Akaba of Dahomey Akaba of Dahomey Akaba was an early King of the Kingdom of Dahomey, in present-day Benin, from 1685 until "c."1716. King Houegbadja had created the basic structure of the kingdom on the Abomey plateau. His first children were the twins of Akaba and Hangbe and they were followed by another son of Houegbadja who would become King Agaja. As the oldest son, Akaba became the king upon Houegbadja's death and ruled until 1716 when he died during battle in the Ouémé River Valley, either of small pox or in battle. When he died his sister, Hangbe, became the ruler and
French Dahomey Dahomey became an overseas territory with its own parliament and representation in the French national assembly. On 4 December 1958, it became the Republic of Dahomey ("République du Dahomey"), self-governing within the French Union. On 1 August 1960, the Republic of Dahomey gained full independence from France. The republic's first president was Hubert Maga, who had been the Prime Minister during the overseas territory's last year under French rule. French Dahomey French Dahomey was a French colony of and a part of French West Africa from 1904 to 1958. After World War II, by the establishment of the French Fourth