Gezo, King of Dahomey
This image shows the king of Dahomey in regalia with one of his retainers holding an umbrella. Forbes described "His Dahoman Majesty, King Gezo, is about 48 years of age, good looking. . . his appearance commanding, and his countenance intellectual, though stern in the extreme. That he is proud there can be no doubt. . . the king was plainly dressed, in a loose robe of yellow silk slashed with satin stars and half-moons, Mandingo sandals, and a Spanish hat trimmed with gold lace; the only ornament being a small gold chain of European manufacture" (vol. 1, pp. 76-77). Frederick E. Forbes went to Dahomey in the Bight of Benin region on a British anti-slavery mission in 1849 and 1850. On his first voyage, he "rescued" an Egbado princess, Sara Forbes Bonetta, whom he "gifted" to Queen Victoria.
Image Title
Gezo, King of Dahomey
RegID
SI-OB-1067
Date
1849
Title
Gezo, King of Dahomey
Source
Frederick E. Forbes, Dahomey and the Dahomans: being the journals of two missions to the king of Dahomey, and residence in his capital, in . . . 1849 and 1850 (London, 1851), vol. 1, facing title page.
Language
English
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--Western Bight
Reproduced In
Frederick E. Forbes, Dahomey and the Dahomans: being the journals of two missions to the king of Dahomey, and residence in his capital, in . . . 1849 and 1850 (London, 1851), vol. 1, facing title page.
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Identifier
forbesgezo