Public Procession of the King's Women
This engraving shows a ceremony and military parade in Dahomey. It depicts the Ahosu of Dahomey, Tegbessou (1740-1774), in the Bight of Benin hinterland. The procession included the king's many wives, female "amazon" warriors and other troops with guns parading in front of the king and European visitors who were likely slave traders. Archibald Dalzel (1740–1811) was a Scottish governor at Ouidah (1767 -1770) and twice at the Gold Coast (1792-1798; 1800-1802). He advocated against abolitionism and justified slavery because it saved people from the greater evil of being human sacrifices in the kingdom of Dahomey.
Image Title
Public Procession of the King's Women
RegID
SI-OB-874
Date
1793
Title
Public Procession of the King's Women
Source
Archibald Dalzel, The History of Dahomey: An Inland Kingdom of Africa (London: T. Spilsbury and Son, 1793), facing p.136.
Language
English
Item sets
Pre-Colonial Africa: Society, Polity, Culture
Spatial Coverage
Africa--Western Bight
Researchers
Jerome Handler; Michael Tuite; Henry B. Lovejoy Graduate Research Assistants: Tiffany Beebe; Travis May
Last Updated
2007; 28-Aug-19
Identifier
B010