the aegis of King Glele that
slavery was increased, and
was the chief major export to
European and American
slavers, as well as the major
source of wealth and economic
prosperity of the region. It was from the profits from
the sale of African war captives as slaves that
enabled Dahomey to regain its military dominance in
the region, and finally shed the shackles of the Oyo
State.
Today, the population of Dahomey estimates around
8-10 million. The major groups being the Adja (who
later changed their name to Ewe), the Fon (a major
subgroup of the Ewe, both groups concentrated in
the southern regions. The
Yoruba, who maintained
major trade and slave ports in
the east, and the Bariba
(today known as the Tchamba,
Somba, Batammaliba, Tata
Brema among other names) of the
north.
Of the above groups, it is the
Tchamba who are the actual
aboriginals of the region, the
Adja and Fon both being some of
the original descendants of the
Oyo State in Nigeria,
immigrated to these
regions as early as the 11th
century. During the
mid-1800s the invasion by the
Fulanis in the north resulted
in the final destruction of the
Oyo State, and many of the
Tchamba being converted to
Islam, and sold to American
and European merchants as
slaves It is also from these
groups that the majority of the
slaves were taken and brought
to America and the
surrounding coastal islands.
The precolonial history of the south is closely tied to
the rise of the Fon kingdom of Dahomey (actually
Danhomë), with its center in Abomey. The dynasty
expanded to the south and west, eventually (1724)
conquering Allada (known to European traders as
Ardra) which according to legends was the
"parent-state" of both the Dahomey and later the
Porto Novo kingdoms. In 1727 the key port of
Ouidah (Whydah) was conquered giving Dahomey
direct access to the gun market through European
slave traders who were
established all along the coast.
The destruction of Allada
power ushered in a long era of
invasions from the Oyo
Empire (to which Allada had
been a tributary state) and the
subjugation of Dahomey to
nominal Oyo suzerainty. In
1818 Oyo domination was
thrown off in the wake of a
major resurgence of
Dahomean power and
expansion under two of the
kingdom's most illustrious
kings, Ghézo and Glele. At
the height of its power,
Dahomey became widely
known in European capitals,
gaining further fame for its
elite women's military units
(the Amazons).[1]