DAHOMEY, da-hS'mi or da'ho'inO'. For merly a negro kingdom of West Africa, now a French colony, comprising with its dependencies all the French possessions in the region bounded by the military territories of French Sudan on the north (near latitude 14° N.), the British colonies of Nigeria and Lagos on the east, the Gulf of Guinea on the south, and the German col ony of Togo on the west (lap: Africa, E 4). The total area is estimated at nearly 60,000 square miles, the territories of Kwala and Say having been added in 1899. There are 70 miler of coast. The surface is low and sandy along the Gulf, which is bordered by lagoons. The country is very hilly in the northern and more extended part, which includes the Mahe highlands. In the interior there are savannas, and large dis tricts having a rather luxuriant flora; and finally, the extreme north is characterized by bare tracts of desert, funning inrt of what is called Upper Dahomey. The only river of im portance is the navigable Weme, which traverses the eastern part of the country. Mono, however, borders on the west, and the Niger on the north east.
The climate is unhealthful in the low coast lands, being both hot and moist, but is favorable in the interior. The rainy season is in summer. A large part of Dahomey is covered with thick forests abounding in rubber-plants, and also palms which yield large quantities of oil and ker nels for export. The soil is remarkably fertile, and along the coast manioc, maize, and potatoes are grown by the industrious natives, who also weave, and make pottery. Trade. which in for mer days was little more than an exchange of trinkets for gold and other equally precious arti cles, has now assumed an entirely modern as pect and importance. The commerce is mostly concentrated in the Gulf towns, especially in Porto N'ovo, the main port of the colony. The exports, consisting almost entirely of palm-oil and palm-kernels, amounted to nearly 13,000,000 francs in 1900. The imports for 1900 exceeded 15,200,000 francs, and were made up chiefly of liquors, cotton, and tobacco. About one-fourth of the trade is with France. In 1900 vessels with a total tonnage of 394,000 tons entered and cleared the ports. The port Kotonu is con nected with the Niger and the Senegal by tele graph. There is regular steamship communica tion with Europe.
Dahomey was an absolute monarchy previous to the French occupation. There was a stand ing army estimated at over 15,000, consisting partly of female warriors or amazons, who were distinguished for superior physique and high skill in the use of weapons. At present the col ony is locally administered by a French Gover nor, assisted by a council over which he pre sides. The council is made up of higher officials, and also two prominent residents, one of whom is native and one white. (See FRENCH WEST
AFRICA.) The local budget for 1901 balanced at $574,000. The colony is self-supporting. The population is estimated at nearly 1,000,000, -composed of full-blooded Guinea Negroes, or Ni gritians of the coast (Deniker). The Da homans are tall, very long-headed (index 75.1), but not so black as the tribes of Senegal, In their own tongue, a dialect 'of the Ewe lan guage, common on this part of the Slave Coast, they are called Fon or Fawin. Their religion is purely fetish, and the sacrifice of human beings, a widespread custom in former times, is still supposed to be practiced. In spite of a low standard of morality and warlike attributes and usages, the Dahomans are polite in their inter course. The activity of missionaries has thus far been attended with little success, except in the ease of the dervishes, who are indefatigable in their efforts to spread the gospel of Islam. The capital of the colony has been removed, since the French occupation, from Abomey to Porto Novo (q.v.). Other towns are Grand Popo, Agouti, Say (on the Niger). \Vhydah, and Allada, an important trading point.
The kingdom of Dahomey arose in the seven teenth century around the city of Abomey as a nucleus. By successive conquests the kings ex tended their rule to the highlands of the SlabC: on the north and to the Slave Coast on the south (1772 I. There they came into contact with the Europeans and succeeded in obtaining control of a large part of the slave trade, which was then carried on actively by the English, the French, and Portuguese. With the cessation of the slave traffic, the prosperity of the country (-ante to an end. France secured a firm footing on the coast in the second half of the nineteenth century. Between 1878 and 1885 it obtained possession of Kotonu, Porto Novo, and Grano Popo, and after a bloody contest in 1890 forced King Behanzin to acknowledge its title to the coast region. War broke out again in 1892, and resulted in the taking of Abomey, the deposition of Behanzin (since retained as prisoner at Fort-de France. :Martinique), and the establishment of a virtual French protectorate. Since then the French have been actively engaged in extending their authority over the region to the north, so as to bring Dahomey into touch with their posses sions in the Sudan. In 1897 and 1898 they con cluded treaties with the Germans and the English, and the sphere of influence claimed by each was determined.
Consult: Skertchley, Dahomey As It Is (Lon don, 1874; Careb, Les territoires afrieains et les conrentions anglaises (Paris, 1901) ; Tout tOe, Du Dahome no Sahara (Paris, 1899) ; Keane, in Stanford's Africa (London, 1895) ; Verdier, Trente-eing f11111eCS de lutte aux colonies, cote occidentals dAfrigue (Paris, 1897) : Au blet, La yuerre au Dahome (Paris, 1894).