Editing Tegbesu (section)

==Rise to power==
Oral traditions hold that Tegbesu was the son of [[Agaja]] and [[Hwanjile]], a woman reported to have brought [[West African Vodun|''Vodun'']] to the kingdom.  King Agaja had significantly expanded the Kingdom of Dahomey during his reign, notably conquering [[Allada]] in 1724 and [[Kingdom of Whydah|Whydah]] in 1727.  This increased the size of the kingdom and increased both domestic dissent (with the royal aristocrats of both Allada and Whydah opposing Dahomey from fortified islands off the coast) and regional opposition (mainly with semi-regular warfare between Dahomey and the [[Oyo Empire]]).<ref name=Halcrow>{{cite book|last=Halcrow|first=Elizabeth M.|title=Canes and Chains: A Study of Sugar and Slavery|year=1982|publisher=Heinemann Educational Publishing|location=Oxford|isbn=9780435982232|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMVF71JsLpEC}}</ref>  According to one oral tradition, as part of the tribute owed by Dahomey to Oyo, Agaja had to give to Oyo one of his sons.  The story claims that only Hwanjile of all of Agaja's wives was willing to allow her son to go to Oyo.<ref name=Bay-1998>{{cite book|last=Bay|first=Edna|title=Wives of the Leopard: Gender, Politics, and Culture in the Kingdom of Dahomey|year=1998|publisher=University of Virginia Press}}</ref>  This act of sacrifice, according to the oral tradition made Tegbesu favored by Agaja.<ref name=Herskovitz>{{cite book|last=Herskovitz|first=Melville|title=Dahomean Narrative: A Cross-Cultural Analysis|year=1958|publisher=Northwest University Press|location=Chicago|isbn=9780810116504|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ulawqAVjRU8C&q=Tegbesu}}</ref>  Agaja reportedly tells Tegbesu that he is the future king, but his brother Zinga is still the official heir.

One oral history contends that with the death of Agaja, Tegbesu's brothers quickly plot to kill him. His brothers surrounded his house to prevent him from reaching the Palace and claiming the throne, but he miraculously escapes and reaches the palace.<ref name=Bay-1998 />  Despite challenges, the Great Council appoints Tegbesu the new king.<ref name=Monroe>{{cite journal|last=Monroe|first=J. Cameron|title=In the Belly of Dan: Space, History, and Power in Precolonial Dahomey|journal=Current Anthropology|year=2011|volume=52|issue=6|pages=769–798|doi=10.1086/662678|s2cid=142318205}}</ref>  Historian Edna Bay notes that oral histories disagree about precisely ''who'' appointed Tegbesu as the new king.<ref name=Bay-1998 />