Editing Benin (section)

==History==
{{main|History of Benin}}

===Pre-colonial===
[[File:Kingdom of Dahomy-1793.jpg|thumb|left|Map of the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]], 1793]]
Prior to 1600, present-day Benin comprised a variety of areas with different political systems and ethnicities. These included [[city-state]]s along the coast (primarily of the [[Aja people|Aja]] ethnic group and also including [[Yoruba people|Yoruba]] and [[Gbe languages|Gbe]] peoples) and tribal regions inland (composed of [[Bariba people|Bariba]], Mahi, Gedevi, and Kabye peoples). The [[Oyo Empire]], located primarily to the east of Benin, was a military force in the region, conducting raids and exacting tribute from the coastal kingdoms and tribal regions.<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> The situation changed in the 17th and 18th centuries as the [[Kingdom of Dahomey]], consisting mostly of [[Fon people]], was founded on the [[Abomey]] plateau and began taking over areas along the coast.<ref>{{cite book |last=Akinjogbin |first=I.A. |title=Dahomey and Its Neighbors: 1708–1818 |year=1967 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |oclc=469476592}}</ref> By 1727, King [[Agaja]] of the Kingdom of Dahomey had conquered the coastal cities of [[Allada]] and [[Ouidah|Whydah]]. Dahomey had become a tributary of the Oyo Empire, and rivaled but did not directly attack the Oyo-allied city-state of [[Porto-Novo]].<ref name="Law-1986">{{cite journal |last=Law |first=Robin |title=Dahomey and the Slave Trade: Reflections on the Historiography of the Rise of Dahomey |journal=The Journal of African History |year=1986 |volume=27 |issue=2 |pages=237–267 |doi=10.1017/s0021853700036665 |s2cid=165754199}}</ref> The rise of Dahomey, its rivalry with Porto-Novo, and tribal politics in the northern region persisted into the colonial and post-colonial periods.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Creevey |first1=Lucy |last2=Ngomo |first2=Paul |last3=Vengroff |first3=Richard |title=Party Politics and Different Paths to Democratic Transitions: A Comparison of Benin and Senegal |journal=Party Politics |year=2005 |volume=11 |issue=4 |pages=471–493 |doi=10.1177/1354068805053213 |s2cid=145169455 |url=https://zenodo.org/record/897004 |access-date=20 April 2018 |archive-date=2 December 2020 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201202224421/https://zenodo.org/record/897004 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[Dahomey]], some younger people were apprenticed to older soldiers and taught the kingdom's military customs until they were old enough to join the army.<ref name="Harms2002">{{cite book |last=Harms |first=Robert W. |title=The Diligent: A Voyage Through the Worlds of the Slave Trade |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0YILMba_EnoC |year=2002 |publisher=Basic Books |isbn=978-0-465-02872-6 |page=172 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160509061636/https://books.google.com/books?id=0YILMba_EnoC |archive-date=9 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Dahomey instituted an elite female soldier corps variously called [[Ahosi]] (the king's wives), Mino ("our mothers" in [[Fongbe]]) or the "Dahomean [[Amazons]]". This emphasis on military preparation and achievement earned Dahomey the nickname of "Black [[Sparta]]", from European observers and 19th-century explorers such as [[Sir Richard Burton]].<ref name="Alpern1998">{{cite book |last=Alpern |first=Stanley B. |title=Amazons of Black Sparta: The Women Warriors of Dahomey |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Fdtg4e5_WoIC |year=1998 |publisher=C. Hurst & Co. Publishers |isbn=978-1-85065-362-2 |page=37 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160506013639/https://books.google.com/books?id=Fdtg4e5_WoIC |archive-date=6 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

