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Dahomey
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==Foreign relations== [[File:FORBES(1851) p1.102 THE RECEPTION OF THE AH-HAUSSOO-NOH-BEH.jpg|thumb|250px|The reception of the Ah-Haussoo-Noh-Beh in Abomey drawn by Frederick E. Forbes in 1851]] The relations between Dahomey and other countries were complex and heavily impacted by the [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slave trade]]. ===Brazil=== In 1750, the Kingdom of Dahomey sent a [[diplomatic mission]] to [[Salvador, Bahia|Salvador]], [[State of Brazil|Portuguese colony of Brazil]] in order to strengthen diplomatic relations with this [[Portuguese colonization of the Americas|Portuguese colony]] following an incident which led to the expulsion of Portuguese-Brazilian diplomatic authorities in 1743.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Macedo|first=José Rivair|date=2018|access-date=September 14, 2023|title=The Embassy of Daomé in Salvador (1750): Diplomatic Protocols and the Political Affirmation of a State in Expansion in West Africa|url=https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/rbea/article/view/86065/52373|journal=Revista Brasileira de Estudos Africanos|language=en|volume=3|issue=6|doi=10.22456/2448-3923.86065|issn=2448-3923|doi-access=free}}</ref> Other Dahomey missions were sent to Portuguese colony of Brazil from 1795 to 1805 with the purpose of strengthening relations with Portuguese colonial authorities and slave buyers residing in Brazilian territory, ensuring that they maintained an interest in purchasing enslaved people supplied by Dahomey rather than rival kingdoms.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Tadeu Arantes |first1=José |title=Study highlights the role of diplomatic relations between Dahomey and Brazil in the slave trade |url=https://agencia.fapesp.br/study-highlights-the-role-of-diplomatic-relations-between-dahomey-and-brazil-in-the-slave-trade/36328/ |work=AGÊNCIA FAPESP |language=en}}</ref> It is also recorded that in 1823, the Kingdom of Dahomey formally recognized [[Independence of Brazil|Brazil's independence]], making it one of the first political [[State (polity)|entities]] in the world to do so.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Guizelin |first=Gilberto da Silva |date=2015 |access-date=September 14, 2023 |title=A última embaixada de um monarca africano no Brasil: Manoel Alves Lima, um embaixador do Reino de Onim na corte de D. Pedro I |trans-title=The last embassy of an African monarch in Brazil: Manoel Alves Lima, an Ambassador of the Kingdom of Onim at the court of D. Pedro First |url=https://seer.ufrgs.br/index.php/anos90/article/view/54813/36152 |journal=Anos 90 - Revista do Programa de Pós-Graduação em História |volume=22 |issue=42 |doi=10.22456/1983-201X.54813 |language=pt-br |doi-access=free }}</ref> The [[Atlantic slave trade]] between Brazil and Dahomey remained intense even under pressure from the [[United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland|United Kingdom]] for its [[Abolitionism in the United Kingdom|abolition]]. [[Francisco Félix de Sousa]], a [[Slavery|former enslaved]] person and later a major [[Slave-trader|slave trader]] in the Dahomey region, became a politically influential figure in that kingdom after the ascent of [[Ghezo|Guezo]] to the Dahomean throne. He was granted the honorary title of Chachá, vice-king of Ajudá, and a monopoly on the exportation of slaves.{{refn|Brazilian historiography has attributed the primacy of this recognition to the [[United Provinces of the Río de la Plata]], also in 1823.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Antunes de Oliveira |first1=Felipe |last2=Pavan Lopes |first2=Lucas |date=2023 |access-date=September 14, 2023 |title=A Argentina e a independência do Brasil: o reconhecimento tardio de um reconhecimento pioneiro |trans-title=Argentina and the Independence of Brazil: The belated recognition of an early recognition |url=https://cebri.org/revista/br/artigo/81/a-argentina-e-a-independencia-do-brasil-o-reconhecimento-tardio-de-um-reconhecimento-pioneiro |journal=CEBRI-Revista |language=pt-br }}</ref><ref>{{Cite news|author=RFi |date=September 7, 2022 |access-date=September 14, 2023 |title=O primeiro país a reconhecer a Independência do Brasil foi também o primeiro a quem declarou guerra |trans-title=The first country to recognize the Independence of Brazil was also the first one to declare war on it |url=https://g1.globo.com/mundo/noticia/2022/09/07/o-primeiro-pais-a-reconhecer-a-independencia-do-brasil-foi-tambem-o-primeiro-a-quem-declarou-guerra.ghtml |publisher=G1 |language=pt-br }}</ref>|group=nb}} ===France=== {{main|First Franco-Dahomean War|Second Franco-Dahomean War}} [[File:Behanzin-Goho-1895.jpg|thumb|In 1894, the last King of Dahomey, [[Béhanzin]], surrendered his person to [[Alfred-Amédée Dodds]]]] In 1861, the kingdom of [[Porto-Novo]], one of Dahomey's tributaries, was bombarded by the [[Royal Navy]].