What are the origins of the people of Benin?

Originally, the land of present-day Benin was occupied by several kingdoms. The most prominent were Danhomé (Abomey), Xogbonou (Porto-Novo), Allada, Nikki, Kouandé, Kandi….

The first sovereigns of Abomey and Porto-Novo came from the Adja-Fon migration from neighboring Togo (Tado). The other peoples come from present-day Nigeria, Niger or Burkina-Faso. Thus, the country was once a hotbed of ancient and brilliant civilizations, built around these kingdoms: city-states.

These well-structured political entities were provided with functional urban centers. They had developed a local trade, based from the 17th century on the slave trade, then on that of the oil palm after the abolition of the slave trade in 1807.

This economy of trade favored the installation, along the coast (nicknamed "Coast of the slaves"), of trading posts controlled by the English, the Danes, the Portuguese and some French. In 1704, France was authorized to build a port in Ouidah while in 1752, the Portuguese discovered Porto-Novo.

In 1863, the first French protectorate was established with King Toffa of Porto-Novo who sought help in the face of the claims of the King of Abomey and attacks by the English implanted in Lagos. The same year, Glèlè, king of Abomey, authorized the French to settle in Cotonou. In 1882, the sovereign of the kingdom of Porto-Novo signed a new protectorate agreement with France, which sent a "French resident" to assist the king.

In 1894, the French, victors of the local kings, created the colony of Dahomey and dependencies. The territory takes the name of the most preponderant kingdom and the most resistant to foreign occupation: Danhome with his legendary King Béhanzin.

Proclaimed Republic on December 4, 1958, Benin acceded to international sovereignty on August 1, 1960, under the name of Dahomey. The country is known for the "exemplarity" of its democratic process which began in February 1990, following the National Conference of the Living Forces. Since then, several presidential, legislative and local elections have sanctioned the devolution of political power. In fifteen years, political liberalism has generated three alternations at the top of the state.

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