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Hwanjile
Hwanjile (r. 1740–1774) was a high priest and ''kpojito'' ("reign mate") of the African Kingdom of Dahomey, in what is now Benin. Life Hwanjile was an Aja woman from the village of Home in an area west of Abomey, in the southern portion of modern-day Benin. She was reportedly already an adult with two children when she was brought, either as a war captive or trader, to the palace of Abomey. Hwanjile was married to the king Agaja before she was appointed to the position of ''kpojito'' ("Mother of the Leopard") by Tegbesu, the fourth king of Dahomey. Her kin included the powerful Adanle, Hodonour, and Kossou-Naeton families of merchants in the town of Ouidah. Political and religious involvement The oral histories which are our chief source of information about eighteenth-century Dahomey do not explain why Hwanjile allied herself with Tegbesu Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Tegbesu
Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a King of Dahomey, king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the oldest son of Agaja, King Agaja (1718-1740), he became king after Agaja's death following a succession struggle with a brother. Rise to power Oral traditions hold that Tegbesu was the son of Agaja and Hwanjile, a woman reported to have brought West African Vodun, ''Vodun'' to the kingdom. King Agaja had significantly expanded the Kingdom of Dahomey during his reign, notably conquering Allada in 1724 and Kingdom of Whydah, Whydah in 1727. This increased the size of the kingdom and increased both domestic dissent (with the royal aristocrats of both Allada and Whydah opposing Dahomey from fortified islands off the coast) and regional opposition (mainly with semi-regular warfare between Dahomey and the Oyo Empire). According to one oral tradition, as part of the tribute owed by Dahomey to Oyo, Agaja had to give to Oyo one of his ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kingdom Of Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey () was a West African kingdom located within present-day Benin that existed from approximately 1600 until 1904. Dahomey developed on the Abomey Plateau amongst the Fon people in the early 17th century and became a regional power in the 18th century by expanding south to conquer key cities like Whydah belonging to the Kingdom of Whydah on the Atlantic coast which granted it unhindered access to the tricontinental triangular trade. For much of the middle 19th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey became a key regional state, after eventually ending tributary status to the Oyo Empire. European visitors extensively documented the kingdom, and it became one of the most familiar African nations to Europeans. The Kingdom of Dahomey was an important regional power that had an organized domestic economy built on conquest and slave labor, significant international trade and diplomatic relations with Europeans, a centralized administration, taxation systems, and an orga ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Kpojito
The ''kpojito'' was the queen mother and consort of the pre-colonial African kingdom of Dahomey (modern-day Benin, West Africa). History Beginning in the early eighteenth century, the ''kpojito'' was a wife of the king's father, often born of common origin, or into slavery. She rose in rank by merit to serve as the coregent of the ruling king, and sometimes his predecessor. A kpojito shared power with local princes (serving as their protégé and kingmaker), and had the authority to resolve religious disputes through her skill as a priestess to the ''vodun'' (gods). The most famous ''kpojito'' was Hwanjile, who reigned with King Tegbesu Tegbesu (French: Tegbessou) or Bossa Ahadee was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1740 until 1774. While not the oldest son of King Agaja (1718-1740), he became king after Agaja's death following a succession struggle wi ... in the mid-eighteenth century. References {{Benin-stub 18th century in the Kingdom of Dahome ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Benin
Benin ( , ; french: Bénin , ff, Benen), officially the Republic of Benin (french: République du Bénin), and formerly Dahomey, is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Togo to the west, Nigeria to the east, Burkina Faso to the north-west, and Niger to the north-east. The majority of its population lives on the southern coastline of the Bight of Benin, part of the Gulf of Guinea in the northernmost tropical portion of the Atlantic Ocean. The capital is Porto-Novo, and the seat of government is in Cotonou, the most populous city and economic capital. Benin covers an area of and its population in was estimated to be approximately million. It is a tropical nation, dependent on agriculture, and is an exporter of palm oil and cotton. Some employment and income arise from subsistence farming. The official language of Benin is French, with indigenous languages such as Fon, Bariba, Yoruba and Dendi also spoken. The largest religious group in Benin is Sunni Islam (27 ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Aja People
Aja or AJA may refer to: Acronyms *AJ Auxerre, a French football club *Ajaccio Napoleon Bonaparte Airport's IATA airport code *Al Jazeera America, an American news channel *American Jewish Archives *''American Journal of Archaeology'' *, a German organization of non-profit youth exchange groups *The Association of Japanese Animations *Australian Journalists Association, part of the Media, Entertainment and Arts Alliance Anthropology *Aja people, a people living in Benin ** Aja language (Niger–Congo), the language of the Aja people, part of the Gbe dialect continuum * Aja people (South Sudan), an ethnic group living in South Sudan **Aja language (Nilo-Saharan), a language spoken in Sudan Gods * Aja (Hindu mythology), a prince of the Ikshvaku dynasty * Aja (orisha), a Yoruba spirit * Aja, another name of the Hindu god Shiva Music * ''Aja'' (album), a 1977 Steely Dan album ** "Aja" (song), the title track of that album *'' Aja!'', a 2015 Maija Vilkkumaa album People * Aja (na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Abomey
