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The Kingdom of Dahomey existed in the west African area occupied by present day Republic of Benin. The Benin empire existed from the early 17th century to the late 19th century.
The Kingdom of Dahomey was founded by the Aja ethnic African tribe. The Aja tribe migrated from the coastal Allada kingdom to settle among the Fon people. The Aja soon acquired control over the area and established a highly militaristic society. Human sacrifice was a regular occurrence in the Kingdom of Dahomey. The subjects for human sacrifice in Dahomey was chosen from other African tribes defeated in war. More than a million Africans were sacrificed during the Dahomean period in Benin history.
Benin Empire
The economic basis of the Benin Empire was the slave trade. The empire exchanged and sold millions of slaves to European slave traders from the 17th century to the early 19th century. Most of the money earned through slave trade went towards purchasing weapons from European colonial powers like the British. The Kingdom of Dahomey was unpopular with its neighboring African kingdoms. The Benin empire was crushed by the French in the later part of the 19th century. Many African soldiers sided with France in that war.
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