Editing Dahomey (section)

==Economy==
The economic structure of the kingdom was highly intertwined with the political and religious systems and these developed together significantly.<ref name="Herskovits (Vol. I)">{{cite book|last=Herskovits|first=Melville J.|title=Dahomey: An Ancient West African Kingdom|year=1967|publisher=Northwestern University Press|location=Evanston, IL|edition=Volume I}}</ref> The main currency was [[cowry]] shells.

===Domestic===
The domestic economy largely focused on agriculture and crafts for local consumption. Until the development of palm oil, very little agricultural or craft goods were traded outside of the kingdom. Markets served a key role in the kingdom and were organized around a rotating cycle of four days with a different market each day (the market type for the day was religiously sanctioned).<ref name="Herskovits (Vol. I)" />  Agriculture work was largely decentralized and done by most families. With the expansion of the kingdom, agricultural plantations began to be a common agricultural method in the kingdom. Craftwork was largely dominated by a formal guild system.<ref name=Duignan>{{cite book|title=Colonialism in Africa 1870–1960|year=1975|publisher=Cambridge|location=London|pages=33–67|author=Duignan, Peter|author2=L.H. Gann|chapter=The Pre-colonial economies of sub-saharan Africa}}</ref> Several wealthy citizens stored their cowrie wealth in a building called ''akueho'' (cowrie huts) located in the compounds of their houses. Such cowrie huts were designed to protect the cowries from fire and theft. [[Abiola Félix Iroko|Iroko]] argues that this was a form of [[banking]] in Dahomey because the owners of such ''akueho'' houses regularly kept the deposits of others in the storehouse which they used as a form of loans to 3rd parties. [[Jane I. Guyer|Guyer]] and Stiansen on the other hand, are skeptical of Iroko's theory.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Stiansen|first1=Endre |last2=Guyer|first2=Jane I.|author-link2=Jane I. Guyer|title= Credit, Currencies, and Culture: African Financial Institutions in Historical Perspective|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=cRIbZRBweoEC|year=1999|publisher=[[Nordic Africa Institute]]|pages=31–32|isbn=9789171064424}}</ref>

==== Taxation ==== 
Herskovits recounts a complex tax system in the kingdom, in which officials who represented the king, the {{transliteration|fon|tokpe}}, gathered data from each village regarding their harvest. Then the king set a tax based upon the level of production and village population. In addition, the king's own land and production were taxed.<ref name="Herskovits (Vol. I)" /> After significant road construction undertaken by the kingdom, [[toll booths]] were also established that collected yearly taxes based on the goods people carried and their occupation. Officials also sometimes imposed fines for public nuisance before allowing people to pass.<ref name="Herskovits (Vol. I)" /> Tax officials on road tolls were provided with armed guards.<ref name="Diamond proto state">{{cite journal | last=Diamond| first=Stanley| title= Dahomey: The Development of a Proto-State | journal=Dialectical Anthropology| volume=21 | issue=2 | pages=121–216| year=1996 | jstor=29790427| doi=10.1007/BF00244520 | s2cid=144297421}}</ref> 

Taxes were imposed on craft workers including blacksmiths, weavers and wood cutters for example. [[Kangaroo court]]s could be held at any place such as the market or on roads, presided over by officials recognized by the central government. Such courts could extract some form of tax from the litigants before judging the case.<ref name="Diamond proto state"/> Since the 18th century, prostitution (''Ko-si'') was licensed by the king. Robert Norris and [[Archibald Dalzel]] documented in the late 18th century that the central government was responsible for distributing prostitutes throughout the state at a price set by civil decree. Taxes were derived from prostitutes during the annual customs.<ref name="Diamond proto state"/>

=== Royal Road ===
An unpaved road system was developed from the port of [[Ouidah]] through [[Cana, Benin|Cana]] up to [[Abomey]]. Its purpose was to improve the transportation of the king between Cana and Abomey. The Royal Road dates to the 18th century but most primary sources about the road date to the century after. The road stretched over seven miles in a near straight line, between the gates of the two towns and its width was estimated to be 20–30 meters. The road was occasionally kept weeded and cleared with cutlass. Primary sources give varying accounts that the Royal Road was kept cleared every two or three months or even six weeks. The road was shaded by tall trees. The biggest specimen was that of a [[bombax]] tree species. Surrounding the road on both sides were intensive farms which Forbes stated in the mid 19th century, to have "rivaled that of the Chinese."<ref name="Alpern Road"/> 

In addition, religious shrines were lined along the road and Forbes counted 60 of them en route to Abomey. A palace was built halfway along the road by [[Tegbesu]] (1740–1774) to host the king as a resting place during transport. There is a lack of information about security provided across the Royal Road. Primary sources from the mid 19th century indicate that a large pair of [[carronades]] was placed on each side of the road near Abomey, which pointed toward Cana. A large number of cannons with diverse [[calibers]] were also placed at the road's end before the gates of Cana. Historian Alpern, indicates that the cannons in front of Cana might have served a ceremonial purpose because they lacked carriages to utilize.<ref name="Alpern Road"/>

===Slavery===
{{See also|Slavery in Africa}}
Both domestic slavery and the [[Atlantic slave trade]] were important to the economy of Dahomey. Men, women, and children captured by Dahomey in wars and [[slave raid]]s were sold to European slave traders in exchange for various goods such as rifles, gunpowder, textiles, cowry shells, and alcohol. Dahomey used magical rituals for slave trading. Prior to being sold to Europeans, slaves were forced to march in circles around the "Tree of Forgetfulness" so they would lose memories of their culture, family, and homeland.<ref name = "Herr"/> The purpose of this ritual was to prevent the spirits of deceased slaves from returning and seeking revenge against the royalty of Dahomey.<ref name = "Herr">{{cite book |last1=Herr |first1=Melody |title=The slave trade |date=2010 |publisher=Heinemann Library |location=Chicago, Ill. |isbn=9781432923846 |page=25}}{{Better source needed|reason=This is a book for children.|date=March 2023}}</ref>

Other war captives who were not intended to be sold to Europeans remained in Dahomey as slaves. There, they worked on royal plantations that supplied food for the army and royal court.<ref name="Brittani a2"/> Some historians such as Watson and Schellinger have argued that the shift from slave trading to a [[plantation economy]] in the 19th century worsened the social perception of slaves in Dahomey. They cite reasons that slaves before then were treated as members of their master's family and they could attain free status after a generation or two. Following the intensification of palm oil in the state, it became common for slaves to be abused and ill treated. To solve this issue, King Ghezo declared the trial of cases involving the murder of slaves at the Judicial Court in Abomey.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy |last2=Watson|first2=Noelle|last3=Schellinger|first3=Paul|title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&dq=Dahomey+tribute+forty+men%2C+women%2C+guns%2C+and+four+hundred+loads+of+cowries+and+corals+to+Oyo&pg=PA8|year=2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|pages=8|isbn=9781134259861}}</ref>

There was a history of large-scale [[human sacrifice]] using slaves.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bahamianology.com/800-slaves-sacrificed-in-tribute-on-the-death-of-gezo-the-great-slave-king-of-dahomey-1858/ | title=800 Slaves Sacrificed in Tribute on the Death of GEZO the Great Slave King of Dahomey 1858 · Bahamianology | date=October 27, 2018 }}</ref>