[[File:São João Baptista de Ajudá 1886 (cropped).jpg|thumb|left|The [[Portuguese Empire]] was the longest European presence in Benin, beginning in 1680 and ending in 1961 when the last forces left [[Fort of São João Baptista de Ajudá|Ajudá]].]]
The kings of Dahomey sold their war captives into [[Atlantic slave trade|transatlantic slavery]]<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.foxnews.com/story/african-ambassador-apologizes-for-slavery-role |last=Miller |first=David Lee |title=African Ambassador Apologizes for Slavery Role |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100522233737/http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,91575,00.html |archive-date=22 May 2010 |work=Fox News |url-status=live |date=10 July 2003}}</ref> or killed them ritually in a ceremony known as the [[Annual Customs of Dahomey|Annual Customs]]. By about 1750, the King of Dahomey was earning an estimated £250,000 per year by selling African captives to European slave-traders.<ref name="BbcSlavery">{{cite web |url=http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter2.shtml |title=African Slave Owners |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130308014748/http://www.bbc.co.uk/worldservice/africa/features/storyofafrica/9chapter2.shtml |archive-date=8 March 2013 |website=The story of South Africa: Slavery |publisher=BBC World Service}}</ref> The area was named the [[Slave Coast of West Africa|"Slave Coast"]] because of a flourishing slave trade. Court protocols which demanded that a portion of war captives from the kingdom's battles be decapitated, decreased the number of enslaved people exported from the area. The number went from 102,000 people per decade in the 1780s to 24,000 per decade by the 1860s.<ref name=":1">{{cite book |last=Manning |first=Patrick |title=Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |location=London |pages=15–16}}</ref> The decline was partly due to the [[Slave Trade Act 1807]] banning the [[trans-Atlantic slave trade]] by Britain in 1808, followed by other countries.<ref name="BbcSlavery"/> This decline continued until 1885 when the last slave ship departed the modern Benin Republic for Brazil, which had yet to abolish slavery. The capital [[Porto-Novo]] ("New Port" in Portuguese) was originally developed as a port for the slave trade.
[[File:Armed women with the King at their head, going to war-1793.jpg|thumb|right|[[Dahomey Amazons]] with the King at their head, going to war, 1793]]
Among the goods the [[Portuguese Empire|Portuguese]] sought were carved items of ivory made by Benin's artisans in the form of carved saltcellars, spoons, and hunting horns – pieces of African art produced for sale abroad as exotic objects.<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2021/01-02/ivory-saltcellar-reveals-colonial-power-dynamic-benin-portugal/ |title=This ivory relic reveals the colonial power dynamic between Benin and Portugal History Magazine, National Geographic, 09.02.2021 |website=[[National Geographic Society]] |date=9 February 2021 |access-date=9 February 2021 |archive-date=9 February 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210209201911/https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/magazine/2021/01-02/ivory-saltcellar-reveals-colonial-power-dynamic-benin-portugal/}}</ref>

Another major good sought by European settlers was palm oil. In 1856 approximately 2,500 tons of palm oil was exported by British companies which was valued at £112,500.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Ryder |first=Alan |title=Benin and the Europeans 1485–1897 |publisher=Humanities Press |date=1969 |location=New York, NY |pages=239}}</ref>

===Colonial===
{{See also|Second Franco-Dahomean War}}
[[File:Bénin- 1893.jpg|thumb|A French depiction of the conquest of Dahomey in 1893]]
By the middle of the 19th century, Dahomey had "begun to weaken and lose its status as the [[regional power]]". The French took over the area in 1892. In 1899, the French included the land called [[French Dahomey]] within the larger [[French West Africa]] colonial region.

France sought to benefit from [[Dahomey]] and the region "appeared to lack the necessary agricultural or [[mineral resources]] for large-scale [[capitalist development]]". As a result, France treated Dahomey as a sort of preserve in case future discoveries revealed resources worth developing.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Manning |first=Patrick |title=Slavery, Colonialism and Economic Growth in Dahomey, 1640–1960 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |year=1982 |isbn=9780511563072 |pages=15}}</ref>

The [[French government]] outlawed the capture and sale of slaves. Previous [[slaveowners]] sought to redefine their control over slaves as control over land, [[tenants]], and lineage members. This provoked a struggle among Dahomeans, "concentrated in the period from 1895 to 1920, for the redistribution of control over land and labor. Villages sought to redefine boundaries of lands and fishing preserves. Religious disputes scarcely veiled the factional struggles over control of land and commerce which underlay them. Factions struggled for the leadership of great families".<ref name=":1" />

