Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0018
F. Fuglestad
From around the 1760s, we enter into the Age of the Atlantic Revolutions with the corresponding growing opposition in many quarters to slavery and the slave trade. The pivotal date is 1807 when Britain abolished the slave trade. But on the local scene, little changed initially. Dahomey continued to be immersed in crisis and its rulers proved utterly unable to conquer any new territory – although the Dahomeans did manage at times to send raiding parties into the Eastern Slave Coast. On the other hand, the Huedan exiles were finally wiped out, and the once mighty Oyo empire, Dahomey’s overlord, began slowly to fall apart, as did also Glidji, another of Dahomey’s foes. In the middle of it all, in 1797, the Dahomean king Agonglo expressed his intention to convert to Christianity. This led to a coup in which Agonglo lost his life, and then to a counter-coup, both extremely bloody. On the Western Slave Coast the Danes, up until 1793, tried but failed to carve out a colony for themselves.
{"title":"Continuation","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0018","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0018","url":null,"abstract":"From around the 1760s, we enter into the Age of the Atlantic Revolutions with the corresponding growing opposition in many quarters to slavery and the slave trade. The pivotal date is 1807 when Britain abolished the slave trade. But on the local scene, little changed initially. Dahomey continued to be immersed in crisis and its rulers proved utterly unable to conquer any new territory – although the Dahomeans did manage at times to send raiding parties into the Eastern Slave Coast. On the other hand, the Huedan exiles were finally wiped out, and the once mighty Oyo empire, Dahomey’s overlord, began slowly to fall apart, as did also Glidji, another of Dahomey’s foes. In the middle of it all, in 1797, the Dahomean king Agonglo expressed his intention to convert to Christianity. This led to a coup in which Agonglo lost his life, and then to a counter-coup, both extremely bloody. On the Western Slave Coast the Danes, up until 1793, tried but failed to carve out a colony for themselves.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"318 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116759196","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0020
F. Fuglestad
In the epilogue, the author laments the marginalization of African history even in this day of global history. He then puts forward the claim that the sorts of sacred/pagan societies we have encountered on the Slave Coast were in no way unique to that region and may have constituted a long-standing, widespread norm. The author reflects on the neglect Ouidah suffered from until the emergence of “ethnic tourism”, something which has not really been a success. Visitors from overseas prefer Senegal and especially Ghana, where there are many old European forts still standing, and on the sea-shore. This sharply contrasts with the Slave Coast, the epicentre of the slave trade in West Africa, where only one small fort is left standing, and inland at that.
{"title":"Epilogue","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0020","url":null,"abstract":"In the epilogue, the author laments the marginalization of African history even in this day of global history. He then puts forward the claim that the sorts of sacred/pagan societies we have encountered on the Slave Coast were in no way unique to that region and may have constituted a long-standing, widespread norm. The author reflects on the neglect Ouidah suffered from until the emergence of “ethnic tourism”, something which has not really been a success. Visitors from overseas prefer Senegal and especially Ghana, where there are many old European forts still standing, and on the sea-shore. This sharply contrasts with the Slave Coast, the epicentre of the slave trade in West Africa, where only one small fort is left standing, and inland at that.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"5 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132338826","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0010
F. Fuglestad
It is clear that Allada, reputedly founded by people from Tado, was for long the main polity on the Slave Coast. It is also clear that it was a polity of the traditional kind, typical of West Africa of old. As such, the society was a kindred-type society, its kings of the sacred kind, and the power of those kings possibly limited by “contrapuntal paramountcy”. The kings ruled most of their realm indirectly, since most local vassals were in fact (sacred) rulers in their own right who could not be removed, only persuaded/forced to pay allegiance. All those vassal polities had their own deities and their own ancestors which the over-king was required to respect. Among the vassals, we note especially the kingdom of Hueda with the future town of Ouidah-Glehue which was to play a central role in the slave trade. We also note the “temptation” Christianity represented to many rulers. It had the potential to do away with “contrapuntal paramountcy” and all of the other local institutions and beliefs/deities which severely limited the power of the over-king.
