The West African Kingdoms of Benin, Ashanti, and Dahomey
History of Africa during the time of the great West African Empires.
This activity will introduce you to three of the empires of West Africa during the 17-18th centuries CE. They are the empires of Benin, Ashanti, and Dahomey. After you have read a short text on each of these empires, there is a fourth text which explains the time when parts of Western Africa assisted in the slave trade.
Use the map below as a reference while you are reading the texts. There are various links back to the map throughout the text that you can use to reference the map. The map shows the location of the three empires of West Africa, as well as, many other kingdoms and empires throughout African history.
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Empire of Benin
The historical kingdom of Benin was established in the forested region of West Africa in the 1200s C.E. According to history, the Edo people of southern Nigeria founded Benin. They no longer wanted to be ruled by their kings, known as the ogisos. They asked a prince from Ife, an important West African kingdom, to take control. The first oba, or king, in Benin was Eweka. He was the son of the prince from Ife.
The kingdom reached its greatest power and size under Oba Ewuare the Great. He expanded the kingdom and improved the capital, present-day Benin City; the city was defined by massive walls. The height of power for Benin’s monarchs began during this period. To honor the powerful obas, the people of Benin participated in many rituals that expressed their devotion and loyalty, including human sacrifices.
Artists of the Benin Kingdom were well known for working in many materials, particularly brass, wood, and ivory. They were famous for their bas-relief sculptures, particularly plaques, and life-size head sculptures. The plaques typically portrayed historical events, and the heads were often naturalistic and life size. Artisans also carved many different ivory objects, including masks and, for their European trade partners, salt cellars.
The success of Benin was fueled by its lively trade. Tradesmen and artisans from Benin developed relationships with the Portuguese, who sought after the kingdom’s artwork, gold, ivory, and pepper. In the early modern era, Benin was also heavily involved in the West African slave trade. They would capture men, women, and children from rival peoples and sell them into slavery to European and American buyers. This trade provided a significant source of wealth for the kingdom.
Benin began to lose power during the 1800s, as royal family members fought for power and control of the throne. Civil wars broke out, dealing a significant blow to both Benin’s administration as well as its economy. In its weakened state, Benin struggled to resist foreign interference in its trading network, particularly by the British. A desire for control over West African trade and territory ultimately led to a British invasion of Benin in 1897. Benin City was burned by the British, who then made the kingdom part of British Nigeria (which became Nigeria after the country gained independence in 1960). After that time, the kingdom no longer played a governing role in West Africa. However, even today, the oba still serves in Benin City as a government advisor.
Source: https://education.nationalgeographic.org/resource/kingdom-benin/
The Empire of Ashanti/Asanti
The Ashanti Empire was a pre-colonial West African state that emerged in the 17th century in what is now Ghana. The Ashanti or Asante were an ethnic subgroup of the Akan-speaking people, and were composed of small chiefdoms.
The Ashanti established their state around Kumasi in the late 1600s, shortly after their first encounter with Europeans. In some ways the Empire grew out of the wars and dislocations caused by Europeans who sought the famous gold deposits which gave this region its name, the Gold Coast. During this era the Portuguese were the most active Europeans in West Africa. They made Ashanti a significant trading partner, providing wealth and weapons which allowed the small state to grow stronger than its neighbors. Nonetheless when the 18th Century began Ashanti was simply one of Akan-speaking Portuguese trading partners in the region.
That situation changed when Osei Tutu, the Asantehene (paramount chief) of Ashanti from 1701 to 1717, and his priest Komfo Anokye, unified the independent chiefdoms into the most powerful political and military state in the coastal region. The Asantehene organized the Asante union, an alliance of Akan-speaking people who were now loyal to his central authority. The Asantehene made Kumasi the capital of the new empire. He also created a constitution, reorganized and centralized the military, and created a new cultural festival, Odwira, which symbolized the new union. Most importantly, he created the Golden Stool, which he argued represented the ancestors of all the Ashanti. Upon that Stool Osei Tutu legitimized his rule and that of the royal dynasty that followed him.
