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“I wish the manuscript which you have been at the trouble of perusing, were more deserving of the public attention; but the fact is, that amidst the Africa, to bestow attention upon the history, either natural or political, of that country; and the stupidity of the natives is an insuperable barrier against the inquirer's information.
After your pressing my name to appear, yet, if you judge it at all necessary, to establish the credibility of the facts related, you are at liberty to make what use you please of it.
I could not easily avoid, in my narrative, the terms king, general, palace, and the like, and be intelligible to the English reader. For example: what I call palace,
simbomy; which (literally translated) means, a big house. This might have sounded English ear. When these terms occur, it must not be forgotten, that they are by no means intended to convey the same ideas, which are usually annexed to them in civilized societies of mankind: and, for the reasons just alleged, I may hope it will be deemed a very excusable burlesque, to dignify a brutal barbarian with the title of king; or his place of habitation (which is little superior to a dog-kennel) with the splendid name of a palace.
Atkins, who saw the palace of the king of Whydah before it was destroyed, describes it as “a dirty, large, bamboo building, of a mile or two in circumference; where he kept a thousand concubines, and divided his time between eating and lust.” This description, I venture to believe, is very suitable to all or most of the rest.
The royal simbomy, or great house at Calmina, is surrounded by a mud wall, about twenty feet high; the ground it occupies is nearly a square; each side of which is little short of a mile in extent; for I found the two sides which I measured, each sixteen hundred of
human skulls of prisoners taken in war. The inner apartments, which I had an opportunity of seeing, were only several large courts, communicating with each other; generally square, or oblong, encompassed by mud walls. In each of them was a piazza, or shed, formed with posts about seven feet high, and planted in the ground at the distance of about twelve or fourteen feet from the wall: the intermediate space was covered with a slanting thatched roof, supported on bamboo rafters, resting upon the posts, and reaching to the top of the wall, which, in this part, was in general about twenty feet high, but only eight or ten feet on the other sides of the court. The area of these courts was of the common soil of the country; but beneath the sheds the ground was elevated a few inches by a bed of clayey mortar, which formed the floor; and the wall was in some parts white-washed with a species of pipe-clay which the country produces. The whole had somewhat the resemblance of an assemblage of farm-yards, with long thatched barns, hovels for cattle and carts,
eastern jealousy. I never passed the limits of the courts before mentioned, except once at Abomey, when the old king Ahadee was sick, and would see me in his bed-chamber, which was a detached circular room, of about eighteen feet diameter; it had a thatched, conical roof; the walls were of mud, and white-washed within; there was a small area before it, formed by a wall about three feet high, the top of which was stuck full of human jaw bones, and the path leading to the door was paved with human skulls. The mattress and bedstead were of European manufacture, with check curtains; the furniture of the room consisted of a small table, a chest, and two or three chairs; and the clay floor was covered with a carpet, which I had sold to him some few months before. The apartments for the women (each of whom have separate huts) occupy, I believe, the remainder of the space within the palace walls; except a small part appropriated to the eunuchs, and to some necessary store-houses, for holding the provisions
cowries, iron bars, clothes, arms, ammunition, &c. and for some articles of European furniture. The late king was very desirous of buying any article of this sort that he could procure; such as tables, chairs, bureaus, mahogany liquor-cases, walking canes, cases of knives and forks, and spoons, silver cups, and glass ware. I once brought him a two-handled silver cup and cover, of chased work, weighing two hundred and twenty-six ounces. I have sometimes dined in the piazzas, or sheds, before mentioned, and sometimes in the open area of some of the courts: on the latter occasions, the table, &c. were Dahomy, consists of a pair of wide drawers, and a piece of cloth of about three yards long, and two broad, worn loosely round the body, in such a manner as to leave the right arm free, and bare. I found no deficiency of table apparatus, and the king has always a succession of cooks trained up in, the European forts at Whydah, so that he is able to treat his visitors with victuals dressed after their own country manner. My repasts used to be served up in plates, and dishes of pewter and earthen ware. I should remark,
twe-twee and dog's flesh are highly relished by the natives, the king's European guests are never disgusted by the introduction of either.
I do not think the Dahomans are Anthrapophagists, in the full sense of that word; though they scruple not to eat a devoted victim at the public festivals; and yet reproach their own countrymen, the natives of Toree, with Canabalism, of which, I own, I am not inclined to believe them guilty. But, that other African nations are addicted to that unnatural practice, I have not the smallest doubt; because, from the concurrent and credible testimony of those who have been at Bonny, it is well known that a Bonny man kills and eats an Audony man; and an Audony man treats a Bonny man in the same way, whenever he has an opportunity: I mean, as a familiar repast, and not merely in savage triumph after a victory. Snelgrave is certainly correct, and Atkins ill-informed and erroneous, respecting the Dahoman king's motive for invading Whydah. I knew many of the old Whydasians as well as Dahomans who were present when Trudo attacked that kingdom. They attributed his enterprize solely to the desire of extending his dominions, and of enjoying at the first hand, those commodities which he had been used to purchase of
Whydasians, who were in possession of the coast. Trudo had solicited permission from the king of Whydah to enjoy a free commercial passage through his country to the sea side, on condition of paying the usual customs upon slaves exported; this was peremptorily refused by the king of Whydah; and in consequence of this refusal, Trudo determined to obtain his purpose by force of arms: he succeeded in the attempt, and exterminated a great part of the inhabitants.
His conquest of the adjoining kingdom of Ardra facilitated the acquisition of the other. Ardra was once a powerful and populous nation, whose sovereignty extended from the river Volta, to the Lagos; but having afterwards been weakened, by the revolts of Quitta (called by Bosman, Coto), and of Popoe, Whydah, Appee, Bidagry, and Lagos, it became incapable of opposing the victorious arms of Trudo. Whydah, whose king had imprudently declined to lend any assistance against the common enemy, soon sell a very easy conquest, and with it, the tributary port and province of Jacquin. This restless barbarian, after glutting his vengeance with carnage, and the desolation of every maritime state which he was able to reduce, turned his sword against those inland kingdoms which had hitherto withstood his
European traders, by an interchange of the native products of the most fertile spot in Guiney, were improvements, of which he does not appear to have ever formed the smallest idea; and of which his mind was probably not susceptible. His pretended letter to his “Brother” George II. the monarch of Great Britain, is now known to have been an impudent forgery of one Bullfinch Lambe, who made his way with it to the Duke of Chandos, at that time the great patron of the British trade to Africa.
The policy of Trudo was that of an ambitious and brutal savage, who sought to retain the territories he had acquired, by the expedient of firing the towns, and slaughtering the inhabitants; and in these exploits he employed some of the last years of his life, which ended in 1732. The sovereignty devolved to Bossa Ahadee, whose Memoirs I relate, and now with the utmost humility submit to the candor of the public.”
THE Dahomans, a powerful and warlike nation of Africa, who live to the eastward of the Gold Coast, between the rivers Volta and Benin, have not escaped the notice of modern geographers; whose attention they engaged, by extending their dominions to the sea coast, and annexing to them, by conquest, the kingdom of Whydah; a country so respectable for its trade, that the English, French and Portuguese maintain forts there for the protection of their respective shares of it.
The Dahomans, but little more than a century ago, were an inconsiderable nation; formidable however to their neighbours, for their valour and military skill: they were then known by
Foys; and the town of Dawhee, which lies between Calmina and Abomey, was the capital of their small territory.
Early in the last century, Tacoodonou, chief of the Foy nation, basely murdered, in violation of the sacred laws of hospitality, a sovereign prince his neighbour, who made him a friendly visit to honor one of his festivals: he then attacked and took Calmina, the capital of the deceased: strengthened by this acquisition, he ventured to wage war with Da, king of Abomey, whom he besieged in his capital, which he soon reduced; and in consequence of a vow, that he made during the siege, put Da to death, by cutting open his belly; and placed his body under the foundation of a palace that he built in Abomey, as a memorial of his victory; which he called Dahomy, from Da the unfortunate victim, and Homy his belly: that is, a house built in Da's belly.