{"title":"Allada, its Vassals and Neighbours, and the Europeans","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0010","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0010","url":null,"abstract":"It is clear that Allada, reputedly founded by people from Tado, was for long the main polity on the Slave Coast. It is also clear that it was a polity of the traditional kind, typical of West Africa of old. As such, the society was a kindred-type society, its kings of the sacred kind, and the power of those kings possibly limited by “contrapuntal paramountcy”. The kings ruled most of their realm indirectly, since most local vassals were in fact (sacred) rulers in their own right who could not be removed, only persuaded/forced to pay allegiance. All those vassal polities had their own deities and their own ancestors which the over-king was required to respect. Among the vassals, we note especially the kingdom of Hueda with the future town of Ouidah-Glehue which was to play a central role in the slave trade. We also note the “temptation” Christianity represented to many rulers. It had the potential to do away with “contrapuntal paramountcy” and all of the other local institutions and beliefs/deities which severely limited the power of the over-king.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"188 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"126029938","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0011
F. Fuglestad
Dahomey emerged on the Abomey plateau in the north, possibly in the 1640s/50s. Those who established the new polity were probably a horde of outlaws who succeeded in lording it over the local population (most known as Guedevi). The author repeats that the newcomers did not try to establish any modus vivendi with the indigenes, as the traditional “rule” required, but instead eliminated them, appropriating for themselves the position of earth-priest (aïnon) and the ritual control of the land. They did of course go looking for respectable ancestors. Indeed, the ruling sib, that of the Agasuvi, claimed descent from the dynasty of Allada, and through Allada, ultimately from Tado. This was mere propaganda. The Agasuvi set about manipulating the kinship-type setup of the society, establishing a markedly militaristic polity. As conquerors they set aside another “rule of the game”, since they simply erased the overpowered entities from the map, incorporating them into Dahomey. The neighboring realm of the Wemenu was the first “victim”, constituting a decisive victory for Dahomey.
{"title":"Dahomey and its Neighbours","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0011","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0011","url":null,"abstract":"Dahomey emerged on the Abomey plateau in the north, possibly in the 1640s/50s. Those who established the new polity were probably a horde of outlaws who succeeded in lording it over the local population (most known as Guedevi). The author repeats that the newcomers did not try to establish any modus vivendi with the indigenes, as the traditional “rule” required, but instead eliminated them, appropriating for themselves the position of earth-priest (aïnon) and the ritual control of the land. They did of course go looking for respectable ancestors. Indeed, the ruling sib, that of the Agasuvi, claimed descent from the dynasty of Allada, and through Allada, ultimately from Tado. This was mere propaganda. The Agasuvi set about manipulating the kinship-type setup of the society, establishing a markedly militaristic polity. As conquerors they set aside another “rule of the game”, since they simply erased the overpowered entities from the map, incorporating them into Dahomey. The neighboring realm of the Wemenu was the first “victim”, constituting a decisive victory for Dahomey.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"37 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"116648937","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0004
F. Fuglestad
This chapter presents a model for the understanding of the “traditional” societies of the Slave Coast and, in fact, of most of West Africa. It explores concepts which are not prevalent in the anthropological literature, and much less so in historical literature: “owners of the land” in the ritual sense; earth-priests; water priests; “ritual control of the land”; “contrapuntal paramountcy” (very central for our purpose and explained later); “sacred kingship”; stranger-kings; ancestor worship; fertility cults, etc. These all have marked religious connotations, implying that these were so-called sacred kinship societies, and that everything had to be explained and legitimized in religious or supranatural terms.