Abomey is the capital of the Zou Department of Benin. The commune of Abomey covers an area of 142 square kilometres and, as of 2012, had a population of 90,195 people. Abomey houses the Royal Palaces of Abomey, a collection of small traditional houses that were inhabited by the Kings of Dahomey from 1600 to 1900, and which were designated a World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 1985.Butler, Stuart (2019) ''Bradt Travel Guide - Benin'', pgs. 135-45 History Abomey was founded in the 17th century as the capital of the Kingdom of Dahomey (1600–1904), on the site of the former village of Kana. Traditional legends state that the town was founded by Do-Aklin, a son of the king of Allada who ventured north to found his own kingdom; the name is thought to come from Danhomé, also spelled Danxomé, meaning "belly of Dan", Dan being the original chief of the village. Dahomey expanded rapidly in the 1700s, absorbing many of the surrounding kingdoms, and growing rich from the slave trade. A ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Agaja
Agaja (also spelled Agadja and also known as Trudo Agaja or Trudo Audati) was a king of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, who ruled from 1718 until 1740. He came to the throne after his brother King Akaba. During his reign, Dahomey expanded significantly and took control of key trade routes for the Atlantic slave trade by conquering Allada (1724) and Whydah (1727). Wars with the powerful Oyo Empire to the east of Dahomey resulted in Agaja accepting tributary status to that empire and providing yearly gifts. After this, Agaja attempted to control the new territory of the kingdom of Dahomey through militarily suppressing revolts and creating administrative and ceremonial systems. Agaja died in 1740 after another war with the Oyo Empire and his son Tegbessou became the new king. Agaja is credited with creating many of the key government structures of Dahomey, including the '' Yovogan'' and the ''Mehu''. The motivations of Agaja and his involvement with the slave trade r ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ouidah
Ouidah () or Whydah (; ''Ouidah'', ''Juida'', and ''Juda'' by the French; ''Ajudá'' by the Portuguese; and ''Fida'' by the Dutch) and known locally as Glexwe, formerly the chief port of the Kingdom of Whydah, is a city on the coast of the Republic of Benin. The commune covers an area of and as of 2002 had a population of 76,555 people. History In local tradition Kpassa is supposed to have founded the town. This probably happened towards the end of the sixteenth century. The town was originally known as ''Glēxwé'', literally 'Farmhouse', and was part of the Kingdom of Whydah. Ouidah saw its role in international trade rise when the Royal African Company (RAC) constructed a fort there in 1650. Whydah troops pushed their way into the African interior, capturing millions of people through wars, and selling them to European and Arab slave traders. By 1716, the Kingdom of Whydah had become the second largest slave port in the triangular trade, as noted by the crew of the slave ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th Century In The Kingdom Of Dahomey
18 (eighteen) is the natural number following 17 and preceding 19. In mathematics * Eighteen is a composite number, its divisors being 1, 2, 3, 6 and 9. Three of these divisors (3, 6 and 9) add up to 18, hence 18 is a semiperfect number. Eighteen is the first inverted square-prime of the form ''p''·''q''2. * In base ten, it is a Harshad number. * It is an abundant number, as the sum of its proper divisors is greater than itself (1+2+3+6+9 = 21). It is known to be a solitary number, despite not being coprime to this sum. * It is the number of one-sided pentominoes. * It is the only number where the sum of its written digits in base 10 (1+8 = 9) is equal to half of itself (18/2 = 9). * It is a Fine number. In science Chemistry * Eighteen is the atomic number of argon. * Group 18 of the periodic table is called the noble gases. * The 18-electron rule is a rule of thumb in transition metal chemistry for characterising and predicting the stability of metal complexes. In re ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century Rulers In Africa
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 (Roman numerals, MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 (Roman numerals, MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American Revolution, American, French Revolution, French, and Haitian Revolution, Haitian Revolutions. During the century, History of slavery, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, while declining in Russian Empire, Russia, Qing dynasty, China, and Joseon, Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that Proslavery, supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in Society, human society and the Natural environment, environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th cen ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
18th-century Women Rulers
The 18th century lasted from January 1, 1701 ( MDCCI) to December 31, 1800 ( MDCCC). During the 18th century, elements of Enlightenment thinking culminated in the American, French, and Haitian Revolutions. During the century, slave trading and human trafficking expanded across the shores of the Atlantic, while declining in Russia, China, and Korea. Revolutions began to challenge the legitimacy of monarchical and aristocratic power structures, including the structures and beliefs that supported slavery. The Industrial Revolution began during mid-century, leading to radical changes in human society and the environment. Western historians have occasionally defined the 18th century otherwise for the purposes of their work. For example, the "short" 18th century may be defined as 1715–1789, denoting the period of time between the death of Louis XIV of France and the start of the French Revolution, with an emphasis on directly interconnected events. To historians who expand ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