Tacoodonou after this conquest fixed his residence at Abomey, and assumed the title of King of Dahomy; of which the cruel circumstance just mentioned gives the true etymology; and from thence also the Foys, his subjects, are generally called Dahomans: in the country indeed the old name of Foys prevails; but to Europeans, I believe, they are only known by the name of Dahomans.
Thus Tacoodonou established the Dahoman empire, which about a century afterwards his illustrious descendant Guadja Trudo aggrandized, by subduing various kingdoms, and adding Whydah to his dominions, in the year 1727; the conquest of which is particularly related by Snelgrave, Atkins and others.
Having premised this to the following account, which I have attempted to draw up, of the reign of Bossa Ahadee, late
Dahomy, I shall conclude with a list of the kings of that country:
Tacoodonou conquered Abomey, and founded the Dahoman empire, about the year 1625.
Adaunzou I. began his reign in 1650.
Vibagee, in 1680.
Guadja Trudo (who conquered Ardra, Whydah, and Jacquin), in 1708.
Bossa Ahadee, in 1732.
Adaunzou II. the present king, in 1774.
BOSSA AHADEE succeeded his father Guadja Trudo in his hereditary kingdom of Dahomy, and also in the possession of those numerous and extensive acquisitions obtained by the victorious forces of that successful tyrant;—the valuable kingdoms of Ardrah and Whydah, together with Toree, Didouma, Ajirrah and Jacquin, towards the sea; besides several states inland bordering upon
Dahomy; as Povey, which he assigned for the patrimony of the heir-apparent, and others, whose names I am not acquainted with. All these, Trudo conquered, and lived to see effectually enslaved to his domination.
By Trudo's management (in tolerating his new subjects with the free exercise of their various superstitions; and incorporating them with the Dahomans by intermarriage if it may be so called), no distinctions being made between the conquerors and conquered, who were now become one people, many of those who had fled their native countries, to avoid the calamities of war, were induced to return and submit quietly to his government; by which means, every part of his dominions became replenished with people, and so devoted was their submission, that none of the conquered states have to this day made any efforts to regain their independence.
Such was the situation of affairs, when Trudo, full of years, paid the debt of nature. His memory is still dear to the Dahomans, and in matters of great importance it is customary with them to swear by his name, as the
Whydah, who applied to him, on his conquest of that country, for an abatement of the duties which had been exacted by the former sovereigns from the European shipping trading there. “As a mark of my esteem, said he, I will use you as an old man does his young bride, to whom he can refuse nothing; it shall be as you require, I remit you one half of the duties for ever.”
As it is criminal in the natives of this country to discourse on politics, or to make any remarks upon the administration of public affairs, it is difficult to acquire any extensive knowledge of facts; and the little information which can be obtained, is but imperfect: the remembrance of the most interesting occurrences generally dies with those concerned in them. Fathers have not here an opportunity of relating to their children a detail of what they have seen or done:
* This we find was also the custom in the kingdom of Trudo's death was concealed, as is customary upon such occasions, until the prime ministers, who are Tamegan and Mayhou, had consulted Whydah; where a general plunder prevailed, until the choice of the new king was publickly announced; there is something remarkable in this temporary anarchy, (and return as it were into the state of nature) as if it were originally meant, to make the people eager for the revival of sovereign power, and a settled government.Ahadee; whose reign has been a continued series of misery to his unhappy country, and who, notwithstanding some good qualities, has proved upon the whole, a bad king, and a worse man.
Tamegan and Mayhou having determined on their choice, announced Trudo's death and proclaimed Ahadee king: by which determination, his elder brother Zingah, finding his hopes disappointed, and himself aggrieved by the loss of an inheritance, with the expectation of which he had flattered himself; sounded privately the disposition of his friends. On applying secretly to those upon whom he had conferred favors in his father's life time, he received assurance, of numbers
Ahadee however, got intelligence of his design; Zingah, and the principal conspirators were seized, just on the point of taking up arms to assert his claim: Zingah was sewed up in a hammock at Abomey, in which he was carried to Whydah, where he was put into a canoe, and taken about two leagues out at sea, and there thrown over-board and drowned. The law of the country does not allow the sacred blood of the royal family to be shed, but appoints this punishment for their offences: such was the end of Zingah, and all his adherents were put to death.
The king, now clear of his competitor, and secure in the peaceable possession of his dominions, threw off the mask, and gave an unbounded indulgence to his inclinations; which unhappily were of the worst kind. One of the first edicts of his reign was, that every man of the name of Bossa, should be put to death; which cruel order was punctually executed throughout his dominions;
old and young, indiscriminately suffered, and many innocent and useful men, were lost to the community, for the gratification of his vanity; who thought it an insult to majesty, that a subject should bear the same name as the sovereign.
Though fame has transmitted this enormity to posterity, she has been kind to his memory in burying in oblivion the repeated acts of cruelty and oppression which at last roused Mayhou, and induced him in 1735, to take up arms, to free his country from the tyranny, under which it groaned.
From the specimen above mentioned, we may judge, what the king was capable of doing; and great indeed must the provocations have been, that induced * A faithful servant whom I employed in my factory, he afterwards fell undeservedly under the king's displeasure, and was sold, by his order, for a slave.Mayhou to take this step; for it is the disposition of the Dahomans to think favorably of their king, and approve his actions; they reverence him with a mixture of love and fear, little short of adoration. “I think of my king,” replied a Dahomy man to me; when I asked him, just before his going to battle, if he was not apprehensive of finding the enemy too strong. “I think of my king,” said
Dakou,*Dahoman possesses the same sentiments; even at this day, after a tyranny of forty years, their loyalty and attachment remain unshaken. Though his people are daily falling victims to his avarice, or anger, and there is not an individual in his dominions, but has lost some near and dear connection by his orders, yet their misfortunes are attributed entirely to their own indiscretions; and whatever the king does, they are persuaded is right: such blind submission and obedience, is probably no where else to be found.
* Mayhou, who had been brought up and
Trudo, and had seen better days; finding all his persuasions ineffectual to reclaim the young king, who was deaf to his advice; could no longer remain a mere spectator of the distresses of his country: he had erred in his choice when he preferred Ahadee to his brother; and judging it a duty which he owed to his country, to free it from the tyrant whom he had concurred in placing upon the throne, he withdrew from court, and soon appeared in rebellion at the head of a powerful army. Thus, in addition to the evils with which Ahadee afflicted his country, he plunged it into the horrors of a civil war; the issue of which, had the event been equal to the justice of it, might have been fatal to him: but it terminated otherwise by the exertions of Agaow*,Agaow, is the title of the commander in chief of the king's army, and not the name of a particular man.Trudo. He entirely defeated the rebel army; Mayhou and many of his friends fell in the engagement: the prisoners taken on this occasion were put to death;
Mayhou's family, for he soon after advanced his younger brother into his office, and he continues to be Mayhou to this time; a circumstance rather extraordinary in Ahadee's conduct, who has given very few instances of his clemency. In offences less heinous than that of Mayhou, when a man commits, or (what in the Dahoman maxims amounts to the same) is accused, of a crime, for which he is condemned to death, or to slavery; his effects are forfeited to the king; his domestics, relations, and friends, are all seized; some of them perhaps suffer death; the remainder are always sold for slaves: when the delinquent happens to be a man of consequence, with numerous his account, it is no inconsiderable loss to the state; yet this is a calamity, which often happens; and together with the carnage of war, has
THE internal tranquility of the kingdom was restored by Mayhou's defeat, and death; but the Foys, did not long enjoy the sweets of peace: destruction threatened them from another quarter. To the northeast of Dahomy lies a fine, fertile, and extensive country, inhabited by a great, and warlike people, called the Eyoes; the scourge and terror of all their neighbours. These Eyoes, are governed by a king; but not by one so absolute as the tyrant of Dahomy. If what report says of him be true, when his ill conduct gives just offence to his people, a deputation from them wait upon him, it is said, and represent to him, that the burden of government has been so fatiguing, that it is full time for him to repose from his cares, and to indulge himself with a little sleep.