{"title":"Societal, Religious and Political Structures","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0004","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0004","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter presents a model for the understanding of the “traditional” societies of the Slave Coast and, in fact, of most of West Africa. It explores concepts which are not prevalent in the anthropological literature, and much less so in historical literature: “owners of the land” in the ritual sense; earth-priests; water priests; “ritual control of the land”; “contrapuntal paramountcy” (very central for our purpose and explained later); “sacred kingship”; stranger-kings; ancestor worship; fertility cults, etc. These all have marked religious connotations, implying that these were so-called sacred kinship societies, and that everything had to be explained and legitimized in religious or supranatural terms.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"13 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"132775781","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0005
F. Fuglestad
This chapter presents the religious beliefs, and more generally the world outlook, of the local inhabitants in a comparative African context. It explores these “sacred societies”, and the way in which rulers of Dahomey tried to get around the inbuilt constraints that impeded the establishment of a genuinely centralized polity ruled by an all powerful monarch/sacred king. Among those constraints was that of “contrapuntal paramountcy” which implies that the right of conquest did not apply; incoming conquerors had to reach a modus vivendi with the indigenous population, and had to rule with the consent and collaboration of that population, the “owners of the land”, who exercised ritual control over the land, a divinely sanctioned inalienable right. But the rulers of Dahomey, who refused to abide by the rules of the game, were not really successful in establishing an alternative source of legitimacy, and were, therefore, faced with a severe problem of legitimacy – one which never went away. It forced the rulers to resort to terror.
{"title":"Some Concrete, Practical Implications","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0005","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0005","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter presents the religious beliefs, and more generally the world outlook, of the local inhabitants in a comparative African context. It explores these “sacred societies”, and the way in which rulers of Dahomey tried to get around the inbuilt constraints that impeded the establishment of a genuinely centralized polity ruled by an all powerful monarch/sacred king. Among those constraints was that of “contrapuntal paramountcy” which implies that the right of conquest did not apply; incoming conquerors had to reach a modus vivendi with the indigenous population, and had to rule with the consent and collaboration of that population, the “owners of the land”, who exercised ritual control over the land, a divinely sanctioned inalienable right. But the rulers of Dahomey, who refused to abide by the rules of the game, were not really successful in establishing an alternative source of legitimacy, and were, therefore, faced with a severe problem of legitimacy – one which never went away. It forced the rulers to resort to terror.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"131036732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0009
F. Fuglestad
The village of Tado in the north looms large in some local traditions. It was possibly the first general polity of the region (a theory supported by archaeological findings). What we think we know is that its ruler was a typical sacred king and the society a kinship-type one. But at some stage a group of people known as the Aja or Agasuvi had to flee towards the south. They founded Notsé and Allada. From Allada some groups moved to establish Dahomey in the north and, somewhat later, Porto Novo/Hogbonu in the east. The author argues that all the Ewe of the Western Slave Coast originated from Notsé – a contention modern anthropologists and historians are skeptical of – and that if there was migration, it must have involved few people and short distances. The chapter observes that there is a rival tradition to that of Tado, which underlines the importance of the kingdom of Grand Popo on the coast in the south.
{"title":"The African Side the Early/Legendary Past","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0009","url":null,"abstract":"The village of Tado in the north looms large in some local traditions. It was possibly the first general polity of the region (a theory supported by archaeological findings). What we think we know is that its ruler was a typical sacred king and the society a kinship-type one. But at some stage a group of people known as the Aja or Agasuvi had to flee towards the south. They founded Notsé and Allada. From Allada some groups moved to establish Dahomey in the north and, somewhat later, Porto Novo/Hogbonu in the east. The author argues that all the Ewe of the Western Slave Coast originated from Notsé – a contention modern anthropologists and historians are skeptical of – and that if there was migration, it must have involved few people and short distances. The chapter observes that there is a rival tradition to that of Tado, which underlines the importance of the kingdom of Grand Popo on the coast in the south.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"66 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133651543","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0006
F. Fuglestad
This chapter argues that the economic behavior of the people of the Slave Coast cannot be adequately explained by concepts drawn from market economics or from Marxism for that matter. Instead, concepts such as ‘moral economy’ and ‘ostentatious economy’ are pertinent. There may have existed a market-based sector, but it was severely controlled and not allowed to expand. The central question is what happened to the profit from the slave trade. The author argues that this profit was not, and could not be, invested in productive undertakings.
