahomey". Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., Web. 28 Feb "Dahomey | Historical Kingdom, Africa." Encyclopedia Britannica Online. Encyclopedia Britannica. Web. 01 Mar

Bibliography: (continued) "___ Benin History Timeline." History of Benin (formerly Dahomey). Web. 01 Mar "Kingdom of Dahomey." - New World Encyclopedia. Web. 01 Mar "Vodun (a.k.a. Voodoo) and Related Religions." VODUN (and Related Religions: Candomble, Lucumi, Macumba, Voodoo, Vodoun, & Yoruba). Web. 01 Mar