-Oyo and Dahomey fingertip knowledge Flashcards
Where were Oyo and Dahomey located?
Both situated inland in savannah grasslands which facilitated agriculture, mobility and development of infrastructures of taxation, transport and military control.
How were Oyo and Dahomey each protected from raids?
Oyo - thick forests
Dahomey - swampland and forests
What kind of people were in Oyo?
Yoruba people
When does Oyo date back to?
At least C14 - 1300s
Who was said to have founded Oyo and from where?
Oranmiyan from Ife-Ife.
Who did Oyo trade with?
Trans-saharan Arab merchants.
When did the Nupe fight Oyo for supremacy? What happened?
C16, they defeated Oyo but Oyo fought back and by 1600 was developing as the most powerful kingdom in the area.
When did Dahomey rise?
C18
What was Allada?
It had been the most powerful kingdom in C17 - major trading partner of the Europeans.
When was Allada weakening and who became more powerful?
1660s, Whydah.
When was Dahomey founded as a small kingdom?
1620 - 1650
Who from Dahomey conquered Allada and Whydah and when?
Agaja. Allada in 1724 and Whydah in 1727.
Why did Oyo rise earlier than Dahomey?
Because of the greater longevity of the Yoruba people and their access to cavalry.
What were the Oyo kings called?
Alafin.
What did Oyo’s location give them in regards to trade and cavalry?
Access to Arab horse trade and the Savannah south-west of Oyo-Ile was ideal terrain.
Who used what to take Oyo-Ile back from the Nupe?
Alafin Abipa used cavalry.
When are the two most notable times Oyo used cavalry?
Against Allada in 1698 an Dahomey in 1720s.
Why were Oyo ironsmiths crucial?
They made spears like the orko and javelin.
What was the army governed by in Oyo?
70 war chiefs called the Eso.
What was the Oyo military made up of?
Cavalry, footsoldiers carrying javelins and spears, archers on foot, royal ilari slaves.
What was the Are Ona Kakamfo in Oyo?
Chief military leader of Oyo.
Who supplied foot soldiers in Oyo?
Provincial commanders under the Are Ona Kakamfo.
Who from Oyo led the conquest of Dahomey in 1726-30?
Alafin Ojigi.
What did Dahomey’s conquest of Allada and Whydah
threaten in Oyo?
It’s conquest of Allada and Whydah threatened Oyo’s commercial interests with European traders.
What did Oyo insist on after 1730 from Dahomey?
Annual tribute but Agaja resisted this until his death in 1740.
When did Oyo invade Dahomey again and what did Tegbesu agree to?
1742 and 48 and Tegbesu agreed to pay tribute in slaves, gunpowder, corals and cowrie shells.
What did Dahomey do every time a new alafin of Oyo was installed?
Sent gifts
What was Green’s quote about Agaja?
Agaja was “without question the most important king in Dahomey’s history”
What was Dahomey’s military power based on?
Accumulating large numbers of supporters and dominating opponents through numbers and perceived spiritual power.
Who did Agaja succeed and when?
His brother Akaba in 1708.
What did Agaja establish in 1733 to deal with the European slave trade?
The Yovogan
Who succeeded Agaja and consolidated Dahomey’s position?
1740, Tegbesu
What did Kpengla do of note between 1774-89 (Dahmomey)?
Consolidated the military and improved access to slave trade.
Who and when followed Kpengla and had a weak rule (Dahomey)?
1789-97, Agonglo.
Who sent missionaries to Brazil and when (Dahomey)?
1797-1818, Adandozan, it strengthened regional power.
When did Dahomey stop paying tribute to Oyo?
1823
What was Oyo’s system of power?
Federal system.
What was the relationship like between the alafin and the Oyo Mesi?
There were frequent power struggles.
What was the Oyo Mesi made up of?
7 councillors who advised the alafin, the Basorun was the head of the Oyo Mesi.
Around 1700 how did most Alafins die?
Not of natural causes.
What power did the King have in Dahomey?
They had absolute power over royal appointments and trade.
What was the centre of political power in Oyo?
Oyo-Ile
What did land and cheifly titles belong to in Oyo?
To lineages
What were the 3 royal wards in Oyo-Ile?
Aremo, Ona Isokun and Baba Ijayi
What did the councilors have other than being advisors in Oyo?
Political and religious roles, served as heads of shrines and controlled the metropolitan police force.
What power over the installation of the alafin did the Oyo mesi have?
They had to approve the installation.
What was the struggle for the Alafins in regard to the Oyo Mesi in the C17 to C18?
Succession of 9 alafins deposed or assassinated.
Who did the Oyo mesi reject in the 1730s?
Ojigi
When did Basorun Gaha seize power in Oyo?
1754
Who overthrew Basorun Gaha and when?
1774, Alafin Abiodun with provincial help
What did the conflict between the alafin and Oyo mesi represent in Oyo?
The struggles about the growing centralisation of power in C18.
What was the ajele in Oyo
Personal representatives in provincial towns.
What did the ajele in Oyo do?
They collected taxes and some senior palace officials were given fiefs instead of non-royal cheifs. This went against the pre-existing federal mode of power.
How did international trade lead to political tension in Oyo?
More access to resources by elites and competition to control this access.
What were Oyo and Dahomey’s trade markets like?
Oyo and Dahomey had sophisticated markets and trade networks.
What kind of craft was prevalent in Oyo?
Weaving.
Who did most of the agricultural labour in Oyo?
Slaves.
What helped trade in Dahomey?
Good roads and bridges.
What were the 3 pillars of Dahomian power?
Trade, military expansion and centralisation of power.
What was the capital of Dahomey?
