{"id":15755,"date":"2021-08-03T11:26:15","date_gmt":"2021-08-03T09:26:15","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.kanaga-at.com\/info-viaggi\/benin-en\/history\/"},"modified":"2022-05-31T15:33:35","modified_gmt":"2022-05-31T13:33:35","slug":"history","status":"publish","type":"info_viaggi","link":"https:\/\/www.kanaga-at.com\/en\/info-viaggi\/benin-en\/history\/","title":{"rendered":"History"},"content":{"rendered":"\r\n

There are few information on prehistoric times in Benin, apart from a few archaeological digs that have revealed human presence in the north-east of the country<\/b>.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The history of <\/span>present-day Benin, of which there are reliable and detailed records, is reduced to a relatively recent period, with the first incursions of the Yorouba from present-day Nigeria, who settled mainly in the south-east and in the central area, around the 11th and 12th centuries.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

In the south-west up to the region of present-day Abomey, it was the Adja people of Togo who founded the powerful kingdom of Ardra in 1575, that of Abomey in 1645\/1650 and finally that of Porto Novo in 1688.<\/p>\r\n

The north of the country, on the other hand, was populated by smaller groups (the Somba, the Bariba, the Fulani or Peuhl, and the Dendi) from neighbouring countries, who settled in the most remote and inaccessible areas to escape enemy incursions, slavery or Islamisation.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

The following is a chronological list <\/b>of the most important historical periods and facts, which may offer an outline for further investigation of specific bibliographies:<\/p>\r\n

Pre-colonial period and the Kingdom of Dahomey<\/b><\/p>\r\n

10th\/11th century A.D. <\/b>founding of the city of If\u00e9 in Nigeria, capital of the Yorouba, who exercised influence over the entire region including present-day Benin.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

15th century A.D. <\/b>foundation of the Yorouba Kingdom of Ketou and the first European incursions on the Atlantic coast.<\/p>\r\n

16th century A.D. <\/b>Creation of the Bariba Kingdom of Nikki, the Yorouba Kingdom of Sav\u00e9 and the Allada Kingdom of the Adja people who had migrated from Togo; Portuguese, Danish, Dutch, French and German incursions to control coastal ports intensify.<\/p>\r\n

1645\/1680 <\/b>Founding of the powerful and long-lived Adja Kingdom of Dahomey (Abomey) by King Houegbadi\u00e0 and beginning of the slave trade in agreement between the local kingdoms and European slave traders.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n

1688 <\/b>creation of the Adja Kingdom of Porto Novo<\/p>\r\n

1721 <\/b>Construction of the Portuguese fort of Ouidah, which became the nerve centre of the slave trade, especially later under the direction of the Brazilian Creole Francisco de Souza.<\/p>\r\n

1818 <\/b>with the help of de Souza, King Ghezo ousted his successor Adandozan in Abomey and appointed Francisco de Souza as Viceroy of Ouidah, entrusting him with the negotiation of slave sales to European merchants.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

1818\/1858 <\/b>expansionism of the bloody and powerful Ghezo Kingdom of Dahomey with the creation of a corps of amazons and the sale of prisoners of war as slaves at the Ouidah trading centre; installation of Catholic missions with the creation of the apostolic vicariate of Abomey<\/p>\r\n

1858 <\/b>Ghezo dies in battle against the Yorouba near Ketou and is succeeded by his son Gl\u00e9l\u00e9, who intensifies the commercial partnership with the French by granting them the protectorate of Porto Novo.<\/p>\r\n

1889 <\/b>Behanzin ascends the throne of Abomey<\/p>\r\n

1892 <\/b>as a result of hostilities between Behanzin and the French, war broke out that would lead, with the Battle of Abomey on 17 November 1892, to the end of the powerful Kingdom of Dahomey and open the way for the subsequent French colonisation of what is now Benin<\/p>\r\n

1894 <\/b>Behanzin is sent into exile and replaced by his brother Agoli-Agbo, who nevertheless inherits a kingdom that is now under total French control and turns it into a colony with Governor Victor Ballot.<\/p>\r\n

French colonisation<\/b><\/p>\r\n

1897 <\/b>France now controls a large part of what is now Benin, with the annexed territories of Cotonou, Ouidah and Grand Popo, the protectorates of Abomey and Porto Novo and numerous strategic positions in the northern territories<\/p>\r\n

1904 <\/span><\/strong>the colony was annexed to French West Africa (AOF) under a governor-general based in Dakar, Senegal<\/p>\r\n

1915\/1918 <\/b>Taking advantage of the weakening of the French troops on the ground, sent to the front in Europe, the local populations of the Yorouba and the Betammarib\u00e9 in the north revolt in bloody battles in successive waves against the French power<\/p>\r\n

1918\/1934 <\/b>annexation of the territories of present-day Togo, previously controlled by Germany, under the French governorate of Dahomey; organisation of the territories into 13 administrative districts<\/p>\r\n

1943 <\/b>Brazzaville Conference to grant greater rights and freedoms to the local populations of the Overseas Colonies<\/p>\r\n

1946 <\/b>Free labour, the right to vote and the participation of a local representative in the French Parliament are established<\/p>\r\n

1956 <\/b>Deferre‘<\/span>s framework law paves the way for Independence, through the gradual transfer of political power and administration to local representatives and the establishment of universal suffrage<\/p>\r\n

1957\/1958 <\/b>formation of the first local political parties and first elections to the territorial assembly, appointment of a vice-president and a prime minister<\/p>\r\n

1 August 1960 <\/b>Benin gained independence and Hubert Maga became the first President of Dahomey.<\/span><\/p>\r\n

Independence, Marxist period, Benin today<\/b><\/p>\r\n

1960\/1963 <\/b>President Maga’s party wins the legislative elections in December 1960, but immediately marks the beginning of a fragile policy that will plunge the country into instability and student protests, until the government falls to Colonel Soglo’s military.<\/p>\r\n

1963\/1972 <\/b>There was a succession of coups until the Marxist turn with the coup d’\u00e9tat of Commander Mathieu Kerekou, who founded the People’s Republic of Benin.<\/p>\r\n

1972\/1990 <\/b>Kerekou’s pro-Soviet government became one-party, absolutist and censorious. All forms of religion, including traditional religion, were banned and all forms of traditional power were declared illegal. A deep economic crisis began, plunging the country into corruption and discontent.<\/p>\r\n

1991 <\/b>the Marxist political system becomes unsustainable, so the free market is reopened and new democratic elections are called with the victory of Nicephore Soglo who weakly leads the country until 1996 <\/b><\/p>\r\n

10 January 1996 <\/b>Voodoo is recognised as the official religion of the country.<\/p>\r\n

1996 <\/b>Re-election of Kerekou as President through elections, alternating leadership with Soglo until his retirement from politics in 2006.<\/p>\r\n

2006 <\/b>Yaya Boni is elected President, offering a period of stability to the country for two consecutive terms.<\/p>\r\n

2016 <\/b>Election of Patrice Talon as President, currently in charge.<\/p>\r\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":14554,"menu_order":0,"template":"","da_non_perdere":[],"la_terra_e_gli_uomini":[60],"buono_a_sapersi":[],"prima_di_partire":[],"class_list":["post-15755","info_viaggi","type-info_viaggi","status-publish","hentry","la_terra_e_gli_uomini-benin","entry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nHistory - Kanaga Africa Tours<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kanaga-at.com\/en\/info-viaggi\/benin-en\/history\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"History - Kanaga Africa Tours\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"There are few information on prehistoric times in Benin, apart from a few archaeological digs that have revealed human presence in the north-east of the country. 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