In 1958, France granted [[autonomy]] to the [[Republic of Dahomey]], and full independence on 1 August 1960 which is celebrated each year as [[Independence Day]], a [[Public holidays in Benin|national holiday]].<ref>{{Cite news |url=http://apanews.net/en/news/president-sirleaf-congratulates-benin-on-57th-independence-anniversary |title=President Sirleaf congratulates Benin on 57th Independence Anniversary |date=31 July 2017 |work=Agence de Presse Africane |access-date=30 July 2018 |language=en |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180730234816/http://apanews.net/en/news/president-sirleaf-congratulates-benin-on-57th-independence-anniversary |archive-date=30 July 2018 |url-status=live}}</ref> The president who led the country to independence was [[Hubert Maga]].<ref name="Stokes2009">{{cite book |editor-last=Stokes |editor-first=Jamie |title=Encyclopedia of the Peoples of Africa and the Middle East: L to Z |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=gaFvrgEACAAJ |date=2009 |publisher=Infobase Publishing |isbn=978-0-8160-7158-6 |page=229 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503171808/https://books.google.com/books?id=gaFvrgEACAAJ |archive-date=3 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref><ref name="Araujo2010">{{cite book |last=Araujo |first=Ana Lucia |title=Public Memory of Slavery: Victims and Perpetrators in the South Atlantic |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kymzngEACAAJ |year=2010 |publisher=Cambria Press |isbn=978-1-60497-714-1 |page=111 |access-date=12 October 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160617084013/https://books.google.com/books?id=kymzngEACAAJ |archive-date=17 June 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref>

===Post-colonial===
After 1960, there were coups and regime changes, with the figures of [[Hubert Maga]], [[Sourou Migan Apithy]], [[Justin Ahomadégbé]], and [[Émile Derlin Zinsou]] dominating; the first three each represented a different area and ethnicity of the country. These three agreed to form a [[Presidential Council (Benin)|Presidential Council]] after violence marred the 1970 elections.{{cn|date=December 2024}}

On 7 May 1972, Maga ceded power to Ahomadégbé On 26 October 1972, Lt. Col. [[Mathieu Kérékou]] overthrew the ruling triumvirate, becoming president and stating that the country would not "burden itself by copying foreign ideology, and wants neither Capitalism, Communism, nor Socialism". On 30 November 1974, he announced that the country was officially [[Marxism|Marxist]], under control of the Military Council of the Revolution (CMR), which nationalized the petroleum industry and banks. On 30 November 1975, he renamed the country the [[People's Republic of Benin]].<ref name="Dickovick2012">{{cite book |last=Dickovick |first=J. T. |title=Africa 2012 |date=2012 |publisher=Stryker Post |isbn=978-1-61048-882-2 |page=69 |url=https://archive.org/details/africa20120000dick/page/69 |url-access=registration |access-date=5 March 2013}}</ref><ref name="HoungnikpoDecalo2012">{{cite book |last1=Houngnikpo |first1=M. C. |last2=Decalo |first2=S. |title=Historical Dictionary of Benin |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=0yGPTsRubWEC&pg=PR33 |access-date=5 March 2013 |date=14 December 2012 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-0-8108-7171-7 |page=33 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20140423214217/http://books.google.com/books?id=0yGPTsRubWEC&pg=PR33 |archive-date=23 April 2014 |url-status=live}}</ref> The regime of the People's Republic of Benin underwent changes over the course of its existence: a [[Nationalism|nationalist]] period (1972–1974); a [[Socialism|socialist]] phase (1974–1982); and a phase involving an opening to Western countries and [[economic liberalism]] (1982–1990).<ref name="auto">{{Cite web |url=http://afriquepluriel.ruwenzori.net/benin1.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210304083636/http://afriquepluriel.ruwenzori.net/benin1.htm |archive-date=4 March 2021 |title=Bénin, analyse du pays de 1982 a 1997 |access-date=11 December 2021}}</ref>

In 1974, the government embarked on a program to nationalize strategic sectors of the economy, reform the education system, establish agricultural cooperatives and new local government structures, and a campaign to eradicate "[[Feudalism|feudal]] forces" including [[tribalism]]. The regime banned opposition activities. Mathieu Kérékou was elected president by the National Revolutionary Assembly in 1980, re-elected in 1984. Establishing relations with China, [[North Korea]], and [[Libya]], he put "nearly all" businesses and economic activities under state control, causing foreign investment in Benin to dry up.<ref name=kneib>{{Cite book |title=Benin |last=Kneib |first=M. |pages=22–25 |isbn=978-0-7614-2328-7 |date=2007 |publisher=Marshall Cavendish Benchmark |url=https://archive.org/details/benin0000knei/page/22}}</ref> Kérékou attempted to reorganize education, pushing his own aphorisms such as "Poverty is not a fatality".<ref name=kneib/> The regime financed itself by contracting to take nuclear waste, first from the Soviet Union and later from France.<ref name=kneib/>

