Editing Dahomey (section)

===Slavery===
{{See also|Slavery in Africa}}
Both domestic slavery and the [[Atlantic slave trade]] were important to the economy of Dahomey. Men, women, and children captured by Dahomey in wars and [[slave raid]]s were sold to European slave traders in exchange for various goods such as rifles, gunpowder, textiles, cowry shells, and alcohol. Dahomey used magical rituals for slave trading. Prior to being sold to Europeans, slaves were forced to march in circles around the "Tree of Forgetfulness" so they would lose memories of their culture, family, and homeland.<ref name = "Herr"/> The purpose of this ritual was to prevent the spirits of deceased slaves from returning and seeking revenge against the royalty of Dahomey.<ref name = "Herr">{{cite book |last1=Herr |first1=Melody |title=The slave trade |date=2010 |publisher=Heinemann Library |location=Chicago, Ill. |isbn=9781432923846 |page=25}}{{Better source needed|reason=This is a book for children.|date=March 2023}}</ref>

Other war captives who were not intended to be sold to Europeans remained in Dahomey as slaves. There, they worked on royal plantations that supplied food for the army and royal court.<ref name="Brittani a2"/> Some historians such as Watson and Schellinger have argued that the shift from slave trading to a [[plantation economy]] in the 19th century worsened the social perception of slaves in Dahomey. They cite reasons that slaves before then were treated as members of their master's family and they could attain free status after a generation or two. Following the intensification of palm oil in the state, it became common for slaves to be abused and ill treated. To solve this issue, King Ghezo declared the trial of cases involving the murder of slaves at the Judicial Court in Abomey.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ring|first1=Trudy |last2=Watson|first2=Noelle|last3=Schellinger|first3=Paul|title=Middle East and Africa: International Dictionary of Historic Places|url= https://books.google.com/books?id=6XMBAwAAQBAJ&dq=Dahomey+tribute+forty+men%2C+women%2C+guns%2C+and+four+hundred+loads+of+cowries+and+corals+to+Oyo&pg=PA8|year=2014|publisher=[[Routledge]]|pages=8|isbn=9781134259861}}</ref>

There was a history of large-scale [[human sacrifice]] using slaves.<ref>{{cite web | url=https://bahamianology.com/800-slaves-sacrificed-in-tribute-on-the-death-of-gezo-the-great-slave-king-of-dahomey-1858/ | title=800 Slaves Sacrificed in Tribute on the Death of GEZO the Great Slave King of Dahomey 1858 · Bahamianology | date=October 27, 2018 }}</ref>