Republic of Dahomey Republic of Dahomey The Republic of Dahomey ( ) was established on December 11, 1958, as a self-governing colony within the French Community. Prior to attaining autonomy it had been French Dahomey, part of the French Union. On August 1, 1960, it attained full independence from France. In 1975, the country was renamed Benin after the Bight of Benin (which was in turn named after the Benin Empire which had its seat of power in Benin City, modern-day Nigeria), since "Benin" was deemed politically neutral for all ethnic groups in the state, whereas "Dahomey" recalled the Fon-dominated Kingdom of Dahomey.
Kingdom of Kongo the region’s art was produced for social and political leaders such as the Kongo king." The central Bantu groups which comprised most of the Kongo kingdom passed on status through matrilineal succession. Kingdom of Kongo The Kingdom of Kongo (Kongo: "Kongo dya Ntotila" or "Wene wa Kongo;" Portuguese: "Reino do Kongo") was an African kingdom located in west central Africa in present-day northern Angola, the western portion of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Republic of the Congo as well as the southernmost part of Gabon. At its greatest extent it reached from the Atlantic Ocean in the west