What is the meaning of the Behanzin?
Born under the name of Kondo, he was later coronated King Behanzin, meaning ‘the egg of the world and the son of the shark.” In 1889, Behanzin succeeded the throne to his father, Glele.
Who was Behanzin resisting?
King Behanzin, who had succeeded to the Dahomean throne in 1889, resisted the French claim to Cotonou, provoking the French invasion and conquest of Dahomey in 1892–94.
What name was the kingdom of Dahomey given?
In 1958 French Dahomey became the self-governing colony called the Republic of Dahomey and gained full independence in 1960. It was renamed in 1975 the People’s Republic of Benin and in 1991 the Republic of Benin.
Who is Behanzin hossu?
Behanzin Hossu Bowelle was born in the capital of Dahomey, Abomey, in 1844. He was the son of King Glele, who was the King of Dahomey at the time. When his father died, Behanzin became the 11th king of Dahomey. Soon started to be referred to as the King Shark.
What is a Dahomey queen?
Europeans who visited the kingdom in the 19th Century called Dahomey’s female fighters Amazons after the ruthless warriors of Greek mythology. Today, historians refer to them as mino, which can be translated as ‘our mothers’ in the local Fon language.
Where is Behanzin?
He lived out the remainder of his life in exile in Martinique and Algeria. After his death, his remains were returned to Abomey. His throne, his sculptures of wood, copper, iron and silver are now in the Musee Quai Branly, and have been the topic of important discussions about their return to the Republic of Benin.
What European country defeated the Behanzin army in 1894?
King Behanzin fought so courageously but in 1894, he submitted to the superior weaponry of France. He was defeated by Colonel Alfred Amedee Dodds, a Senegalese mulatto who led the expedition against Behanzin’s Dahomey.
What brought the name Dahomey?
Agaja, eager to buy arms from European traders on the Gulf of Guinea coast, conquered Allada (1724) and Whydah (1727), where European forts had already been established. The enlarged state was called Dahomey; Abomey, Allada, and Whydah were its provinces.
What did the Dahomey Kingdom trade?
The Dahomey Kingdom became known to European traders at this time as a major source of slaves in the slave trade at Allada and Whydah. King Agaja, grandson of Houegbadja, came to the throne in 1718 and began significant expansion of the Kingdom of Dahomey.
What did Behanzin hossu Bowelle do?
Benhanzin Hossu Bowelle was a the last West African king of the 19th century, and fought fiercely for the freedom of Dahomey (present day Benin) against French colonists.
Who is a warrior woman?
The Warrior Woman is an ancient archetype that is not well known because the stories have been both forgotten and suppressed. Mythology is full of warrior goddesses like the Roman Bellona, who fought with her brother Mars; and the Norse goddess Alfhild, who fought dressed as a man.
Where is Dahomey located?
western Africa
Dahomey, kingdom in western Africa that flourished in the 18th and 19th centuries in the region that is now southern Benin. According to tradition, at the beginning of the 17th century three brothers vied for the kingdom of Allada, which, like neighbouring Whydah (now Ouidah), had grown rich on the slave trade.