The Dahomans, to give an idea of the strength of an Eyoe army, assert, that when they go to war, the general spreads the hide of a Dahomans may possibly exaggerate, but the Eyoes are certainly a very populous, warlike and powerful nation.
They invaded Dahomy in 1738 with an irresistible army, and laid the country waste with fire and sword to the gates of Abomey; here, the Foys had collected their whole strength, and waited the arrival of the enemy,
The Foys, though inferior in numbers, were not intimidated; they had seen service under Trudo, but never was their valour called forth upon a more trying occasion; their country and every thing that was dear to them, lay at stake; and they did all that could be expected in its defence. The enemy attacked them in the morning; they acted wonders on that day; twice they repulsed the Eyoes, and had nearly given them a total defeat; but fresh supplies of the enemy continually pouring in, to replace those who fell, the Foys, worn out with fatigue, were obliged to yield at last to superior numbers, and retreated, under cover of the night, into Abomey: having killed of the Eyoes, above twice the number of their own army. Their situation now became truly calamitous, and no prospect was before them, but an utter extinction of the Dahomy name and nation.
Abomey is a very large town, surrounded with a deep moat, but has no wall nor breast-work to defend the besieged; nor are
Dahomans on the night after the battle, whilst the Eyoes were too much fatigued to interrupt them, was, to send away the wounded, and the women and children, to Zassa, a town about twenty-five miles off, where the king then was; who when he learned the unfortunate issue of the day, was immediately conveyed, with his women and treasures, to an inaccessible retreat, about four hours journey from Zassa. The path leading to it is extremely intricate, and known to very few of the Dahomans themselves; and is never visited, except in cases of the last extremity, when the king is obliged to fly for the safety of his person. As none but the king's own family take shelter there, it was esteemed an extraordinary mark of respect shewn to Mr. Gregory, governor of the English fort at Whydah, who happened to be at Zassa at this unhappy time, that the king was pleased to take him in his royal suite to this place. Agaow, the king's general at Abomey, continued to defend the place, and amuse the
Zassa evacuated: he then took the advantage of a dark night, conducted the remains of his army safe, passed the enemy, and fled; leaving the town to the mercy of the Eyoes, who afterwards plundered and burnt it; as they also did Calmina and Zassa: they lived in the country at discretion, as long as they could procure subsistence; and in a few months, when that grew scarce, returned to their own country. Had they, when they engaged at Abomey, detached a part of their numerous army, and attacked Zassa at the same time, the king and all his treasure must inevitably have fallen into their hands: and for this neglect, their general was disgraced upon his return.
The Eyoes continued for several years, to Dahomy with an annual visit: the Foys never thought it prudent to engage them afterwards; but when apprized of their coming, used to evacuate their towns, divide into small parties, and shelter themselves as well as they could in their fastnesses and woods. The king used all his efforts to obtain an accommodation, and offered
Trudo. These arrears were considerable; and fresh demands were also added, on account of the conquest of Whydah, which the Eyoes looked upon as an inexhaustible source of wealth to the king. Their expectations, upon the whole, were so exorbitant, that Ahadee found it impracticable to satisfy them; and the Eyoes continued to ravage the country for several years, burning their towns, destroying their crops in harvest, killing many people, and carrying numbers away into captivity. In the year 1747, however, the Eyoes consented to an accommodation, and compromized the matter for a tribute, which is paid them annually at Calmina, in the month of November.
THE Dahomans, whilst they were thus distressed by the Eyoes, were engaged in two other bloody wars (each of which continued above thirty years) with the Mahees, and with the old Whydahs; who had fled out of the country at the conquest, and were now assisted by their neighbours the Popoes.
The Mahee country, which is an extensive one, lies to the westward of Dahomy, on its borders; it is divided into several small states, each governed by its own laws, and independent of one another: these states form a republic, and unite for the common safety, when dangers threaten any of the confederated members. The war with them was entirely provoked by Ahadee. They were disposed to live in friendship with him; but his restless spirit would not suffer them to remain in peace. He claimed a right of interference in their national concerns, and insisted
Foys were invincible, and their arms irresistible: but if they were so in the days of Trudo, his misfortunes and disgraces should have taught Ahadee to be less confident. He resolved therefore to abolish the republic, and give the Mahees a king; but he wanted talents proportioned to this enterprise. Trudo had been monarch, statesman, general, uniting all in his own person, and constantly fought at the head of his troops. Ahadee, immured in his seraglio, where thousands administered to his pleasures, expected a prompt devotion to his will, and flattering himself with an easy conquest, thought nothing was more expedient for that purpose, than to signify to Agaow, “That his house wanted thatch,” which is the phrase used in giving his general orders to go to war, and alludes to the custom of placing the heads of the enemy, killed in battle, or any of the prisoners of distinction, on the roof of the guard houses at the gates of his palaces.
Ahadee pretended, that his subjects travelling
Mahee country to more distant nations, for the purposes of trade, were frequently oppressed by heavy taxes, arbitrarily imposed there by the states through which they had occasion to pass; that these states were so numerous and avaricious, that it was impossible, in the present situation of affairs, to regulate their demands, for the future security of his subjects property; but that if one king governed the whole Mahee nation, treaties could then be established, to the mutual advantage of both kingdoms. This in fact was mere pretence; for no part of Ahadee's conduct had testified that regard for the welfare and interest of his people, which his language on the present occasion seemed to manifest. The true reason was, that one of his favorite wives, who was a Mahee woman, had a brother whom he wished to advance to this dignity; but the Mahees refused to relinquish their independence, and submit to be governed by a tyrant; and Ahadee persisted in his resolution. A war commenced in 1737, and was carried on with all that savage fury which is customary among barbarous nations. The prisoners
best terms either party allowed. Many battles were sought with various success; sometimes the Mahees, sometimes the Dahomans were victorious; but neither would relinquish their pretensions: to follow them through all their scenes of slaughter, would be a disgusting task, and indeed almost impossible.
The severest blow which the Mahees received was in 1752, about fifteen years after the commencement of the war: they had been unsuccessful in some battles, and were unable to keep the field. There is, in their country a very high mountain called Boagry, rendered almost inaccessible by nature, and deemed impregnable: thither the Mahees fled, with the shattered remains of their army. The Dahomans pillaged, and laid waste the country without opposition; and having imposed what terms, and contributions they pleased on the vanquished, Agaow sat down with his army and invested Boagry; which as a camp, had one fault; it was as difficult to quit, when occasion required, as it was
Mahees, planted corn, and had plenty of water upon Boagry, which enabled them to persevere in a long resistance.
Agaow, had now invested them near twelve months, without being able to advance far up the mountain; when the king, solicitous for the honor of his arms, sent his general all the assistance that he was able to draw together, and ordered him to hazard every thing for the reduction of Boagry, whatever the loss of men might be on the occasion. Agaow, was by this time, well acquainted with the mountain, and led on his men to this dangerous enterprize, determined either to conquer, or die in the attempt: he attacked it, in every accessible part: the Mahees, made an obstinate resistance, and killed an immense number of their enemy; but at last, the bravery of the Dahomans, and their superior numbers, surmounted every difficulty; they routed the Mahees from their
Abomey, where the chiefs were put to death, and the remainder sold for slaves.
The king was at this time warmly engaged with the old Whydahs, and Popoes; and had occasion for all his troops to reinforce his army in that quarter, which induced him to desist from further hostilities against the Mahees at present, and even to consent to a truce with them; but as this was ill observed by either side, it proved of very short continuance. The Mahees, though defeated, were far from being subjugated; those who had fled, after the calamity which happened at Boagry returned to their country, and were still a formidable enemy: especially as the Dahomans, were now weakened by a series of near twenty years unprofitable wars.
