The King of Dahomey's Levée

This engraving depicts the king of Dahomey, likely Ahosu Tegbessou (1740-1774), in the Bight of Benin hinterland. The levee, or receptions, shows the king seated on his throne, with female "amazon" soldiers and other members of his royal court. On the right, British visitors and slave traders were being entertained. 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

The King of Dahomey's Levée

RegID

SI-OB-875

Date

1793

Title

The King of Dahomey's Levée

Source

Archibald Dalzel, The History of Dahomey: An Inland Kingdom of Africa (London: T. Spilsbury and Son, 1793), facing p. viii.

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

B012