Republic of Dahomey République du Dahomey (French) | |||||||||||
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| 1958–1975 | |||||||||||
Motto:
Fraternity, Justice, Labour | |||||||||||
| Anthem: L'Aube nouvelle (French) "The Dawn of a New Day" | |||||||||||
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| Status | Self-governing colony ofFrance (1958–1960) | ||||||||||
| Capital | Porto-Novo | ||||||||||
| Common languages | French,Yoruba,Fon | ||||||||||
| Government | Presidential republic (1960–1963, 1964–1965, 1968–1970) Military dictatorship (1963–1964, 1965–1968, 1972–1975) | ||||||||||
| President | |||||||||||
• 1960–1963 | Hubert Maga | ||||||||||
• 1972–1975 | Mathieu Kérékou | ||||||||||
| Prime Minister | |||||||||||
• 1960 | Hubert Maga | ||||||||||
• 1967–1968 | Maurice Kouandété | ||||||||||
| Historical era | Cold War | ||||||||||
| 4 December 1958 | |||||||||||
| 1 August 1960 | |||||||||||
| 1 August 1961 | |||||||||||
• Renamed | 30 November 1975 | ||||||||||
| Currency | CFA franc | ||||||||||
| ISO 3166 code | DY | ||||||||||
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| Today part of | Benin | ||||||||||
| History of Benin |
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| History of the Kingdom of Dahomey |
| Pre-colonial history |
| Colonial history |
| Post-colonial history |
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TheRepublic of Dahomey (French:République du Dahomey;pronounced[daɔmɛ]), simply known asDahomey (Fon:Danhomè), was established on 4 December 1958, as aself-governing colony within theFrench Community. Prior to attaining autonomy, it had beenFrench Dahomey, part of theFrench Union. On 1 August 1960, it attained full independence fromFrance.
In 1975, the country was renamedBenin after theBight of Benin (which was in turn named after theKingdom of Benin which had its seat of power inBenin City, modern-dayNigeria), since "Benin" was deemed politically neutral forall ethnic groups in the state, whereas "Dahomey" recalled theFon-dominatedKingdom of Dahomey.
The Republic of Dahomey became independent of France on 1 August 1960.[2] In the words of the historianMartin Meredith, the young country "was encumbered with every imaginable difficulty: a small strip of territory jutting inland from the coast, it was crowded, insolvent and beset by tribal divisions, huge debts, unemployment, frequent strikes and an unending struggle for power between three rival political leaders".[3] These rivals wereJustin Ahomadégbé-Tomêtin, who held sway in the southern and central regions of the country,Sourou-Migan Apithy, who dominated the southeast, andHubert Maga, whose power base was located in the north.[4]
Upon independence, Maga became the first president of Dahomey. A political crisis in 1958, prior to independence, had led to Maga'sDahomeyan Democratic Movement joining a coalition government, with a subsequent crisis leading to Maga becoming the head of government in April 1959.[5] This compromise, however, was unable to solve Dahomey's problems, and an uprising broke out in October 1963, culminating ina coup d'état, and the replacement of Maga as president with Apithy. This also failed to bring about stability, and Apithy was removed in another coup, in December 1965.[6]
Following the 1965 coup, ColonelChristophe Soglo became president. A veteran of the French Army, he saw himself as a DahomeyanCharles de Gaulle, banning all political activity with the stated aim of stabilising the country.[7] Civilian rule was in fact restored in 1968, but the tumult of the preceding years meant that the army remained a key player in Dahomeyan politics, with civilian presidents beholden to their military backers.[8] In October 1972,a coup (the fifth in the country's history) led byMathieu Kérékou removed a civilian government (which had been headed by atriumvirate consisting of Ahomadégbé, Apithy and Maga). Kérékou would go on to proclaim his support forMarxism–Leninism, declaring the end of the Republic of Dahomey and the establishment of the People's Republic of Benin on 30 November 1975.[9]
Dahomey was chosen for some of the filming locations in the 1967 filmThe Comedians, with an all-star cast that includedRichard Burton,Elizabeth Taylor,Lillian Gish,James Earl Jones,Roscoe Lee Browne,Alec Guinness,Raymond St. Jacques,Gloria Foster,Zakes Mokae,Paul Ford,Georg Stanford Brown,Peter Ustinov,Douta Seck andCicely Tyson. The movie is the story of an adulterous affair, placed against the backdrop ofHaiti during thetumultuous dictatorship ofFrançois Duvalier (known as Papa Doc). Dahomey resembled Haiti in many ways, both geographically and culturally, and it was safer to film there than in Haiti.[10]
6°28′N2°36′E / 6.467°N 2.600°E /6.467; 2.600
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