Hostilities were renewed, and carried on as before, to the ruin of both countries; without producing any thing decisive. Ahadee
Mahees; nor were they so far humbled as to submit to accept of one. They resolved to retaliate the insult at Boagry, by invading Dahomy; and actually penetrated into that dismal forest which divides Dahomy from Ardra, in order by that manœuvre to intercept any succours coming from the kingdoms of Ardra or Whydah to the relief of Dahomy: but in consequence of some division in their councils (a grievance to which republics are generally exposed), they retired again without
In 1764, the advantage seemed to be on the side of the Dahomans, who then laid siege a second time to Boagry: but had not a sufficient force to render themselves masters of it. Several of Ahadee's sons were with his army, to animate the soldiers by their presence; and among them his favorite Jupera, his father having sent him under Agaow's care, to acquire military excellence. This general had been encamped above twelve months around Boagry; when the king, impatient
Mayhou to take the command: with orders to proceed immediately to the assault. When Agaow found himself superseded, and disgraced, he judged it was time to consult his personal safety, as he well knew the king's displeasure to be implacable. Having Jupera, the heir-apparent in power, he could have taken a severe revenge of his ungrateful master; but he generously delivered him into Mayhou's care, and withdrew privately to the Mahees: who received, and protected him.
Mayhou, made an unsuccessful attempt against Boagry; was repulsed, and obliged to raise the siege: he returned with his army to Dahomy; and to add to the unfortunate event, Jupera died on the march. Ahadee failed in his views, and in fact unable to prosecute them any further, never attempted any thing of consequence afterwards against the Mahees; and the person, in whose favor he had made so many fruitless exertions, dying some years afterwards, both parties seemed heartily tired of the war, and agreed to a peace in 1772, which still continues.
DURING the continuance of the Mahee war, the Dahomans had too much employment, in another quarter, to permit them ever to breathe from their toils. The old Whydahs, assisted by the Popoes, allowed them no respite on that side. This war was still more ruinous if possible, than that which was carried on with the Mahees: the Dahomans, were generally obliged to act upon the defensive; and even when they routed the enemy, could reap but little advantage from the victory: for their country, environed by swamps, and creeks, is so defensible by nature, that it was next to impossible to pursue them. It may be necessary to explain the motives of this war.
When Trudo, king of Dahomy had subdued Ardra, and Toree, he led his victorious army in 1727, against the Whydahs, who shamefully fled before him; and without making
Popoes, whose country borders on Whydah, to the westward, and settled there; in a low, marshy country, surrounded with swamps, and intersected with many branches of rivers, which form a multitude of islands, on which they lived. These refugees, assisted by the Popoes, with whom they were incorporated and became as it were one nation, bore an inveterate hatred against the Dahomans; and, urged by a desire of regaining their native country, omitted no occasion to Whydah; the facility with which they transported their troops in canoes, within two miles of Griwhee, the capital of it; the embarrassed situation of the king's affairs, whose country was sometimes over run by the Eyoes, and whose whole force was at other times employed
Mahees, and this frontier left defenceless; afforded them many opportunities of committing invasions with advantage. They frequently got possession of Whydah beach, and interrupted the trade; in which event the shipping were often considerable sufferers: the white people, their goods, or whatever property happened to be on the beach fell a prey to them: sometimes they made incursions up to the town of Griwhee, where the English, French, and Portuguese, have each, a fort; and if attacked by a superior force, they readily escaped to their canoes, and eluded their pursuers: for the Dahomans have no address in engagements on the water, as they are altogether unacquainted with the management of canoes. An occasion presented in the year 1741, which had it been rightly managed, might have concluded these differences, to the satisfaction of the king, and to the advantage of his country: but, over-ruled by his evil genius, he neglected the opportunity; and exasperated the Whydahs more than ever.
The Whydahs, in their exile, still adhered to the system of their old government; and
king: but it was necessary, on the accession of a new one, that he should be inaugurated at Xavier, which had been the seat of his ancestors, and the capital of Whydah, before the conquest; for the celebration of which ceremony it was requisite, that permission should first be obtained from Ahadee, who derived an advantage from it, by exacting a consideration for the liberty of going thither; and as a truce was necessary for a cessation of hostilities on these occasions, he did not omit to turn it to account, whenever there was an opportunity, by employing his agents to sow divisions among them, in hope of reaping some advantage by that means.
To be king of the Whydahs, even in their humbled state, had its temptations; and the brother of the rightful heir was, upon the death of his father, which happened about that time, ambitious of this rank. If Ahadee did not suggest, he at least encouraged this scheme, with a view to divide the Whydahs; and assured him of his support; in return for which, the other engaged privately to become his tributary and ally, and
Ahadee's protection) whilst the ceremonies were preparing at Xavier, to invest his brother with the regal dignity, had the audacity to murder him there, and the address to be appointed king in his place; and closed his Ahadee, of unlimited devotion to his commands.
The enormity of this action, and the engagements which the usurper had made with Ahadee, though intended to be kept secret, did not altogether escape the knowledge of the Whydahs; they suspected what had passed, and several of them, instead of returning from Xavier to live under such a king, remained in the country, and settled under the protection of the Portuguese fort at Griwhee; of which Seignior John Basile was at that time governor; a gentleman of humane temper and engaging disposition. These people maintained a correspondence with their countrymen, and making a favorable
Whydahs were induced to come and settle in the country, to avoid the horrors of a civil war in their own: five or six hundred persons established themselves peaceably in this manner; and if this disposition had been properly encouraged, in all probability a much greater number had followed their example; but Ahadee, without waiting for such a desirable event, by which he would have gained a large addition of useful and valuable subjects, cruelly determined to seize upon these poor people, and sell them for slaves. To facilitate his design, the king invited Seignior John Basile to Abomey, on pretence of business; but the true motive was, to have him in his power. The governor proceeded on his journey, and meeting Agaow at the head of an army upon the road, in full march towards Whydah; he was arrested by the king's order, and informed that the only condition of regaining his liberty was to deliver up all the Whydahs who had put themselves under his protection: the governor urged his faith and honor plighted to these
Griwhee, and encamped on Gonnegee, a plain between that town and the river, by which position he cut off the retreat of the Whydahs to their own country. Agaow, finding the governor, was determined not to betray the Whydahs, offered to take a certain quantity of goods, as a ransom for them: the proposal was accepted, and the goods delivered; but pretences were still found to detain the governor, and a fresh demand for more goods was made: these he also consented to pay, and sent an order to the fort for their delivery. A head servant of his, a black man, who had charge of the fort, saw that they were deceiving his master; and refused to send any more goods. He intimated his suspicions to the Whydahs, who finding no possibility of escape, resolved to defend themselves to the last extremity: they retired into the fort, and got every thing in order for its protection; determined, if overpowered at last, to sell their lives as dear as possible: Agaow remained quiet in his camp on Gonnegee, for
Agaow's disadvantage lay in having no artillery; however, early in the morning, on the 1st of November 1741, he led on his troops to the storm, and began his attack on every side; those within the fort were not idle; but with their cannon made a prodigious slaughter: the Dahomans, with that bravery which animates them on all occasions, filled up their ranks with fresh men, as fast as others fell, and continued the assault. About noon a quantity of gunpowder in one of the bastions took fire, and communicated the flame to the roofs of the buildings, which were thatched, and blazed furiously: this accident threw the besieged into great confusion, which was considerably increased by an explosion of the magazine, in whose destruction every soul near it was involved. The Dahomans now entered at the embrasures, almost without opposition, and put every man they met with to the sword. The governor's faithful servant,
Agaow was: and having got as near to him as he could, with intention to make him a partner in his own unmerited fate, set fire to the powder, and heroically blew himself to pieces: his second in command was taken alive, and roasted afterwards before a slow fire at Calmina. Ahadee afterwards rebuilt the fort for the Portuguese, and disavowed Agaow's proceedings; denying that he gave him any orders to act as he had done; but, although he was desirous to throw the odium of this affair upon his general, no one pretended to acquit Ahadee himself from the infamy of the whole plan and transaction.