In the 1980s, Benin experienced higher economic growth rates (15.6% in 1982, 4.6% in 1983 and 8.2% in 1984), until the closure of the Nigerian border with Benin led to a drop in customs and tax revenues. The government was no longer able to pay civil servants' salaries.<ref name="auto"/> In 1989, riots broke out when the regime did not have enough money to pay its army. The banking system collapsed. Eventually, Kérékou renounced [[Marxism]], and a convention forced Kérékou to release political prisoners and arrange elections.<ref name="kneib"/> [[Marxism–Leninism]] was abolished as the country's form of government.<ref>{{cite web |date=2008 |url=http://www.socialist.net/history-people-s-republic-of-benin.htm |title=A Short History of the People's Republic of Benin (1974–1990) |publisher=Socialist.net |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100423134048/http://www.socialist.net/history-people-s-republic-of-benin.htm |archive-date=23 April 2010 |url-status=live}}</ref>

The country's name was officially changed to the'' Republic of Benin'' on 1 March 1990, after the newly formed government's constitution was completed.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://flagspot.net/flags/bj.html |title=Benin |publisher=Flagspot.net |access-date=2 May 2010 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100612012647/http://flagspot.net/flags/bj.html |archive-date=12 June 2010}}</ref>
Kérékou lost to [[Nicéphore Soglo]] in a 1991 election and became the first President on the African mainland to lose power through an election.<ref>{{cite news |title=Official Result in Benin Vote Shows Big Loss for Kerekou |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/26/world/official-result-in-benin-vote-shows-big-loss-for-kerekou.html |work=The New York Times |date=26 March 1991 |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601223719/https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/26/world/official-result-in-benin-vote-shows-big-loss-for-kerekou.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Kérékou returned to power after winning the 1996 vote. In 2001, an election resulted in Kérékou winning another term, after which his opponents claimed election irregularities.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Kerekou re-elected in Benin |url=http://www.afrol.com/News2001/ben007_kerekou_wins.htm |work=www.afrol.com |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601223719/http://www.afrol.com/News2001/ben007_kerekou_wins.htm |url-status=live}}</ref> In 1999, Kérékou issued a national apology for the substantial role that Africans had played in the Atlantic slave trade.<ref>{{cite web |author=Gates, H. L. |title=Ending the Slavery Blame-Game |work=The New York Times |date=2010 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/opinion/23gates.html?pagewanted=all |access-date=24 February 2017 |archive-date=7 March 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170307174002/http://www.nytimes.com/2010/04/23/opinion/23gates.html?pagewanted=all |url-status=dead }}</ref>

[[File:BoniYayi inauguration2006.jpg|thumb|[[Thomas Boni Yayi]]'s 2006 presidential inauguration]]
Kérékou and former president Soglo did not run in the 2006 elections, as both were barred by the constitution's restrictions on age and total terms of candidates.<ref>{{cite news |title=President Mathieu Kerekou leaves after 29 years |work=The New Humanitarian |url=https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/fr/node/225956 |date=2006 |language=fr |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601222447/https://www.thenewhumanitarian.org/fr/node/225956 |url-status=live}}</ref> The [[Beninese presidential election, 2006]] resulted in a [[Two-round system|runoff]] between [[Thomas Boni Yayi]] and [[Adrien Houngbédji]]. The runoff election was held on 19 March and was won by Boni,<ref>{{cite news |title=Boni wins Benin presidential election: official |url=https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-03-23/boni-wins-benin-presidential-election-official/825650 |work=ABC News |date=2006 |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601221645/https://www.abc.net.au/news/2006-03-23/boni-wins-benin-presidential-election-official/825650 |url-status=live}}</ref> who assumed office on 6 April.<ref>{{cite news |title=Celebration As Boni Takes Over |url=https://allafrica.com/stories/200604070127.html |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=18 April 2006 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20060418003819/http://allafrica.com/stories/200604070127.html |url-status=live}}</ref> Boni was [[Beninese presidential election, 2011|reelected in 2011]], taking 53.18% of the vote in the first round—enough to avoid a runoff election. He was the first president to win an election without a runoff since the restoration of democracy in 1991.<ref>{{cite news |title=Benin's Boni Yayi wins second term – court |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/benin-election-idAFLDE72K0KE20110321 |work=Reuters |date=21 March 2011 |language=en |access-date=1 June 2022 |archive-date=1 June 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220601221256/https://www.reuters.com/article/benin-election-idAFLDE72K0KE20110321 |url-status=live}}</ref>

