Dahomey was a kingdom located on the coast of West Africa that existed from the 17th century until 1904. It was most (in)famous for two things: An all-female military unit known as the Agojie, or Dahomey Amazons, and being one of the most significant exporters of slaves during the Atlantic slave trade.
Dahomey was a highly militaristic kingdom that built its economy on capturing slaves in warfare, either forcing them to work on plantations or selling them to European slave traders in exchange for European-manufactured goods.
Another significant aspect to the kingdom were the Annual Customs of Dahomey, annual celebrations which featured human sacrifices, military parades, and political discussions that functioned similarly to parliaments in the Western world.
Common tropes that portray Dahomey are:
- Amazon Brigade and Battle Harem: Many works of fiction depicting the kingdom mention the Dahomey Amazons at least once.
- Slave Market and Made a Slave: Slavery plays a significant role in many works of fiction featuring Dahomey.
- Human Sacrifice: Dahomey was notorious for its frequent human sacrifice rituals, which involved the deaths of large numbers of captives.
In media
- Cobra Verde, a film directed by Werner Herzog which is about a fictional Brazilian slave trader who establishes his trade in Dahomey.
- The Woman King, a film about the Dahomey Amazons.
- In Robur the Conqueror, Dahomey is one of the many destinations that the protagonists travel to, where they attempt to rescue enslaved prisoners from human sacrifice.
- In the Flashman novel Flash for Freedom!, the titular protaganist meets Dahomeyan slave traders as well as the Amazons.
- Victoria: Season 2 Episode 9 (Comfort and Joy) depicts a real-life historical event in which King Ghezo of Dahomey gives a young slave girl to Captain Frederick E. Forbes of the British Royal Navy, who would later name her Sara Forbes Bonetta and make her a goddaughter to Queen Victoria.
- Empire: Total War features the Dahomey Amazons as a playable military unit.
