French Dahomey 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 Republic in 1947, Dahomey became part of the French Union with an increased autonomy. On 11 December 1958, the French Fifth Republic was established and the French Union became the French Community. The colony became the self-governing Republic of Dahomey within the Community, and two years later on 1 August 1960 it gained full independence (and in 1975 changed its name to Benin). During the 13th century, the indigenous
1945 French legislative election in Dahomey and Togo policy were sent to the United Nations by the Ewe, who sought to be reunited with their brethren in British Togoland. Despite having left Dahomey seventeen years before the elections, Aupiais remained a popular figure in Dahomey, even amongst animists. His former pupil Sourou-Migan Apithy benefitted from his association with Aupiais, although he had also become an important figure in his own right through his work on the Monnerville Commission, which had reported on the future of the French colonies. Following the elections, Senegalese MP Lamine Guèye attempted to persuade all the African MPs to form an African Bloc, which