899:. Owned by the Portuguese Crown, the French Company of the Indies, and the British Royal African Company, the forts were mainly used to store slaves and trading merchandise. Made up of mud walls, the forts provided tolerable protection for the Europeans but were not strong enough to withstand a legitimate attack from the natives. Furthermore, because the forts were located more than three miles inland, cannons could not effectively protect European ships in the harbor and anchored ships could not come to the aid of the forts in times of need. In this sense, while the forts showcased some degree of European influence, the reality was that the Europeans relied heavily on the king for protection and local natives for sustenance and firewood. This relationship would take a drastic turn with the decline of royal authority and increase of internal power struggles throughout the 18th and 19th centuries that gave way to French colonization of the region in 1872.
775:
519:
871:
242:
839:. In war, the first to go into action were the Musketeers who fought in the front ranks of the army. The archers followed suit and the army charged in after. The action culminated into hand to hand combat with swords, axes, and knives. Musketeers were employed around the late 17th century but they did not replace the spearmen, swordsmen and archers.
886:
gave a crown as a gift for the newly appointed King. Such practices illustrate the high level of dependence
European traders had on native African powers in the beginning of the 18th century, and also the close relationship that emerged between the two entities. This association is further reiterated
819:
According to early sources, the king could field 200,000 men. In comparison, other estimates range upward from twenty thousand, although contemporary interpretation is generally that these armies were of "overwhelming size". Battles were normally won by strength of numbers alone, with the weaker side
782:
According to one
European, who visited in 1692–1700, Whydah was a center of the ancient Africa slave trade, selling some thousand slaves a month, mainly taken captive from villages in the interior of Africa. For this reason, it has been considered a "principal market" for slaves. When the great
806:
Three elements of common life were the subjects of devotion: some lofty trees, the sea, and a type of snake. This snake was the subject of many stories and incidents; it may have been worshipped because it ate the rats that would otherwise ruin the harvest.
783:
chief (called ‘king’ by
Europeans) could not supply the traders with sufficient slaves, he would supplement them with his own wives. Robbery was common. Every person in Whydah paid a toll to the king, but corruption amongst slave traders was endemic.
857:
on vulnerable crossing places. The Whydah refugees could also deploy boats to harass
Dahomey and retreat back to the islands. On one occasion in 1774, Dahomey countered Whydah's fortification tactic through the construction of a
894:
While company compounds facilitated the interaction between
European traders and native Africans, the true center of European operations in Whydah were the various forts that existed along the coast near the town of
802:
by the populace. The traditional
African society isolated women, "protecting" them from the larger society (or other men). Fathers were recorded with more than two hundred children by their numerous wives.
786:
Despite this, the king was wealthy, and clothed in gold and silver—which were otherwise little known in Whydah. He commanded great respect, and, unusually, was never seen to eat. The color
968:
The tour of Africa: Containing a concise account of all the countries in that quarter of the globe, hitherto visited by
Europeans; with the manners and customs of the inhabitants
878:
With King Haffon's rise to power in 1708, European trade companies had established a significant presence in Whydah and were in constant competition to win the King’s favor. The
204:
1019:
831:. Another governor commanded 2,000 men while others could field 100, 200 or more men. Specialists existed in the army such as the Captain of the King's
53:
823:
The Whydah army in the 18th century was commanded by the governors of the 26 districts. The governors were expected to arm their men with weapons.
887:
by the fact that Dutch, British, French, and
Portuguese trading company compounds all bordered the walls of Haffon’s royal palace in the city of
891:. These compounds served as important centers of diplomatic and commercial exchange between European companies and the Kingdom of Whydah.
915:. This incorporation of Whydah into Dahomey transformed the latter into a significant regional power. However, constant warfare with the
549:
1057:
1225:
476:
1240:
1085:
Kea, R. A. (1971). "Firearms and
Warfare on the Gold and Slave Coasts from the Sixteenth to the Nineteenth Centuries".
827:; Provincial governor and caboceer of the French fort at Whydah, could bring on to field 5–600 men as well as 4 French
1193:
249:
702:. The last ruler of Whydah was King Haffon, who was deposed in 1727, when Whydah was conquered (and annexed) by the
835:. The Whydah army was divided into the left and right wings as well as the center which were further divided into
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before closing its trade in the 1860s. In 1700, it had a coastline of around 16 kilometres (10 mi); under
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presented Haffon with two ships worth of cargo and an extravagant Louis XIV-style throne, while the
British
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invasion of the Whydah mainland around 1727. In that year, Whydah fortified two islands off the coast with
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1035:.... Its worship was introduced into Dahomey when the kingdom of Whydah was conquered and annexed....