* Agaow was about to return from this exploit, when he received orders from the king to go and chastise the people of Jacquin; a country which borders immediately on Whydah, to the eastward: it was once a place of some consequence, and the Dutch had formerly a settlement there. It had been conquered
Trudo, and annexed to his dominions: but the inhabitants, taking advantage of the perplexed state of the king's affairs, had neglected for some time past to pay the tribute, which had been imposed on them. This country, like that of the Popoes, surrounded with marshes and swamps, was of difficult access; and the Dahomans were not sufficiently acquainted with the environs, to be able to make an inroad into it: but it happened at this time, that a woman of some consequence, belonging to a Jacquin chief having been guilty of some gallantries, dreaded the punishment of her inconstancy, fled to Dahomy; and for a promise of the royal protection, engaged to conduct his army through the only path by which Jacquin could be invaded with effect. Agaow having this woman for his guide, entered Jacquin unexpectedly, and extirpated the whole nation, not leaving a single inhabitant alive in the whole country*;Adaunzou II. sent a few families to re-establish a settlement there in the year 1777.
THE Whydahs were too much disgusted with their new king, to suffer him to reign long over them; he had rendered himself so odious, that he could not even form a party among them to support his pretensions, and unable to make Ahadee the payment, which had been promised at his accession, all succours from that quarter were refused: he was therefore obliged to relinquish that government which he had atrociously obtained, and withdrew to Dahomy; where, after wandering about for some time universally despised, he died miserably of a leprous disease, contracted immediately on his return from Xavier: and which the Dahomans attributed to the horrid repast he had made there, when he devoured the heart of his own brother.
All that had passed served only to exasperate the exiled * The title of the military officer who commands in Whydahs still more against Ahadee, and hostilities were renewed with greater fury than ever: in 1743 they enlarged their plan of operations, and seemed determined to dispute the possession of Whydah with him. The Popoes, and all their other friends, concurred in assisting them, and they invaded Whydah with a powerful army. Their designs had been no secret, but it was out of the king's power to prevent them: Dahomy was at that time over-run by the Eyoes or Iaos, and every thing was in confusion: Agaow and the army were at a considerable distance, engaged with the Mahees; and Whydah was left almost defenceless, and effectually deprived of any military assistance: however, Caukaow*Whydah.Eubiga, the vice-roy, assembled all that were able to bear arms in the town, and joined him; the Xavier Cabocheers, and all
Caukaow was inferior to the enemy: however he was not intimidated, he knew his own heart, and relied on the bravery of his followers. Fear never enters into the mind of a Dahoman; cowardice is no part of his composition: he marched out against the enemy, and met them about a mile to the westward of the French fort. The generals of both parties held a dispassionate conversation at the head of their troops; in which they declared to each other their respective determinations, the one to conquer, the other to defend the country: they drank together, and Caukaow toasted health to his king, and success to his arms; wishing that if he was unsuccessful on that day, he might not survive the disgrace, but perish like the glass, out of which he had drank, dashing it as he spoke against the ground, and breaking it in pieces. The battle commenced, and was obstinately fought: all that rude skill, and ferocious courage could effect, was executed on each side; at last Caukaow fell at the head of his men, after inflicting and receiving innumerable wounds, and distinguished both
Eubiga, and nearly all the chieftains of his party were among the slain; and the Xavier Cabocheers shared the same fate. The Dahomans, destitute of leaders, and overpowered by numbers, were thrown into confusion, and totally routed.
The enemy next day pillaged Griwhee, without opposition, and burned it; the inhabitants fled out of the country, and left the Whydahs in peaceable possession. They summoned the forts to submit, or at least to acknowledge the new government: but the governors continued attached to the king, and refused to accede to the proposals offered by his enemies. The old Whydahs flocked into the country in great numbers, with their families; and built a town upon Gonnegee, a plain between Griwhee and the river, just beyond all annoyance from the guns of the forts. Three tedious months elapsed after the battle, which had been so fatal to the king's affairs, without his receiving any advices from the governors of the forts; who began to be so much in want of provisions, that it is probable they could
Whydahs; when a messenger arrived privately from the king, with assurances that they might depend upon being speedily relieved; and entreating them to persevere in his cause for a few days longer. The messenger, having given this information, eluded the vigilance of the Whydahs, and returned with the same secrecy. Ahadee, finding that the forts continued true to his interest, did not despair of recovering the country: he had not been idle before in making every provision that was in his power. He recalled Agaow out of Mahee, and, as soon as the Eyoes permitted him, by returning to their own country, he mustered all his Dahomans, and increased his general's army to fifty-thousand men. This formidable army arrived in Whydah in ten days after the messenger had been there. As the Whydahs did not expect them, they were not prepared for an encounter: they were attacked, defeated, and driven out of the country; by which means the possession of it was once more secured to the king.
Let us cease for the present attending them through their subsequent hostilities, and proceed to relate an affair of some moment which followed next in order of time in this country.
THE kingdom of * The Whydah having been recovered by this fortunate event, Ahadee appointed a person named Tanga, to be Eubiga (or vice-roy) over it, in the place of his predecessor who had perished with Caukaow, in the late bloody conflict with the Whydahs: he was a man of violent passions; vain, proud, and ambitious; he maintained a great number of domestics and attendants, whom he attached to his person by his liberality; and to his interest by protecting them in their villainies, and screening them from justice in defiance of the king. His oppressions rendered him odious to the garrisons at the forts; and his great influence
Ahadee was waiting to accomplish this purpose, Tanga was meditating nothing less, than the acquisition of Whydah kingdom for himself. A daring project, and not justified by even a plausible motive; for, being a eunuch from his infancy, he had no children to be elevated to royal dignity. The post which he already possessed was a very honorable one, and his opulence so considerable, that it amply afforded him the gratification of every desire, except that of insatiable ambition. His plan was, to gain possession of the English fort, and then to declare himself king. The command of any of the forts would have been a considerable assistance to his design; but he preferred this, from an opinion which prevails in the country that it is impregnable. The spot on which William's Fort*English castle in Whydah is so called.Nabbakou, the titular god of the place. It has hitherto been so fortunate, as to escape those calamities which the other forts have experienced; a circumstance, rather extraordinary, as the Whydah king, when he fled from Xavier, at the time of the Dahomans invasion of his kingdom, took shelter there; and found protection in it, until there was an opportunity of conveying him in safety out of the country. This might possibly have brought upon it, the vengeance of the Dahomans; however, they did not appear to resent it; though they plundered the French fort at that time, and afterwards that which belonged to the Portuguese, as we have already related; but the English fort, having met with no similar disaster, stood high in the opinion of the natives: and Tanga deemed the acquisition
When Tanga's scheme was ripe for execution, he attempted to surprize William's Fort, in August, 1745, in the following manner. Under pretence of making a public visit to the forts, he gave directions that a certain number of his men should be ready to attend him. When the vice-roy visits the governors, it is customary for him to be accompanied by four or five hundred men, under arms; besides the musicians, flag-bearers, umbrella-carriers, and several employed immediately about his person; amounting perhaps to one hundred more. Upon the present occasion, Tanga, selected all these out of his best men, whom he could rely on, and knew to be devoted to his will; and hoped, that by introducing them, without suspicion, into the fort as usual, he should easily make himself master of it. Before he departed from his own house, he supplied his men with ammunition, and ordered them to load their muskets; an order which appeared strange to those who were not apprised of his secret intentions. The English
Gregory, the English governor, with what he had seen. Mr. Gregory's suspicions were raised by the information, and he made a proper use of it, by providing for the security of his fort, whilst Tanga was paying a visit to the French governor. He ordered his guns to be loaded, and the gate shut, before the vice-roy arrived; and when he came, refused to admit him into the fort, unless he dismissed his retinue; Tanga refused to comply, and protested against such an exception, as an unprecedented indignity, to which it became him not to submit: he threatened, and soothed alternately, but to no purpose; the governor would not recede from his determination; and Tanga, finding it impracticable to introduce his ruffians, returned home extremely chagrined at the disappointment.
