French Dahomey was a

French French (french: français(e), link=no) may refer to: * Something of, from, or related to France ** French language, which originated in France, and its various dialects and accents ** French people, a nation and ethnic group identified with Franc ...

colony and part of

French West Africa French West Africa (french: Afrique-Occidentale française, ) was a federation of eight French colonial territories in West Africa: Mauritania, Senegal, French Sudan (now Mali), French Guinea (now Guinea), Ivory Coast, Upper Volta (now B ...

from 1894 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the

French Fourth Republic The French Fourth Republic (french: Quatrième république française) was the republican government of France from 27 October 1946 to 4 October 1958, governed by the fourth republican constitution. It was in many ways a revival of the Third Re ...

in 1947, Dahomey became part of the

French Union The French Union () was a political entity created by the French Fourth Republic to replace the old French colonial empire system, colloquially known as the " French Empire" (). It was the formal end of the "indigenous" () status of French subj ...

with an increased autonomy. On 4 October 1958 the

French Fifth Republic The Fifth Republic (french: Cinquième République) is France's current republican system of government. It was established on 4 October 1958 by Charles de Gaulle under the Constitution of the Fifth Republic.. The Fifth Republic emerged from ...

was established and the French Union became the

French Community The French Community (1958–1960; french: Communauté française) was the constitutional organization set up in 1958 between France and its remaining African colonies, then in the process of decolonization. It replaced the French Union, which ...

. The colony became the self-governing Republic of Dahomey within the Community, and two years later on 1 August 1960, it gained full independence (and changed its name to

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 nort ...

in 1975).

History

Kingdom of Dahomey

During the 13th century, the indigenous

Yoruba people The Yoruba people (, , ) are a West African ethnic group that mainly inhabit parts of Nigeria, Benin, and Togo. The areas of these countries primarily inhabited by Yoruba are often collectively referred to as Yorubaland. The Yoruba constitut ...

of the west Niger area were run by a group of local chieftains, but by the 17th century a single ruler known as the ''alaafin'' had asserted control, creating the

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 region ...

. Under the dynasty established by the Dahomey's territory expanded to cover a region between the

Niger River The Niger River ( ; ) is the main river of West Africa, extending about . Its drainage basin is in area. Its source is in the Guinea Highlands in south-eastern Guinea near the Sierra Leone border. It runs in a crescent shape through Mal ...

delta and what is now the

Nigeria Nigeria ( ), , ig, Naìjíríyà, yo, Nàìjíríà, pcm, Naijá , ff, Naajeeriya, kcg, Naijeriya officially the Federal Republic of Nigeria, is a country in West Africa. It is situated between the Sahel to the north and the Gulf o ...

n city of Lagos. The obas brought great prosperity and a highly organized state to Benin. They also established good relations and an extensive

slave trade Slavery and enslavement are both the state and the condition of being a slave—someone forbidden to quit one's service for an enslaver, and who is treated by the enslaver as property. Slavery typically involves slaves being made to perf ...

with the Portuguese and Dutch who arrived from the 15th century onwards. The decline of the obas began in the 18th century when a series of internal power struggles began which lasted into the 19th century.

Colony

The French takeover and

colonization Colonization, or colonisation, constitutes large-scale population movements wherein migrants maintain strong links with their, or their ancestors', former country – by such links, gain advantage over other inhabitants of the territory. When ...

of the Kingdom of Dahomey began in 1872. The First Franco-Dahomean War in 1890 further weakened it. The

Second Franco-Dahomean War The Second Franco-Dahomean War, which raged from 1892 to 1894, was a major conflict between France, led by General Alfred-Amédée Dodds, and Dahomey under King Béhanzin. The French emerged triumphant and incorporated Dahomey into their gr ...

resulted in it becoming a French protectorate in 1894. A decree dated 22 June 1894 created the ('Colony of Dahomey and Dependencies'), which was to be incorporated into

in 1904. Under the French, a port was constructed at

Cotonou Cotonou (; fon, Kútɔ̀nú) is a city in Benin. Its official population count was 679,012 inhabitants in 2012; however, over two million people live in the larger urban area. The urban area continues to expand, notably toward the west. The ci ...

, and railroads were built. School facilities were expanded by Roman Catholic missions. In 1946, Dahomey became an overseas territory, part of the

, with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. On 4 December 1958, it became the Republic of Dahomey (), self-governing within the

Independence

On 1 August 1960, the Republic of Dahomey gained full

independence Independence is a condition of a person, nation, country, or state in which residents and population, or some portion thereof, exercise self-government, and usually sovereignty, over its territory. The opposite of independence is the stat ...

from France. The republic's first president was

Hubert Maga Coutoucou Hubert Maga (August 10, 1916 – May 8, 2000) was a politician from Dahomey (now known as Benin).Dahomey was renamed Benin in 1975. Se''New York Times'' obituary He arose on a political scene where one's power was dictated by what regio ...

, who had been the Prime Minister during the overseas territory's last year under French rule.

History

Kingdom of Dahomey

Colony

Independence

See also

References

Further reading