Abomey, held trade markets every day.
Who was in charge of the markets in Dahomey?
Migan, supported by 100 soldiers.
Where was most of the produce sold in Dahomey made?
Locally.
Who performed agricultural labour in Dahomey?
Slaves, increasingly so.
Why did the Dahomey army expand in size?
They had access to European supplies.
What was the agbajigbeto?
A powerful network of spies.
What did the agbajigbeto do?
They sought information but also used spiritual means to undermine enemies.
What were the similarities in imperial power in Oyo and Dahomey?
Nature of kingly power was vital to the consolidation of both states.
The palace became the fundamental unit of government.
Officeholders and kings were male but wielders of power were often female, especially in Dahomey.
What were officials in Oyo called?
Eru Oba. King’s slaves.
Who were the highest ranking slaves in Oyo?
The highest ranking slaves were eunuchs - Iwefa - guardians of the alafin’s wife and children.
.
What was the Ona Iwefa in Oyo?
Dealt with legal decisions
What was the Otun Iwefa in Oyo?
Religious and ritual roles.
What were the 3 pillars of Oyo political authority/
Tax, law, religion
Why were the Iwefa seen as loyal to the alafin in Oyo?
They were slaves and eunuchs, they had no ties to rival their dependence on the alafin.
What were the Ilari in Oyo?
The king’s bodyguards as well as messengers and tax collecters at the city gates.
Who protected royal power in Dahomey?
The king’s wives
What were eunuchs in Dahomey useful for?
They held important positions.
How many wives did the king of Dahomey have in C18?
2000
Who controlled access to the king in Dahomey?
The daklo - the senior wife
Where did wives play a crucial role in Dahomey?
At times of succession.
How many provinces (Ekun) was Oyo divided into?
8, each controlled by a provincial ruler.
What was the Ekun otun region in Oyo?
The 3 provinces west of river Ogun
What was the Ekun Osi region in Oyo?
3 provinces east of the river Ogun
Where were judicial arguments referred to in Oyo?
The ekun ruler
Where did local towns pay their tribute?
To the provincial ruler
Where was the overall authority in Oyo?
Oyo-Ile
What was the asingba in Oyo?
The annual tribute sent by towns to the capital, cowries, grass for palace roofs, provisions
Why did the provinces send troops in Oyo?
To supplement the army
Who had final judicial authority in Oyo?
Alafin
What did Tegbesu do in terms of future succession in Dahomey?
He liquidated rivals and established the right to choose his successor from his sons.
Why did Tegbesu use lots of the administrative structures from Oyo in Dahomey?
In the 1730s he had been a hostage in Oyo, an example of the copying was the ilari
Who preserved royal power in Dahomey?
Slaves and eunuchs, same as Oyo
What did Tegbesu do in terms of the Yovogan and Migan?
He consolidated the role of the Yovogan and established the Migan (head of the markets) as the Prime minister.
Who did Tegbesu make the general of the army?
The Agou
Who was the chief eunuch in charge of the palace in Dahomey?
The Dinu
By the end of C18 who was in charge of agriculture in Dahomey?
The Topozu
By the end of C18 who was in charge of the royal wardrobe
The Mesconum
What areas were there rapid growth in laws in Dahomey?
Theft, breach of curfew, adultery.
Where were tributes paid in Dahomey and what form did they take?
They were paid at Annual Customs, cloth, cows, provisions
What was the link between religion and political authority in both Oyo and Dahomey?
Religion was inseparable from political authority.
What religious relationship did leaders have in both Oyo and Dahomey?
They were seen as having a close relationship to deities and shrines and often created new religious cults.
What cults did Alafin Abipa in Oyo form?
The Egungun cults of masqueraders representing the spirits of deceased ancestors and the cult of Ifa, the deity of divination.
What was the cult of Ifa in Oyo?
The deity of divination
What was the link between the Sango cult and Oyo-Ile in Oyo?
The Sango cult became central to the retention of power by Oyo Ile.
Why did priest of Sango have to go to Oyo-Ile?
They had to be initiated by Sango priests - the Mogba - at the shrine of Koso
What were the ilari in Oyo?
Initiated priests of Sango
What 3 festivals were the only time the alafin could be seen?
Mole festival- in honour of Ifa
Orun - Sacrifices made to Ifa
Bere - Annual tributes from the provinces received
Were subordiate leaders in Oyo allowed to have eunuchs in their service?
NO
What did Dahomey do religiously before attacking Whydah in 1727?
They consulted their oracles over how best to attack Whydah.
What was key to Agaja and Tegbesu’s power?
Religious innovation.
How did Agaja try to centralise political authority in the palace?
Followers of vodun spirits were organised into local congregations
What did Agaja do to rival cults?
He attacked priests of rival cults like the Sagbata that resisted his centralisation of power.
What did Tegbesu do in terms of centralising religious power?
He got control of the vodun by his death in 1774
How were vodun chapter houses financially dependent?
They had land grants.
How did Tegbesu imitate the importance of Ifa in Oyo?
He inaugurated the Tohosu cult for the vodun of the royal house and encouraged vodun who were diviners.
What was Oyo’s fall in C18 linked to internally?
C18 internal discord and a revolution further north in the Hausa states.
How did Oyo fall?
1804- the Fulani of Sokoto rebelled against the Hausa states in a jihad led by dan Fodio.
Dan Fodio’s caliphate then spread south towards Oyo.
1823 - the province of Ilorin seceded from Oyo-Ile, joined with Sokoto and the Islamic troops went on to destroy Oyo in 1835.
What did the fall of Oyo provide Dahomey with?
The opportunity to become politically independent of Oyo
