Dahomey Republic of Dahomey and gained full independence in 1960. It was renamed in 1975 the People's Republic of Benin, and in 1991 the Republic of Benin. The Dahomey kingship exists as a ceremonial role to this day. Early writings, predominantly written by European slave traders, often presented the kingdom as an absolute monarchy led by a despotic king. However, these depictions were often deployed as arguments by different sides in the slave trade debates, mainly in the United Kingdom, and as such were probably exaggerations. Recent historical work has emphasized the limits of monarchical power in the Kingdom of Dahomey.
Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal 1892 Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal 1892 The Dahomey Expedition commemorative medal () was a French campaign commemorative medal. It was bestowed to the participants of the First Franco-Dahomean War (1890) and of the Second Franco-Dahomean War (1892–1894) in order to commemorate their feats of arms. In 1892, France decided to send an expeditionary force of 1,801 Europeans and 1,769 natives under the command of Marine Infantry Colonel Alfred Dodds in response to the harassment of the kingdom of Porto-Novo under its protectorate and its trading posts on the coast of Dahomey by the troops of Behanzin, the king of Abomey. The