Apprehending from the governor's unusual precaution, that his designs were discovered; he began to fortify his house. Ahadee on receiving intelligence of what had passed, declared
English fort; this was no easy matter to effect; he was closely besieged by the king's troops, and upon bad terms with the English governor; who, besides abhorring his rebellion, had not forgiven an insult, which he received from him some months before; when in company with the other governors, he was going to Abomey, to complain to the king of his viceroy's oppressive conduct; Tanga, apprized of their intentions, met them on the road at Ardra, where he seized them; and having kept them for some days prisoners in the stable, among his horses, brought them back with him to Whydah, sufficiently humbled, and
wives (for though an eunuch he had a seraglio of some hundreds) joined their persuasions, and his people at length worked up to an attachment and resolution worthy of a better occasion, refused to sacrifice him to their own safety; which they might have obtained by delivering him up: they determined to force their way through the king's troops, conduct their master to the English fort, and there recommend him to the governor's mercy. This resolution being adopted, the women, dreading a reverse of fortune, and despairing to meet again with so indulgent a lord, put each other to death: the oldest first slaughtering the young ones, and then cutting their own
Tanga and his party, with such part of his treasure as was most portable, sallied forth, and made good their passage through the king's troops, directing their course for the English castle; from whence they were fired upon, as they approached, and Tanga retreating into the garden, received a shot which ended at once his life and ambition. Originally, and in his youth, a captive, and a slave, he had the address to recommend himself to Ahadee's friendship, who raised him to the highest rank: but his insolence, which was insupportable; and his ingratitude to his benefactor, proved how unworthy he was of the favors he had received. When he fell, his adherents immediately dispersed; some escaped out of the country, but the greater part of them were taken, and suffered, as they deserved.
The affection of Tanga's wives, which impelled them in the desperate crisis of his affairs to devote themselves to death, may perhaps
Tanga did not guard his women with that jealous eye and strict confinement which is usual in that part of the world.—The seraglio was only a necessary appendage to the pomp and splendor of his rank; and out of this reservoir he generously supplied all his servants with wives. Such unprecedented bounty conciliated the sincerest regard of these people. Every young man within his jurisdiction was ambitious of serving Tanga: to his seraglio he appeared, not the rigid jailer, nor the tyrannic usurper of the affections;—but the generous arbiter of its liveliest pleasures. His women could not but be charmed with a freedom, which no other seraglio enjoyed; and would not survive that felicity and protection which was to terminate with the existence of their master, and of their lovers, whose ruin seemed inevitable.
TANGA and his followers were not unworthy of the fate they met with; and if Ahadee had restricted his vengeance to those who really deserved it, his character would have been less exceptionable; few real occasions offered to incur his displeasure; so general was the disposition among his people to submit implicitly to his will, and to applaud all his actions; but through the whole tenor of his reign, every man's safety was precarious, in proportion to his merit, or wealth: not content with being universal heir to their effects, and that every thing his subjects died possessed of belonged to him, the innocent inhabitants of whole villages were sold for slaves, to raise supplies for his extravagance: and although this grievance was repeated at his pleasure, such was their submission and attachment, that none presumed to complain. Unreasonable
Shampo, who signalized himself on many occasions, and held a considerable post in the army: he was the darling of the soldiers, and every tongue was busy in his praise: such merit could not fail to excite a tyrant's jealousy. Ahadee from that moment determined to cut him off. Shampo had a sister in the king's house, who, by some means, got intimation of the king's design: she could have no interview with her brother, for the king's women are forbidden to hold discourse with any man; but as she was at liberty to send provisions for his table, from the royal mansion, she concealed a knife and a cord, with a noose on the end of it, among the victuals; from which expressive allusion, her brother was at no loss to comprehend, that he was doomed to suffer, either by the cord, or by the sabre. He saved himself by a precipitate flight, and carried a considerable part of the army along with him into
Popoe country, where he was received in a manner suitable to his merit. The Popoes promoted him to the command of their army: which post he enjoyed to the day of his death in 1767, and bore to the last an implacable enmity against the ungrateful Ahadee.
Agaow, who had served him zealously, and executed his orders with great success, was less fortunate, and fell a victim to his cruelty; the same Agaow, who had bravely stormed the Portuguese fort, who had recovered Whydah, and taken Boagry: who had in some measure restored the declining glory of the country, and once stood so high in the estimation of his king, that after bestowing many favors upon him, he was desirous to let the whole world see how much he honored his favorite Agaow; and actually gave him leave to build a house two stories high; which, however, the general modestly declined.
Where the inhabitants are in such abject slavery, that they must not sit upon a chair, because it is an indulgence reserved for white people, and a few only of the principal men, who enjoy this high privilege, by especial
such a country, to have permission to build a convenient house, is a mark of extraordinary distinction: but Agaow did not continue long to enjoy his master's smiles; he was seized and brought before the king, who accused him of an intention to withdraw from the kingdom, and following the evil example of Shampo (who had joined the Popoes), to fly into the country of the Mahees. Nothing could be more unjust than this suspicion; and Agaow, with a becoming firmness, replied, it is said, to this effect: “I have manifested my zeal on various occasions for your service; and thought no march fatiguing, no battle hazardous, whilst executing your will; my actions, so often crowned with success, have added affluence and honor to your kingdom. What part of my conduct has exposed me to this accusation? You have, as pledges of the fidelity of your slave, my aged mother, my wives and my children
Agaow refused to attest a
THE Whydahs, assisted by the Popoes, and directed by the sagacious advice of Shampo, became more formidable than ever: they visited the Whydah Beach, and gave frequent interruptions to trade. In disputing the possession of Whydah Beach, the Dahomans were often very roughly handled, and as often returned unsuccessful: they had lost numbers of their men in these skirmishes, when their priests at last discovered, that their oracles had forbidden them to attack the enemy on the Beach, but had ordered that they should wait in readiness, between Griwhee and the river; and that the party which should first cross the river, and begin the attack, should infallibly be routed. This was no unwelcome discovery, because it afforded a salvo for their honor, and an apology for submitting to insults, which they were too weak to resent.
The king at last took the resolution of making a powerful effort, to restrain these people; and in 1753, some time after the taking of Boagry, when a kind of truce with the Mahees afforded him some leisure, he sent a numerous army against them. They were provided with some canoes, and seized others belonging to the enemy, which enabled them to penetrate into their country; but it was a mode of warfare which they did not well understand. Shampo, who commanded the confederated Whydahs and Popoes, by pretending to fly, encouraged the Dahomans to advance: by degrees they were bewildered among swamps, rivers and marshes, in a wretched country, where provisions began to fail them: however, they pushed boldly forward, hoping to bring the enemy to an engagement; but Shampo outwitted them; and, by the dexterity of his manœuvres, he drew them on to that narrow slip of barren sand, which reaches nearly from Volta to Benin, and is from half a mile to three miles in breadth, between the sea and a river, which runs nearly parallel to the Beach, for about two hundred miles:
Dahomans was effectually cut off, and the Popoes employed themselves in firing at them at their leisure, from their canoes; but the greater part perished by disease and famine. They were so numerous (say the Popoes, who perhaps may exaggerate) that the fish of the river, assisted by the beasts, and birds of prey, were not able to eat them all; but their putrid carcasses corrupted the air, and occasioned a pestilence in the country. The whole army was lost here, except twenty-four, whom Shampo sent back, to acquaint Ahadee with the fate of their companions: when they had told their sad tale, Ahadee ordered them to immediate execution, bidding them go express to the shades, to inform their comrades how much he disapproved their conduct in the war!