Gold was the major product of the Ashanti Empire. Osei Tutu made the gold mines royal possessions. He also made gold dust the circulating currency in the empire. Gold dust was frequently accumulated by Asante citizens, particularly by the evolving wealthy merchant class. However even relatively poor subjects used gold dust as ornamentation on their clothing and other possessions. Larger gold ornaments owned by the royal family and the wealthy were far more valuable. Periodically they were melted down and fashioned into new patterns of display in jewelry and statuary.
If the early Ashanti Empire economy depended on the gold trade in the 1700s, by the early 1800s it had become a major exporter of enslaved people. The slave trade was originally focused north with captives going to Mande and Hausa traders who exchanged them for goods from North Africa and indirectly from Europe. By 1800, the trade had shifted to the south as the Ashanti sought to meet the growing demand of the British, Dutch, and French for captives. In exchange, the Ashanti received luxury items and some manufactured goods including most importantly firearms.
The consequence of this trade for the Ashanti and their neighbors was horrendous. From 1790 until 1896, the Ashanti Empire was in a perpetual state of war involving expansion or defense of its domain. Most of these wars afforded the opportunity to acquire more slaves for trade. The constant warfare also weakened the Empire against the British who eventually became their main adversary. Between 1823 and 1873, the Ashanti Empire resisted British encroachment on their territory. By 1874, however, British forces successfully invaded the Empire and briefly captured Kumasi. The Ashanti rebelled against British rule and the Empire was again conquered in 1896. After yet another uprising in 1900, the British deposed and exiled the Asantehene and annexed the Empire into their Gold Coast colony in 1902.
The Empire of Dahomey
The Kingdom of Dahomey existed from circa 1600 until 1904 within what is presently known as Benin, a West African country. The area was initially settled by the Fon peopleOpens in a new tab, a Gbe ethnic group that still exists today. They took residence on the Abomey plateau, establishing a king to rule over them. It wasn’t until their third king, Houegbadja, came into power in 1645 that the collective truly began to organize and hone their power.
Under his influence, administration and religious practices (their dominant religion was Vodun) got a firm foundation as they did what any kingdom must do to establish its dominance and authority: conquer nearby areas. By the 18th century, the Kingdom of Dahomey was on a path of economic growth and expansion. Much of this came from the abysmal practice of slave tradingOpens in a new tab, which they did with European traders. It was a matter of either enslave others or become enslaved yourself and Dahomey chose the former.
The kingdom would capture people and sell them in the Atlantic slave trade in exchange for goods like rifles, tobacco, and alcohol. And the Kingdom of Dahomey kept some captives to enslave within its territory, forcing them to work on plantations and cultivate food for its army and royalty. The Annual Customs of DahomeyOpens in a new tab would often feature the mass execution of enslaved people for human sacrifice, giving gifts, and Vodun ceremonies.
The Kingdom of Dahomey became known for its intricate artwork, Vodun traditions, and its all-woman military unit known as the Dahomey Amazons. (More on them later, of course.) Near the mid-1800s, the kingdom began to decline with pressure from Britain to stop slave trading. During this time, King Ghezo (whom John Boyega will portray in The Woman KingOpens in a new tab) was in charge and staunchly against ending this lucrative business. Spoiler Alert: things do not end well for him.
Dahomey began to crumble for the fearsome kingdom in several ways. The Royal Navy put a blockade and patrols up at Dahomey’s coast, the nearby safe haven refugee city-state of Abeokuta defeated them in a major battle, and growing tensions with France set the stage for war in the impending decades.
