Politics of Benin century until the colonial period, the Kingdom of Dahomey (whose borders encompassed more than present day Benin) was ruled by an "Oba". The French were the colonial power from 1892 to 1960, when independence was finally achieved. Between 1960 and 1972, a series of military coups in Benin (known until 1975 as the Republic of Dahomey) brought about many changes of government. The last of these brought Major Mathieu Kérékou to power as the head of a regime professing strict Marxist-Leninist principles. The Revolutionary Party of the People of Benin (PRPB) remained in complete power until the beginning of the
History of the Kingdom of Dahomey creative nonfiction. "In Dahomey" (1903) was a successful Broadway musical, the first full-length Broadway musical written entirely by African Americans, in the early 20th century. Novelist Paul Hazoumé's first novel "Doguicimi" (1938) was based on decades of research into the oral traditions of the Kingdom of Dahomey during King Ghezo. American novelist Frank Yerby published a historical novel set partially in Dahomey titled "The Man From Dahomey" (1971). British author George MacDonald Fraser published "Flash for Freedom!" (1971), the third novel in "The Flashman Papers" series that was set in Dahomey during the slave trade. Bruce Chatwin's historical novel The