Dahomey (the native name of the people being Dahma or Dahomé) is since 1892-94 a French protectorate in Western Africa, between Lagos (British) and Togoland (German), with an area stated at 4000 miles. But the frontiers of the ' hinterland,' always vague, were matters of disagreement and debate between Britain and France as late as 1897, the French claiming a territory continuous to Borgu and beyond. The coast strip is not Dahomey proper, but, as the Slave Coast, is part of French Guinea (comprising Grand Popo, Cotonu, and Porto Novo). The long lagoon which, shut in from the ocean by a protecting bank of sand, affords an easy route along nearly the whole of this coast, extends in Dahomey, from its western frontier almost to the Denham lagoon, in the east. About midway is the port of Whydah, whence a road extends inland to Abomey, a distance of 65 miles. Dense forests and dismal swamps cover nearly two-thirds of this distance, but from the Great Swamp of Agriné vast undulating plains rise for many miles, in the direction of the Kong Mountains. The Avon and Denham lagoons receive the rivers of the country, none of which are very important. The soil is a rich, red-coloured clay, and is extremely fertile.
Groves of oil-palms encircle each town, and palm-oil is made in large quantities. Maize, beans, and peas, as well as cassava, yams, sweet potatoes, limes, oranges, pine-apples, and other tropical fruits, grow in splendid luxuriance; cotton, sugar, and spices of all kinds are also grown, and sheep, goats, swine, and poultry are raised, though not in large numbers. Cotton cloth is made, and weapons and tools are forged from native iron.
The people are negroes, of the Ewe group, generally of small stature, but very robust and active. They are sociable, equally fond of dancing and of rum, but warlike and prone to theft. The Dahoman kingdom dates from the beginning of the 18th century, and reached its zenith under Gezo, who ruled from about 1818 to 1858. Since then its power has declined, and even its population has fallen off; but little reliance can be placed on the estimates of the numbers, which range from 150,000 to 900,000, the former number being probably most correct. The army may be taken at 10,000 men; the Amazons (devoted to celibacy), who are distinguished for their bravery and ferocity, may perhaps be limited to 1000. Fetish-worship prevails, taking the form of serpent-worship along the coast; a temple with over a hundred of these sacred snakes exists at Whydah. The king is the most absolute of despots. Wholesale murder is one of the chief features in religious and state ceremonies; but, according to Sir Richard Burton, who visited Dahomey in 1863, the number of the victims has been greatly exaggerated, and they are principally foreign captives. Still, as many as 500 human victims have been sacrificed at one of the grand 'customs' which take place every October. The revenue formerly depended greatly upon the sale of slaves; but the vigilance of the cruisers employed to prevent the traffic has ruined the trade. Hence the monster slave-hunts which periodically took place are a thing of the past. In 1876 the coast of Dahomey was placed under a strict blockade by Great Britain, on account of an outrage on a British subject, for which the king of Dahomey refused satisfaction.—ABOMEY, the capital, stands on a rolling plain, nearly surrounded by marshes. It is about 8 miles in circumference, and is surrounded by a deep ditch and clay walls, pierced by six gates. There are three palaces belonging to the king here, several large squares, and a number of farms within the city. Pop. about 30,000. Whydah has a pop. of about 12,000; and Cana, 8 miles SE. of Abomey, about 5000. In 1892 a French expedition under Colonel Dodds, after several victorious engagements, took Cana and dictated terms to King Behanzin in his capital. See works by Burton (new ed. 1864), Skertchly (1874), and Bouclie (Paris, 1885); and Ellis, The Ewe-speaking Peoples (1890).