{"title":"A Few Comments on Certain Economic Matters","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0006","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0006","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter argues that the economic behavior of the people of the Slave Coast cannot be adequately explained by concepts drawn from market economics or from Marxism for that matter. Instead, concepts such as ‘moral economy’ and ‘ostentatious economy’ are pertinent. There may have existed a market-based sector, but it was severely controlled and not allowed to expand. The central question is what happened to the profit from the slave trade. The author argues that this profit was not, and could not be, invested in productive undertakings.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"1 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"130094037","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0019
F. Fuglestad
The ruler of Dahomey from 1797 (up until possibly 1818) was Adandozan. But his reign has been erased from oral memory and the local tradition. Why this is so, constitutes another mystery in Dahomean history. In any case, his reign and that of his successors saw the official but slow and tortuous disentanglement of the European and American powers from slavery, the slave trade, and the Slave Coast (until the colonial conquest). As the locals were opposed to the abolition of the slave trade, the result was for a while a moderately thriving so-called illegal slave trade with the connivance of the Brazilian authorities. In addition, a trade in palm-oil developed. If we add the final collapse of Oyo and the subsequent eruption of the Yoruba wars, we could say that prospects looked fairly promising for Dahomey. Dahomey was eclipsed, and in fact defeated at times, by the polities (some new) of the Yoruba in the east, principally Lagos and Abeokuta.
{"title":"The Long Goodbye","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0019","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/oso/9780190876104.003.0019","url":null,"abstract":"The ruler of Dahomey from 1797 (up until possibly 1818) was Adandozan. But his reign has been erased from oral memory and the local tradition. Why this is so, constitutes another mystery in Dahomean history. In any case, his reign and that of his successors saw the official but slow and tortuous disentanglement of the European and American powers from slavery, the slave trade, and the Slave Coast (until the colonial conquest). As the locals were opposed to the abolition of the slave trade, the result was for a while a moderately thriving so-called illegal slave trade with the connivance of the Brazilian authorities. In addition, a trade in palm-oil developed. If we add the final collapse of Oyo and the subsequent eruption of the Yoruba wars, we could say that prospects looked fairly promising for Dahomey. Dahomey was eclipsed, and in fact defeated at times, by the polities (some new) of the Yoruba in the east, principally Lagos and Abeokuta.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"317 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"133634883","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2018-08-01DOI: 10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0015
F. Fuglestad
This chapter explores how Dahomey did not really manage to stabilize the situation and especially failed to conquer new regions, a negative mark for a warrior state whose raison d’être was precisely conquest. The slave trade declined, due in part to the counterproductive regulations imposed by the new authorities. The Dahomeans were faced with competition from a new quarter: the slow rise of the slave ports of the Eastern Slave Coast, a region which Oyo began to divert its slave trade to. The story of the Dutchman Hendrik Hertogh, in the middle of it all, is detailed. Hertogh managed to erect a considerable informal (and anti-Dahomean) polity in the east, until 1738, when he was assassinated. The beginnings of the Annual Customs in Dahomey is also noted, notorious for human sacrifices on a huge scale, formally in honor of the ancestors. Human sacrifices became an integral part of Dahomean customs.
{"title":"Aftermath and General Considerations","authors":"F. Fuglestad","doi":"10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0015","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1093/OSO/9780190876104.003.0015","url":null,"abstract":"This chapter explores how Dahomey did not really manage to stabilize the situation and especially failed to conquer new regions, a negative mark for a warrior state whose raison d’être was precisely conquest. The slave trade declined, due in part to the counterproductive regulations imposed by the new authorities. The Dahomeans were faced with competition from a new quarter: the slow rise of the slave ports of the Eastern Slave Coast, a region which Oyo began to divert its slave trade to. The story of the Dutchman Hendrik Hertogh, in the middle of it all, is detailed. Hertogh managed to erect a considerable informal (and anti-Dahomean) polity in the east, until 1738, when he was assassinated. The beginnings of the Annual Customs in Dahomey is also noted, notorious for human sacrifices on a huge scale, formally in honor of the ancestors. Human sacrifices became an integral part of Dahomean customs.","PeriodicalId":422781,"journal":{"name":"Slave Traders by Invitation","volume":"8 1","pages":"0"},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2018-08-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"117026732","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}