The next affair of any consequence that occurred was in 1763, when the old Whydahs and Popoes, in their turn, invaded Whydah. Shampo himself, was too old and infirm to take the field with them, but his son commanded; and was accompanied by the whole flower of the Popoe chiefs: they advanced
Honnou, who was then Eubiga, or vice-roy, would not venture out to risk a battle, but remained in Griwhee with his men, to defend the town. The Popoes were advancing to attack it before he ventured to engage them: he was wounded and carried off the field early in the fight, and the command devolved on Baddely, who made a gallant defence, but was obliged to yield to the superior force of the enemy; and retreated with his men towards the French fort, in expectation of being protected by their guns; but he was disappointed: though the king's honor, and the safety of the country were at stake, though the enemy had begun to set the suburbs on fire, the French fired nothing but powder at them. This neutrality, if it deserved the name, however politic it might be, was certainly not very grateful, for if the manner in which the king usually treated his own people were never so exceptionable, yet the whites had nothing to reproach him with, in his conduct towards them. He was always respectful, and generous to a degree of profusion: in all disputes between
The Popoes, animated by the conduct of the French, advanced boldly: Baddely and his men were obliged to fly before them: the Popoes thought they had nothing more to fear, and were preparing to burn the vice-roy's quarters; in their way thither, they had to march past the English fort, where Mr. Goodson, the governor, had a warm reception provided for them; which they did not expect: his cannon, loaden with musket balls, and grape-shot, made a prodigious havock among them, and threw them into the utmost confusion; they could not advance, and it was some time before they had presence of mind, to consult their safety by flight. The Dahomans, at this instant, rallied, having just received a considerable reinforcement; the Popoes had taken them at a disadvantage, they were not expected on that day, and as it was seed-time, the vice-roy
Baddely led them on to the pursuit: there could not be a more Affurrey, Shampo's son, escaped from the field; but overwhelmed with grief and shame, fat down beneath a tree and shot himself; only one survived to conduct the shattered remains of their army back. The king had dispatched Agaow and the army down before, but they did not arrive till next day; Mr. Goodson had the sole merit of the victory, as the king gratefully acknowledged.
The Dahomans, now weakened by a long series of unprofitable wars, were unable to follow up their victory; but contented themselves with driving the enemy out of the country: and the Popoes and Whydahs having lost the flower of their men, and of their generals in the late engagement, attempted nothing of moment after this; tho' hostilities were continued on a smaller scale for several
Whydah Beach; where the effects of the white traders on landing or embarking, sometimes fell into their hands: but in 1772, a peace was happily concluded, under the mediation of Lionel Abson, Esq. governor of William's Fort, to the mutual advantage of both parties: who after forty years of war, now enjoy the profits and pleasures of undisturbed commerce and social
Ahadee worn out with years and infirmities, engaged in nothing worth relating after this. He died on the 17th of May, 1774; and was succeeded by Adaunzou II. the present king.
WHYDAH, once a flourishing and Dahoman empire, is situated to the eastward of the Gold Coast; between the rivers Volta, and Benin. The road in which ships that trade there anchor, is in 6 deg. 27 min. north latitude. Landing is always difficult and dangerous, and frequently impracticable for several weeks together, from the violence of the breakers on
Gold Coast: they are manned with fifteen or seventeen Fantees each, hired from Cape Coast or El Mina; hardy, active men, who undertake this business, and return in their canoe to their own country, when the captain, in whose employ they serve, has finished his trade.
Grigue or Griwhee, the capital of this province, situated on a sandy plain, about three miles from the sea, is a large, straggling town, which contains about eight thousand inhabitants. It is the residence of the vice-roy, who is assisted in his command by two other Cabocheers, and a military officer of high rank. The English, French, and Portuguese have each a fort here, and several commodious factories, for the accommodation of captains of trading ships, who purchase, here between five and six thousand slaves annually.
My business requiring an interview with the king, I applied to the vice-roy for the necessary attendants, and was furnished by him with a linguist, six
The porters, having each received their several loads, which consisted, besides a mattress, a small trunk of wearing apparel, and some provisions and liquors for myself, of a case or two of spirits which I provided for their own use, some bags of cowrie shells (the current money of the country), for defraying our Abomey at six in the morning of February 1, 1772.
In passing by the market place, I found a great number of people collected there, and observing some large umbrellas among them, I concluded that the vice-roy and his Cabocheers were of the party: surprized at this early assembly, I sent a servant to inquire the occasion of it; but before he could return, a messenger from the vice-roy, who had discovered my approach, accosted me with a
Abomey, for that purpose.
During this conversation a little girl, prompted by curiosity, and ignorant of what was doing, made her way through the crowd; and discovering her mother, ran to her with joy to congratulate her on her return. The poor woman, after a short embrace, said, “Go away, child, this is no place for you,” and she was immediately conveyed away. The vice-roy proceeded in his sentence, which the poor wretch heard with seeming
The person that was executed was one of those who kept a little shop in the market; and a few days before, on discovering that some trifle had been stolen from her, she took from the fire a small stick, one end of which was burning, and waving it over her head (a usual custom in the country) exclaimed aloud “Whoever has taken my property, if they do not return it, I wish they may die and be extinguished like this stick.” In going through this ceremony, a spark fell on
After a delay of half an hour on this disagreeable occasion, I resumed my journey. The face of the country, though flat, is extremely agreeable; it is mostly open, and a considerable portion of it cultivated, interspersed with some clumps and groves of lofty and luxuriant trees. In an hour and an half we approached the town of Xavier, which is environed with plantations of yams, potatoes, callivances, and corn; for which there is a ready market at Griwhee.
Before the Dahomy conquest in 1727, when Whydah was an independent kingdom, this was the residence of the kings of Whydah, and the English, French, Dutch, and Portuguese had forts or factories here, on which those at Griwhee were dependent: but these were abandoned on that event, and the guns removed by the conqueror, Guadja Trudo, to his palaces at Ardra, Calmina, and Abomey: no vestige of them now remains, but the moats which surrounded them. The site of the palace of the Whydah kings can also still be ascertained, by the trench which encompassed
Popoe; and on his accession to the government of his few and needy vassals, the new king must come to this spot to be inaugurated.
All writers who have described this country, extol its natural beauties and the fertility of its soil; previous to the conquest it is said to have been so extremely populous that land was claimed as private property; and the inhabitants, from their great advantages in commerce (this being the great mart of trade for a very extensive tract of the interior country), are said to have abounded in riches. An anecdote which I have heard of the last king of Whydah, from the old people of the country, confirms his wealth in some degree.
When Capt. Ogle (afterwards Sir Chaloner) was sent in 1722, in the Swallow man of war, to the coast of Africa, in quest of Roberts, the pirate, he landed at Whydah, and acquainted the king with the purpose of his
Roberts, who had long “infested his coast, he would give him fifty- “six pounds of gold dust,” pointing to an iron half hundred weight that lay near him, which was to ascertain the quantity. Capt. Ogle fell in with and took Roberts's ship, the Royal Fortune, at Cape Lopez; Roberts was killed in the engagement; the pirates were tried and condemned at Cape Coast, where most of them were executed; but half a dozen of them were carried to Whydah, and hanged there; and the king discharged his promise by giving Capt. Ogle the handsome reward he had promised him.
We made no halt at Xavier, the Toree took up two hours. It is but a small town, and, being a convenient stage, the inhabitants derive some advantage from supplying travellers with refreshment. It is separated from the province of Whydah by a pretty deep and rapid river, whose banks are covered with stately trees, and a great deal of close
This river was formerly the northern boundary of the Whydah kingdom; and when the Dahomans crossed it, instead of disputing the passage, or risking a battle in defence of their country, the infatuated Whydahs contented themselves with placing, with great ceremony, the fetish snake in the path, to oppose the invading army; which not answering their hopes and expectations, they deemed all other resistance vain, and fled precipitately before the conqueror. We crossed the river over a tolerably good bridge, formed by wooden piles placed at proper distances, and covered with faggots and hurdles.
Here we overtook our porters, and the Torees were a strange sort of people, and had bad customs; and, as he had to answer with his head for my safety, he would not trust me alone among a people who made a practice of eating men:” though I was pretty certain his fears for me were unnecessary, yet to make him easy I returned to my party, reflecting on the prejudices which people residing at not more than twenty miles distance entertained of their neighbours.
