The History of the Kingdom of Dahomey spans 300 years from 1600 until 1900 with the rise of the Kingdom of Dahomey as a major power on the Atlantic coast of current day Benin. The Kingdom became a major regional power in the 1720s when it conquered the coastal kingdoms of Allada and Ouidah. With control over these key coastal cities, Dahomey became a major center in the Atlantic Slave Trade until 1852 when the British imposed a naval blockade to stop the trade. War with the French began in 1892 and the French took over the Kingdom of Dahomey in 1894. The throne was vacated by the French in 1900, but the royal families and key administrative positions of the administration continued to have a large impact in the politics of the French administration and the post-independence Republic of Dahomey, renamed Benin in 1975. Historiography of the kingdom has had a significant impact on work far beyond African history and the history of the kingdom forms the backdrop for a number of novels and plays.