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691:, this was expanded to 64 km (40 mi), and stretching 40 km (25 mi) inland.
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1023:. Vol. XXIV, no. 1887. New South Wales, Australia. 25 September 1883. p. 3
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and priestesses were held in high regard, and immune from capital punishment.
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Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey
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from 1728 to 1740 resulted in Dahomey becoming a tributary state of the Oyo.
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Europeans at the coronation ceremony of the King of Whydah in April 1725
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Crowning of the King of Juida, by Jacob van der Schley (1715-1779)
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991:"The 'Diligent': A Voyage through the Worlds of the Slave Trade"
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The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade
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The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade
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was reserved for the royal family. The king was considered
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bears the kingdom's name. To the west of it is the former
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area which exported more than one million Africans to the
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Clarence and Richmond Examiner and New England Advertiser
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Whydah's naval abilities enabled the state to form a
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846:on fortified islands off the coast following the
722:-dah), from the Xweda Gbe language and people of
621:, but also known and spelt in old literature as;
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758:turned pirate ship owned by pirate captain
1031:– via National Library of Australia.
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941:Almanac of African peoples & nations
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698:. It also had connection to the city of
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970:. Vol. 2. Baldwin, Cradock and Joy
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744:The area gives its name to the native
694:The Kingdom of Whydah was centered in
1181:Warfare in Atlantic Africa, 1500-1800
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16:c. 1580–1727 kingdom in West Africa
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907:In 1727, Whydah was conquered by
762:. Its wreck has been explored in
250:History of the Kingdom of Dahomey
1052:. University of Virginia Press.
663:) was a kingdom on the coast of
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1209:The Ouidah Museum of History.
1171:. Basic Books: New York, 2002.
1155:. Basic Books: New York, 2002.
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1087:The Journal of African History
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726:. Today, the Beninese city of
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1015:"THE SNAKE-GOD OF DAHOMEY"
943:. By Muḥammad Zuhdī Yakan.
468:People's Republic of Benin
411:Second Franco-Dahomean War
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49:(also known as Tanvir)
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1246:Atlantic slave trade
1176:Thornton, John Kelly
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316:Atlantic slave trade
760:"Black Sam" Bellamy
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704:Kingdom of Dahomey
427:French West Africa
359:Kingdom of Dahomey
100:Xwela-Xweda people
96:Ethnic groups
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671:. It was a major
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689:King Haffon
665:West Africa
265:Great Ardra
72: /
1220:Categories
1065:7 February
996:7 February
974:7 February
923:References
917:Oyo Empire
909:King Agaja
833:Musketeers
820:fleeing.
796:Interregna
756:slave ship
449:Soglo coup
278:Oyo Empire
115:Government
1107:0021-8537
855:artillery
848:Dahomeyan
748:, and to
471:1975–1990
443:1958–1975
430:1895–1958
421:1894–1958
414:1892–1894
105:Religion
1178:(1999).
964:"Whydah"
860:causeway
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119:Monarchy
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852:mounted
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809:Priests
800:anarchy
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638:Whidaw,
627:Whidah,
619:Glehoue
512:Commons
494:present
198:Dahomey
150:Dahomey
142:c. 1580
125:History
40:Capital
35:Country
1236:Ouidah
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1115:180879
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1027:10 May
728:Ouidah
700:Ouidah
685:Brazil
661:Ouidah
657:French
649:Yoruba
643:, and
634:Ouidah
615:Glexwe
168:Cowrie
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89:Yoruba
60:2°06′E
57:6°25′N
32:Status
1111:JSTOR
897:Glewe
825:Assou
724:Benin
716:Xwéda
669:Benin
641:Juida
630:Ajuda
623:Hueda
492:1990–
223:Benin
109:Vodun
1190:ISBN
1103:ISSN
1067:2010
1054:ISBN
1029:2017
998:2010
976:2010
889:Savi
754:, a
710:Name
696:Savi
683:and
645:Juda
562:The
480:1977
460:1972
452:1963
406:1890
172:Gold
155:1727
47:Savi
1095:doi
788:red
720:Xʷi
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