When the Azoway, which we reached in a couple of hours; the road very good, but no settlements or plantations between the two places; and as the country was covered with thick woods, and the grass grew luxuriantly, higher than our heads, which prevented a free circulation of air, I found the heat, now that the sun had gained the meridian, so extremely fatiguing, that when we reached Azoway, I readily consented to the Ardra, which we reached in two hours.
Ardra was once the capital of a great and powerful kingdom, whose dominion extended from Volta to Benin: it is pleasantly situated on a gently rising eminence of gravelly soil. A prodigious number of palm trees grow in the neighbourhood of it, which add greatly to the beauty of the prospect, and supply the inhabitants with great quantities of the oil, which they bring to market at Whydah in large
I was conducted to apartments in a house belonging to one of the king's officers, which are appropriated to the accommodation of white men on their journey, and was presented, by the man who had the care of it, with a jar of cool water, and a pot of the country beer, called pitto; which favor I
Here we resolved to stop for the day, and my retinue, having deposited their baggage in my apartment, and suspended the cotton twetwees who, as if it had been its regular police, continued prowling through the town during the whole night, and disturbed us with their execrable cries. They are fierce, voracious animals, about the size of a large mastiff dog, but much stronger in all their parts, particularly the jaws, teeth and legs, which are remarkably strong: their feet are very large, and armed
They readily discover dead bodies that are interred, and drag them out of their graves: this is a joint operation of several; and when they have got their prey before them, they dance and caper round it with great exultation for some time, before they devour it. When any of them singly falls in with a booty, he changes the horrid roaring which he used in the pursuit, to another vile note,
* Mirifica pudendorum conformatio extat. A fœmina, mas haud facile dignosci potest. Latitant penis ac testes intus, subter cutem hypogastricam. Per foramen effluit urina; penisque in coitu detruditur. Tantam autem rima labiis muliebribus profert similitudinem, ut, specie prima, valde ambiguum fexus estimetur, et quasi udder first; and in Whydah, where they are very numerous, I have often known cows rescued from them, with the loss of that part, by the speedy exertions of the people running immediately to the place where the piteous bellowings of the poor animal directed them. I am surprized, that Mons. Buffon should omit to mention, that though this animal has a strong resemblance in figure to the wolf, and canine species, it differs from them in a striking feature, by having only two teats, which are placed one on each side of the breast, like a monkey*.Hermaphroditicum.
The kingdom of Ardra was reduced, both in extent and power, by the revolt and separation of several provinces, before it was attacked by the Dahomans, under Guadja Trudo, in 1725. However, the Ardras made an obstinate resistance, and are said to have lost fifty thousand men in a battle near this town, which lasted three days, before they were subdued.
Early on the next morning, (February 2d) we continued our journey across a very agreeable country, and having passed through two villages, stopped at a town called Havee and breakfasted: it is but an inconsiderable place, though the king has a house in it. Our stay here was no longer than necessary, and we proceeded to Whybow; which place, I reached about ten o'clock, and was kindly received by the hospitable old Cabocheer, who provided an excellent dinner for me, and gave my whole retinue abundant proof of his liberality, by supplying them plentifully with good cheer. This old man's name was Jabrakou; he had been a warrior in his youth, and having acquitted himself with reputation, was rewarded with the government of
Agouti, or Bush-Cat; of all these he pressed me to partake, for my journey, which though I declined as having no occasion for, yet on coming away, he insisted on my accepting a couple of nice
I recollect * That it is common to Father Monsieur Buffon says, the Aguti is peculiar to the new world; and is found no where but in America. They are gregarious animals, abound in this part of Africa, and are esteemed a great dainty by the natives. The Bush-cat, (by which name it is distinguished among the British traders at this coast) approaches nearly in the length of its body, to that of a full grown hare,
Bush-cat (except that the upper lip is divided like that of a hare) is not very unlike that of a rat; the upper jaw projecting considerably beyond the lower. Instead of soft hair, they are covered with harsh, coarse, stiff bristles, which adhere so slightly to the skin, as to be separated by a slight touch. This creature is endued with a power of erecting its bristles, which are of a brownish colour, clouded with dark spots. It is on the authority of the Brasilian Portuguese captains who trade at Whydah, that I suppose this animal to be the Agouti; for these persons assured me, that it is not at all different from those which are so common in Brasil; and the French captains, who had been at Cayenne, concurred in the same opinion. The African Agouti, is very fat, and its flesh tastes greasy, and strong, unless it has been cured by Pifo (Hist. Nat. lib. 3.) enumerates five species of the Lepus in Brasil; of which the Agouti is the third. In the circumstances particularly of its bulk and spots, the Bush-cat of Whydah seems to have a nearer resemblance to the Paca, which stands foremost in his classification. The American Agouti is rather a smaller animal; has short round ears; its hinder feet are armed with six claws, and its anterior with only four: when it is eating, it holds the food between its fore paws, and fits erect on its haunches. It produces seventeen young ones at a litter, thrice in the year. In Pere Labat's Voyage aux Isles de l'Amerique, is a bad figure of it; but his description is very correct. He speaks of three species observed in the Carib islands. Peter Martyr allots the same number to the island of S. Domingo: they were the common food of the Indians, who called them the Uti, or Outi, which scarcely differs from the continental name, Acouti.Africa and America, is a curious fact. Are we to suppose, that there once existed an actual junction of the two continents? Or, that an intercourse of navigation prevailed between them in remote ages, prior to any history or tradition that has reached us? To the former supposition it will be objected, that the elephant, and other quadrupeds of Africa, have never (as far as we are informed) been seen in America, either by the Indian Aborigines, or by the first European discoverers; and that America, in its turn, possesses some not yet known to exist in Africa; as the tamandua, &c. Navigators, indeed, might transport from one country to the other, a breed of the smaller esculent quadrupeds, as the Agouti for example. This is a subject upon which a great deal of various conjecture may be hazarded; but of which nothing can now, with certainty be known.Labat, who was an admirer of good cheer, and not uninstructed in the art of cookery, has given a receipt for the best manner of dressing this animal. He tells us, that “first of all it is to be scalded with milk, like a pig; “and, when intended for the spit, great care must be taken “to fill its paunch with a rich stuffing, composed of the harslet mixed with yolks of eggs, sweet herbs, and spicery. I have eaten it, says he, many a time, dressed according to this, and other fashions, and always found it an excellent dish, and of easy digestion.” Tom. III. fo. 25.
Having staid with my old friend until evening, I set off for Appoy, which is an hour and a half's journey; and lodged there, in a house provided by the king's order, for the accommodation of white people. I was now come to the disagreeable and truly fatiguing part of the journey, and judged
great wood commences, through which, the path is so narrow, crooked, and bad, that it is impossible to be
We entered the wood at three o'clock in the morning, February 3d, with the advantage of a bright moon, and serene sky. The captain of the guard disposed his men, some in front, some in the rear, with loaded muskets, to defend us from the attacks of wild beasts, with which this dreary wood abounds; two of the
After a fatiguing march of five hours, we reached Agrimee, a small town on the opposite side of the wood; where we halted some
Calmina, which we reached in two hours. Calmina is a large town, and may contain about fifteen thousand inhabitants. The king frequently resides here, and has a spacious house, which occupies with its appendages, almost as much ground as St. James's Park: it is inclosed with a high mud wall, which forms nearly a square. On a former visit, I measured one side of it, and found it one thousand seven hundred paces long; in the centre is a gateway, and large guard-house, on the roof of which, are exposed, a great number of the skulls of prisoners taken in war.
At Calmina, I was introduced into apartments in Mayhou's house, where I met a messenger from him, with compliments, to congratulate me on my safe arrival; and desiring to be informed, what time I proposed to enter Abomey, and whether I would consent to be received in state, by the great officers of the court? which ceremony, consists of the prime minister, and other head men, coming out about half a mile, on horseback, with numerous attendants, under arms; who
I declined this honor, as agreeing but badly with my present fatigue; and dismissed the messenger, charged with compliments on my part, to his master; and remained there till evening. In the interim, an old lady of the house provided me with an excellent dinner, which came very seasonably, as the porters, with my provisions,