There were two Franco-Dahomean wars, which ended in 1894 with France taking over. The Kingdom of Dahomey eventually became French Dahomey, a colony, ten years later. It transitioned to a self-governing colony, the Republic of Dahomey, with full independence coming in 1960. In 1975, the area got yet another name, the People’s Republic of Benin, which later simply became the Republic of Benin. That is the official name today, but is colloquially known as Benin. The Rise of the Dahomey Amazons
Yes, the history of the Kingdom of Dahomey is quite a lot. But how did the Dahomey Amazons fit into all of this? Their origins are murky but they came to be during the rule of Houegbadja as a collective of hunters known as gbeto. A lot of the documentation about them comes from the perspectives of European visitors, including naming them Amazons. However, they called themselves MinoOpens in a new tab, which means “our mothers” in Fon language. Some of them were also ahosi (“king’s wives).
As expected, documenters saw the Dahomey Amazons as “overly masculine,” inciting fear among them. The collective became large in number with estimations upwards of 6,000 women by the mid 19th-century. They would remain single, dedicating their lives to the kingdom and eschewing things associated with traditional womanhood.
The Kingdom of Dahomey’s penchant for frequent conquests and violence led to many men’s deaths. And, the kingdom gave up many of their own people as slaves (by force) to the more powerful Oyo Empire. This is where the Dahomey women hunters likely rose in the military ranks to become fighters. Some of them were captives but many came from Dahomey, volunteering to be of service. Of course, women who did not “play by the rules” ended up in the regiment. They could hone their “undesirable” traits into something useful for war.
They went through intense training, getting into supreme physical shape and deadening their overt emotions towards death and violence. Becoming a Mino was an avenue for many women to obtain what they didn’t have previously: wealth, status, and influence. There were different specializations among them with some being experts with rifles or bow and arrow, their uniforms marking regiment distinctions. Viola Davis’ character Nansica represents one of the Mino’s commanders, a woman warrior whose skill and leadership surpasses her counterparts.
Of course, they fought in the Franco-Dahomean wars and disbanded after France’s takeover. Some of the warriors went on to live a “traditional” life while others struggled after years of combat. Interestingly, the last living Dahomey AmazonOpens in a new tab is thought to be Nawi, a main character in The Woman King played by South African actress Thuso Mbedu.
In the film, Nawi will be a recruit who comes under the tutelage of Nansica. She spoke with a historian in 1978, saying she fought against the French nearly 90 years prior. She died in November of the following year with her age estimated over 100. While this seems nearly impossible, the regiment did have girls as young as 8 join their ranks. So, it is quite possible she was a pre-teen or even teenager who fought those battles.
The Dahomey women warriors have popped up in recent entertainment like Lovecraft Country and Black Panther. The Dora Milaje obviously draw some inspiration from these warriors. Now they are coming to full focus in The Woman King. The series synopsis reveals that Nansica, the General of the unit, and Nawi, a recruit, will fight alongside each other against enemies who enslaved their people and tried to destroy their lives. With the inclusion of Boyega’s king, we know that we will see some of the “beginning of the end” for Dahomey. But we may also get looks into the origins, too.
Of course, this film is “inspired by true events” which means it will not function like a documentary or story that sticks strictly to the facts. There will be creative liberty taken and that’s not necessarily a bad thing. The Kingdom of Dahomey engaged in some morally skewed (to put it lightly) practices that were the norm of this time period. But behind the wars sanctioned by royals and gore are actual human beings. These women likely served because they wanted to protect the ones they love or prove themselves in some manner. Or they were not given a choice in their life trajectory.
In many war/conflict situations, each side perceives themselves as the protagonist…right? The synopsis indicates the film will show this conflict through their heroic lens. Perhaps the narrative will pit them against real-life enemies like the British and French along with other African communities. The Woman King is a great vehicle to humanize the Dahomey Amazons aka the Mino in a way that white male documenters did not in their observations. It will be interesting to see how this film will depict the Kingdom of Dahomey and its women warriors.
Source: https://nerdist.com/article/history-of-kingdom-of-dahomey-amazons-women-warriors-the-woman-king/
