History of the Kingdom of Dahomey of National Assembly of Benin 1990-1991), and others. Kojo Tovalou Houénou (1887–1936), who claimed to be a prince of Dahomey but had lived most of his life in France, became a major critic of the French colonial empire founded the "Ligue Universelle pour la Défense de la Race Noire" to push for recognition of Africans as full citizens of the French state. European historiography of Dahomey has been significant for its use in debates about the morality of the slave trade and for its importance to fields outside African history. Many of the early histories and descriptions were written by
In Dahomey San Francisco. They were again supposed to occupy the African pavilion. Having learned of the use of people in exhibits at the fairs, Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II wrote a song, "In Dahomey," for their 1927 musical, "Show Boat." Intended as the last number in Act II, Scene I, "In Dahomey" is performed by a purported group of African natives featured in an exhibit at the 1893 Chicago World's Fair. The song begins with the "natives" chanting in what is supposedly an African language. After the watching crowd disperses, they switch to singing in an American dialect, revealing they