In the [[Beninese presidential election, 2016|March 2016 presidential elections]] in which Boni Yayi was barred by the constitution from running for a third term, businessman [[Patrice Talon]] won the second round with 65.37% of the vote, defeating investment banker and former Prime Minister [[Lionel Zinsou]]. Talon was sworn in on 6 April 2016.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-benin-election-idUSKCN0X31QO |title=Businessman sworn in as Benin's president |date=2016 |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=1 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160417043022/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-benin-election-idUSKCN0X31QO |archive-date=17 April 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> Speaking on the same day that the Constitutional Court confirmed the results, Talon said that he would "first and foremost tackle constitutional reform", discussing his plan to limit presidents to a single term of 5 years to combat "complacency". He said that he planned to slash the size of the government from 28 to 16 members.<ref>{{Cite news |url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-benin-election-idUSKCN0WS08X |title=Newly-elected Benin president aims to reduce presidential terms |date=2016 |newspaper=Reuters |access-date=1 May 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160503063033/http://www.reuters.com/article/us-benin-election-idUSKCN0WS08X |archive-date=3 May 2016 |url-status=live}}</ref> In April 2021, President Patrice Talon was re-elected, with more than 86.3% of the votes cast in the [[2021 Beninese presidential election]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/benins-president-wins-election-preliminary-results-77053903 |title=Benin's president wins re-election in preliminary results |work=[[ABC News (United States)|ABC News]] |access-date=14 April 2021 |archive-date=14 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210414075040/https://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory/benins-president-wins-election-preliminary-results-77053903 |url-status=live}}</ref> The change in election laws resulted in total control of parliament by president Talon's supporters.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2021 |url=https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/11/vote-counting-in-benin-after-election-marked-by-violent-protests |title=Benin vote count begins after opposition groups boycott election |website=Al Jazeera |access-date=19 April 2021 |archive-date=19 April 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210419074916/https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2021/4/11/vote-counting-in-benin-after-election-marked-by-violent-protests |url-status=live}}</ref>

In February 2022, Benin saw its largest terrorist attack in history, the [[W National Park massacre]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Five rangers, soldier killed in attack in Benin, park management says |url=https://news.yahoo.com/five-rangers-soldier-killed-attack-203717334.html |access-date=16 February 2022 |website=Yahoo News |date=2022 |archive-date=16 February 2022 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220216145841/https://news.yahoo.com/five-rangers-soldier-killed-attack-203717334.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

On 20 February 2022, President [[Patrice Talon]] inaugurated an exhibition with 26 pieces of sacred art returned to Benin by France, 129 years after they were looted by colonial forces.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/02/21/regardez-la-puissance-de-ces-objets-le-benin-expose-les-vingt-six-uvres-restituees-par-la-france_6114618_3212.html |title=Le Bénin expose les vingt-six œuvres restituées par la France : " Regardez la puissance de ces objets ! " |newspaper=Le Monde.fr |date=21 February 2022 |access-date=22 July 2023 |archive-date=21 July 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230721071122/https://www.lemonde.fr/afrique/article/2022/02/21/regardez-la-puissance-de-ces-objets-le-benin-expose-les-vingt-six-uvres-restituees-par-la-france_6114618_3212.html |url-status=live}}</ref>

In April 2025, the government of Benin adopted a law, recognizing 16 kingdoms, 80 senior chiefs and 10 traditional chiefs through a new law, adopted in March 2025. The pre-colonial period, set at 1894 for the south and 1897 for the north of Benin, served as a historical reference for the bill to institutionalize chieftaincy in Benin. and to frame the rules on traditional territories.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.africarivista.it/il-benin-riconosce-i-capi-tradizionali/263599/|title=Il Benin riconosce i capi tradizionali|date=29 April 2025 }}</ref>