<ref name = "alpern">{{cite book |last1=Alpern |first1=Stanley B. |title=Amazons of Black Sparta : the women warriors of Dahomey : with a new preface |date=2011 |publisher=New York University Press |location=New York |isbn=978-0814707722}}</ref> Porto-Novo asked for protection from France and became a French protectorate as a result in 1863. This status was rejected by King [[Behanzin]], who still declared Porto-Novo to be a tributary of Dahomey. Another issue of contention was the status of [[Cotonou]], a port the French believed was under their control because of a treaty signed by Dahomey's representative in [[Ouidah|Whydah]]. Dahomey ignored all French claims there as well and continued to collect customs from the port. These territorial disputes escalated into the [[First Franco-Dahomean War]] in 1890, resulting in French victory. Dahomey was forced to sign a treaty surrendering Porto-Novo and Cotonou to the French. It later returned to raiding the area and disregarded French complaints, triggering the [[Second Franco-Dahomean War]] in 1892. The kingdom was defeated in 1894, it was annexed into the [[French colonial empire]] as [[French Dahomey]], and King Behanzin was exiled to [[Algeria]]. ===Portugal=== The Portuguese fort at [[Ouidah]] was destroyed by the army of Dahomey in 1743 during its conquest of the city, so King [[Tegbesu]] desired to renew relations with Portugal.<ref name="araujo">{{cite journal |last1=Araujo |first1=Ana Lucia |title=Dahomey, Portugal and Bahia: King Adandozan and the Atlantic Slave Trade |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/0144039X.2011.604562 |journal=Slavery & Abolition |pages=1–19 |doi=10.1080/0144039X.2011.604562 |date=March 1, 2012|volume=33 |s2cid=143942068 |url-access=subscription }}</ref> Dahomey sent at least five embassies to Portugal and Brazil during the years of 1750, 1795, 1805, 1811 and 1818, with the goal of negotiating the terms of the Atlantic slave trade. These missions created an official correspondence between the kings of Dahomey and the kings of Portugal, and gifts were exchanged between them. The Portuguese Crown paid for the expenses travel and accommodation expenses of Dahomey's ambassadors, who traveled between [[Lisbon]] and [[Salvador, Bahia]]. The embassies of 1805 and 1811 brought letters from King [[Adandozan]], who had imprisoned Portuguese subjects in the Dahomean capital of [[Abomey]] and requested for Portugal to trade exclusively at Ouidah. Portugal promised to answer to his demands if he released the prisoners.<ref name="araujo"/> A long and detailed letter from King Adandonzan dated October 9, 1810, shows that he had knowledge of the [[Napoleonic Wars]] and the subsequent [[Transfer of the Portuguese court to Brazil|exile of the Portuguese royal family to Brazil]], and he expressed remorse that he was not able to help the Portuguese royal family during their war against France.<ref name="araujo"/>{{blockquote|text=Soon the news that Your Royal Majesty and all the Royal family were made prisoners of the French, who took [[Lisbon]], as well as the King of Spain, started arriving. Some time passed and another vessel came and brought other news that Your Royal Majesty and Our Sovereign Mother Queen of Portugal had left for the City of Bahia, under the protection of the English and the Portuguese Navy. Then more time passed and another vessel brought news that you have moved to [[Rio de Janeiro]], where we know that the Duke of Cadaval deceased, for which I feel sorry and give you my condolences...what I feel the most is to no longer be the neighbour of Our Majesty, and not being able to walk on firm land to give you a help with my arm, so my wish is big, as here I have also fought many wars in the backlands.}} After detailing how he defeated the king of the Mahi nation, Adandonzan tells the Portuguese,<ref name="araujo"/> {{blockquote|text=...Give me also news about the Wars, and also give me news about the wars with the French nation and the others, it will make me happy to know about it}} ===United Kingdom=== Dahomey became a target of the [[British Empire]]'s anti-slavery campaign during the 19th century.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Law |first1=Robin |date=1986 |title=Dahomey and the Slave Trade: Reflections on the Historiography of the Rise of Dahomey |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/181135 |journal=The Journal of African History |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=237–267 |doi=10.1017/S0021853700036665 |issn=0021-8537 |jstor=181135 |s2cid=165754199|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The British sent diplomatic missions to Dahomey in an effort to convince King [[Ghezo]] to abolish human sacrifice and slave trading. Ghezo did not immediately concede to British demands but attempted to maintain friendly relations with Britain by encouraging the growth of new trade in [[palm oil]] instead.