Editing History of Benin (section)

=== The Kingdom of Hueda (Whydah) ===
{{main|Kingdom of Whydah}}
The kingdom of Hueda was an early beneficiary of Allada’s inability to monopolize coastal trade. Oral traditions claim that, like Allada, Hueda was the product of a dynastic dispersal from Tado. A minor kingdom and a client of Allada for much of the seventeenth century, Hueda entered the documentary record in 1671 with the establishment of a French trading lodge in Savi, its royal capital.<ref name = "Monroe46"/> The English Royal African Company relocated its base to Savi in 1682, leaving the Dutch as the sole European power at Offra.<ref name = "Monroe46"/> Allada made attempts to reclaim control over trade, including reducing duties and imposing an embargo on Hueda-bound commerce, but these measures were largely unsuccessful.<ref name = "Monroe46"/>

Although Allada remained an important supplier of captives traded through Hueda, its exclusive control over trade revenues was significantly undermined. Hueda, meanwhile, grew rapidly. Its territory measured roughly 50 km east–west by 35 km north–south,<ref name = "Monroe48">{{harvsp|Monroe|2014|page=48}}</ref> and sources estimate its population exceeded 100,000, with a military potential of 20,000 to 40,000.<ref name = "Monroe48"/> Savi, the capital, was described as extremely populous, and its hinterland was densely settled with over two dozen provincial centers known as "Vice-roy’s villages".<ref name = "Monroe48"/>

Savi functioned as both political capital and primary marketplace, drawing as many as 5,000 people on market days. Goods sold included locally produced salt, textiles, basketry, and pottery, as well as imported European merchandise.<ref name = "Monroe50">{{harvsp|Monroe|2014|page=50}}</ref> Rural and urban areas were integrated economically, forming a continuous, cultivated landscape.

Trade shifted decisively to Hueda in the late seventeenth century. European lodges were established in Savi, 15 km inland from the port town of Whydah, making it a central node in Atlantic commerce. One early eighteenth-century account highlighted Hueda’s wealth and power, stating that it could hire enough help to destroy any adversary.<ref name = "Monroe50"/> As Hueda gained economic strength, it asserted political independence from Allada. From the 1670s to the 1710s, tensions escalated in the form of trade disputes, military clashes, and proxy wars.<ref name = "Monroe50"/>

Hueda's monarchy resembled Allada’s, with a hereditary king who wielded judicial authority and controlled taxation and labor. The royal ancestor cult played a legitimizing role but remained minor in scale. The dominant religious institution was the cult of [[Snake worship#Danh-gbi|Dangbe]], the python deity, led by an independent priesthood.<ref name = "Monroe50"/>

By the early eighteenth century, factionalism and the ambitions of autonomous officials eroded royal power. European merchants often supported competing elites, exacerbating internal divisions.<ref name = "Monroe52">{{harvsp|Monroe|2014|page=52}}</ref> King [[Haffon]] (r. 1708–33) tried to centralize control by restricting access to trade wealth, provoking opposition. Dissatisfied elites warned of violent consequences should the king continue his “tyranny”.<ref name = "Monroe52"/> These internal divisions ultimately enabled Dahomey to conquer Hueda in 1727.