Editing Dahomey (section)

===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]].