History of the Kingdom of Dahomey 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. Prior to the centralization of the kingdom of Dahomey, the evidence suggests that the Abomey
Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal 1892 award of the Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal: The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal was a 30 mm in diameter silver medal, its design was from Jean-Baptiste Daniel-Dupuis. The obverse of the medal features an effigy of the Republic and the words RÉPUBLIQUE FRANÇAISE (English: FRENCH REPUBLIC) enclosed within a laurel wreath running along the entire circumference. In accordance with convention, the Republic is represented as a helmeted young woman with the word PATRIE (English: HOMELAND) inscribed on the visor of her helmet. The reverse of the medal featured, within the same laurel wreath as on the obverse, in the upper section,