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Law |first1=Robin |date=1997 |title=The Politics of Commercial Transition: Factional Conflict in Dahomey in the Context of the Ending of the Atlantic Slave Trade |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/182822 |journal=The Journal of African History |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=213–233 |doi=10.1017/S0021853796006846 |issn=0021-8537 |jstor=182822 |s2cid=15681629 |hdl-access=free |hdl=1893/280}}</ref> In 1851, the [[Royal Navy]] imposed a naval blockade against Dahomey, forcing Ghezo to sign a treaty in 1852 that immediately abolished the export of slaves. This was broken when slave trading resumed in 1857 and 1858. Historian [[Martin Meredith]] quotes Ghezo telling the British:<ref name="Martin">{{cite book |last1=Meredith |first1=Martin |title=The Fortunes of Africa |date=2014 |publisher=PublicAffairs |isbn=9781610396356 |location=New York |pages=193}}</ref> {{blockquote|text=The slave trade has been the ruling principle of my people. It is the source of their glory and wealth. Their songs celebrate their victories and the mother lulls the child to sleep with notes of triumph over an enemy reduced to slavery.}} During a diplomatic mission to Dahomey in 1849, Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the Royal Navy received an enslaved girl (later named [[Sarah Forbes Bonetta]]) from King Ghezo as a "gift", who would later become a goddaughter to [[Queen Victoria]]. ===United States=== During the [[American Revolutionary War|American Revolution]], the rebelling [[United Colonies]] prohibited the international slave trade for a variety of economic, political, and moral reasons depending on the colony.<ref name="NPL">{{cite web |author=Finkelman, Paul |date=2007 |title=The Abolition of The Slave Trade |url=http://abolition.nypl.org/print/us_constitution/ |access-date=June 25, 2014 |publisher=New York Public Library}}</ref> Following the end of the revolution, U.S. President [[Thomas Jefferson]] signed the [[Act Prohibiting Importation of Slaves]] in 1807, which federally outlawed the international slave trade, though domestic slavery itself would persist until the [[American Civil War]]. Thus, the [[United States]] never established any formal diplomatic relations with the Kingdom of Dahomey. The last known [[slave ship]] that sailed to the [[United States]] secretly and illegally imported 110 slaves from Dahomey, purchased long after the abolition of the slave trade. The story was mentioned in the newspaper ''The Tarboro Southerner'' on July 14, 1860. Five days earlier, a schooner called ''[[Clotilda (slave ship)|Clotilda]]'', captained by William Foster, arrived in the bay of [[Mobile, Alabama]] carrying the last known shipment of slaves to the U.S. In 1858, an American man named [[Timothy Meaher]] made a wager with acquaintances that despite the law banning the slave trade, he could safely bring a load of slaves from Africa. He built the ''Clotilda'' slave ship and sent William Foster to captain it and retrieve enslaved Africans. Captain William Foster arrived in [[Ouidah]], a coastal port of Dahomey, and retrieved 110 slaves. Describing how he came in possession of the slaves, he wrote in his journal in 1860, {{blockquote|text=From thence I went to see the King of Dahomey. Having agreeably transacted affairs with the Prince we went to the warehouse where they had in confinement four thousand captives in a state of nudity from which they gave me liberty to select one hundred and twenty-five as mine offering to brand them for me, from which I preemptorily [sic] forbid; commenced taking on cargo of negroes, successfully securing on board one hundred and ten.}} [[Zora Neale Hurston]] wrote about her interviews with [[Oluale Kossola]], who was thought to be the last survivor of the ''Clotilda'', in her book ''[[Barracoon: The Story of the Last "Black Cargo"|Barracoon]]''.<ref name="Barracoon">{{Cite book |last=Hurston |first=Zora Neal |title=Barracoon- The Story of the Last "Black Cargo" |publisher=Amistad; HarperCollins Publishers |year=2018 |isbn=9780062748218}}</ref> Later, it was found that [[Matilda McCrear]] was the last living survivor of that atrocity. A notable descendant of a slave from this ship is [[Ahmir Khalib Thompson]], an American music artist known as Questlove. Mr. Thompson's story is depicted in the PBS Television show ''[[Finding Your Roots]]'' [Season 4, Episode 9].<ref>{{cite web |title=Season 4 Episode Guide {{!}} About {{!}} Finding Your Roots |url=http://www.pbs.org/weta/finding-your-roots/about/season-4-episode-guide/ |access-date=February 27, 2018 |website=pbs.org |publisher=Public Broadcasting Service}}</ref> ===Yoruba=== The [[Oyo Empire]] engaged in frequent conflicts with the Kingdom of Dahomey and Dahomey became a [[Tributary state|tributary]] of the Oyo from 1732 until 1823. The city-state of [[Porto-Novo]], under the protection of Oyo, and Dahomey had a long-standing rivalry largely over control of the slave trade along the coast. The rise of [[Abeokuta]] in the 1840s created another power rivaling Dahomey, largely by creating a safe haven for people from the slave trade.<ref name="Yoder" /> Notable [[Yoruba people]] who were captured by Dahomey in slave raids following the collapse of the Oyo Empire include [[Sarah Forbes Bonetta]] (Aina), [[Cudjoe Lewis]] (Oluale Kossola), [[Matilda McCrear]] (Abake), [[Redoshi]], and [[Seriki Williams Abass]] (Ifaremilekun Fagbemi).
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